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CCLS practice questions

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Question 1Child Life Assessment

The initial child life assessment is best described as:

  1. A standardized test administered only by licensed psychologists
  2. A one-time evaluation completed only at the time of admission
  3. A record of the child's medical diagnosis and treatment plan
  4. An ongoing process of gathering information to plan individualized care Correct answer.

Explanation

Child life assessment is continuous and iterative: information is gathered at admission, updated as the child's condition and responses change, and used to design individualized interventions. It is not a single event, and it is not a diagnostic instrument reserved for psychologists.

Question 2Child Life Assessment

Which statement best distinguishes developmental screening from developmental assessment?

  1. Screening is completed by parents; assessment is completed by teachers
  2. Screening is only used with infants; assessment is only used with school-age children
  3. Screening flags possible concerns; assessment describes functioning in depth Correct answer.
  4. Screening produces a diagnosis; assessment produces a referral

Explanation

Screening uses brief, validated tools to identify children who may have a delay and warrant closer evaluation, while assessment is a comprehensive, ongoing process describing strengths and needs across developmental domains. Screening is the gateway; assessment supplies the detail used to plan care.

Question 3Child Life Assessment

A child life specialist wants to learn how a 4-year-old typically interacts with peers and handles frustration. The most appropriate approach is to:

  1. Observe the child during free play and document what is seen Correct answer.
  2. Review the child's immunization record and growth chart before the visit
  3. Interview the child's teacher by telephone without seeing the child
  4. Ask the child to complete a written self-report coping questionnaire

Explanation

Direct observation of spontaneous behavior in a natural setting such as free play yields information about social skill, temperament, and coping that other methods cannot supply for a preschooler. Observation is the primary data source when a child's verbal or written self-report skills are limited.

Question 4Child Life Assessment

During a non-directive play session, a hospitalized 6-year-old repeatedly reenacts an IV insertion on a doll and becomes tense each time. The child life specialist should interpret this as:

  1. An indication for immediate psychiatric referral before play continues
  2. Deliberate misbehavior that requires firm limit setting
  3. A cue suggesting the child may need further assessment of anxiety Correct answer.
  4. Evidence that the child's preparation was inadequate in every respect

Explanation

Repetitive medical play accompanied by visible distress often signals that a child is still working through a frightening experience, and it functions as a communication of unmet emotional need. The appropriate response is to gather more information and adjust support, not to diagnose or discipline.

Question 5Child Life Assessment

The Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale is most appropriate for which child?

  1. A 3-year-old who is asleep after surgery
  2. A 2-week-old infant in the neonatal intensive care unit
  3. An intubated and sedated 5-year-old
  4. A 7-year-old who can point to the face matching their pain Correct answer.

Explanation

The FACES scale is a self-report tool that requires the child to understand the faces and indicate a level, making it suitable from roughly age 3 in children who can point and respond. Children who are preverbal, asleep, sedated, or intubated need observational measures instead.

Question 6Child Life Assessment

A 10-month-old is being assessed for pain after surgery. Which tool is most appropriate?

  1. FLACC behavioral scale Correct answer.
  2. Wong-Baker FACES
  3. Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool
  4. Numeric Rating Scale (0-10)

Explanation

FLACC rates Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability and is designed for preverbal or nonverbal children who cannot report pain themselves. Self-report scales require developmental capacity to understand and communicate a number or a face choice.

Question 7Child Life Assessment

Which finding during assessment best indicates that a 9-year-old is using an effective coping strategy during a painful procedure?

  1. The child uses guided imagery and rates the procedure as manageable Correct answer.
  2. The child screams louder each time the nurse enters the room
  3. The child stops speaking and becomes rigid when the nurse approaches
  4. The child refuses to look at or discuss the procedure at all

Explanation

Effective coping is reflected in the child's ability to apply a self-regulatory strategy and to experience the event as tolerable. Escalating distress, avoidance, and freezing suggest the current plan is not working and should be revised.

Question 8Child Life Assessment

When assessing a family's coping with a child's new diagnosis, the child life specialist should focus primarily on:

  1. Which family member is responsible for the child's illness
  2. Family strengths, routines, supports, and understanding of the condition Correct answer.
  3. Whether the parents agree with each other at all times
  4. The family's income and insurance status as a measure of coping

Explanation

Family assessment is strengths-based and examines structure, roles, routines, communication, resources, and the family's understanding of the illness, because these are the factors the specialist can build on. Blame, finances, and perfect parental agreement are not indicators of coping capacity.

Question 9Child Life Assessment

A family's cultural practices conflict with the hospital's usual pain management routine. The best first step in assessment is to:

  1. Assume the parents are misinformed and provide education only
  2. Proceed with the hospital routine and address concerns later
  3. Report the family to the ethics committee before proceeding
  4. Ask about the family's beliefs, values, and preferences Correct answer.

Explanation

Culturally humble assessment begins by eliciting the family's explanatory model, values, and preferences before judging or overriding them, then negotiating a plan that honors both safety and culture. Understanding precedes any decision about education, escalation, or ethics consultation.

Question 10Child Life Assessment

A 5-year-old with a documented history of abuse becomes tearful and frozen during a routine blood draw. Which interpretation best reflects trauma-informed assessment?

  1. The child is deliberately trying to avoid the procedure today
  2. The draw may trigger trauma reminders and needs added safety cues Correct answer.
  3. The reaction is unrelated to the child's history and should be ignored
  4. The child should be held firmly so the procedure is completed quickly

Explanation

Trauma-informed assessment recognizes that medical events can re-evoke traumatic reminders and that freezing or shutdown is a survival response. The plan should increase predictability, offer choices, and protect psychological safety instead of relying on restraint or ignoring distress.

Question 11Child Life Assessment

An 8-year-old clearly says she does not want to participate in a preparation session. Which action is most consistent with ethical assessment practice?

  1. Respect the refusal, explore concerns, and revisit later Correct answer.
  2. Proceed with the session and explain that children cannot refuse
  3. Require participation because the parents already gave consent
  4. Document the refusal as noncompliance and notify the physician

Explanation

Assent requires that children receive developmentally appropriate information and that their willingness is respected, and dissent should be honored when a service can be deferred. Parental consent does not obligate a child to take part in a nonessential activity.

Question 12Child Life Assessment

Which entry best reflects an appropriate child life documentation note?

  1. Child appeared sad; will monitor at the next visit and update the team
  2. Child is manipulative and needs to be watched closely by staff
  3. Child reenacted an IV start on a doll, then asked to call her mother Correct answer.
  4. No concerns noted during this shift; nothing further to document

Explanation

Effective documentation is objective, behavioral, and specific, and it connects the observed behavior to a plan the team can act on. Vague impressions and judgmental labels do not communicate usable information to other disciplines.

Question 13Child Life Assessment

A tool yields consistent scores every time it is used, but there is no evidence that it measures the developmental ability it claims to measure. This is a problem with:

  1. Construct validity Correct answer.
  2. Standardized administration
  3. Test-retest reliability
  4. Inter-rater reliability

Explanation

Reliability concerns consistency of measurement, while validity concerns whether a tool actually measures the construct it claims to measure. A tool can be highly reliable and still be invalid for the intended purpose.

Question 14Child Life Assessment

The child life team wants two different staff members to rate the same child's distress and obtain comparable results. Which measurement property is being examined?

  1. Inter-rater reliability Correct answer.
  2. Cultural responsiveness of the tool
  3. Predictive validity
  4. Content validity

Explanation

Inter-rater reliability is the degree to which different observers assign consistent ratings to the same behavior. Validity concerns whether the ratings mean what they claim, and cultural responsiveness concerns fit across groups.

Question 15Child Life Assessment

A child's score on a norm-referenced developmental measure falls at the 5th percentile. This means:

  1. About 5% of the norm group scored at or below this child Correct answer.
  2. The score is 5 points below the test's average
  3. The child has a 5% chance of catching up with peers
  4. The child answered 5% of the test items correctly

Explanation

Percentile ranks locate a child's score within the distribution of scores from the normative sample, so the 5th percentile means roughly 5 percent of same-age peers earned that score or lower. It is not a percentage correct, a probability of improvement, or a point spread.

Question 16Child Life Assessment

A toilet-trained 4-year-old begins wetting the bed after admission. The best assessment conclusion is that this is:

  1. Proof of a new urologic disease requiring testing
  2. A common regressive response to stress that needs assessment Correct answer.
  3. A sign that the parents have failed to set limits
  4. Punitive behavior requiring consistent discipline

Explanation

Regression is a frequent, developmentally expected response to hospitalization and loss of control. The specialist assesses triggers, supports child and family without shame, and re-teaches skills as the child regains stability.

Question 17Child Life Assessment

Which approach is most appropriate when assessing a 15-year-old's psychosocial risk?

  1. Offer a private interview covering home, school, mood, safety, and peers Correct answer.
  2. Limit the interview to medical adherence issues
  3. Interview the parent alone and treat the adolescent's report as unreliable
  4. Ask closed-ended yes-or-no questions about school performance only

Explanation

Adolescent assessment is most accurate when it includes confidential time and covers multiple domains such as home, school, activities, substances, mood, sexuality, and safety. Relying only on parents, closed questions, or a single domain misses major sources of risk.

Question 18Child Life Assessment

Before a child with a new cancer diagnosis returns to school, the child life specialist's assessment should include:

  1. The parents' employment schedule only
  2. The child's concerns, peer questions, and needed accommodations Correct answer.
  3. The child's standardized test scores from the previous year
  4. The teacher's opinion of the child's personality

Explanation

School re-entry planning rests on the child's understanding and worries, the peer education that will be needed, and practical accommodations such as fatigue, absences, and medication schedules. Assessment of these elements drives the re-entry plan.

Question 19Child Life Assessment

Which statement best guides assessment of a healthy sibling of a hospitalized child?

  1. Siblings rarely react and need no assessment
  2. Sibling distress may show as behavior change, so ask about their experience Correct answer.
  3. Sibling needs should be addressed only if parents request it
  4. Siblings should be kept away from the hospital at all times

Explanation

Siblings commonly experience jealousy, guilt, fear, and behavior changes, and they often conceal these feelings to protect their parents. Direct, developmentally appropriate assessment of the sibling's own experience is therefore built into good practice.

Question 20Child Life Assessment

Which factor most increases a child's risk for complicated grief after a sibling's death?

  1. The child attended the funeral with a supportive adult
  2. The child received honest information in developmentally appropriate language
  3. A surviving parent who is emotionally unavailable and grieving intensely Correct answer.
  4. The child had a consistent daily routine at home before the death

Explanation

Risk for complicated grief rises with loss of a secure caregiving relationship, prior trauma, poor social support, and sudden or violent death. Inclusion in rituals with support, honest information, and stable routines are generally protective.

Question 21Child Life Assessment

Two 4-year-olds sit side by side building separate block towers without interacting. This describes which type of play?

  1. Parallel play Correct answer.
  2. Cooperative play
  3. Onlooker play
  4. Solitary play

Explanation

Parallel play involves children playing independently near one another with similar materials but without shared goals or interaction, which is typical of early preschool development. Recognizing play stages helps the specialist match assessment and interventions to developmental level.

Question 22Child Life Assessment

Which behavior is developmentally expected in a 12-month-old during hospitalization?

  1. Asking staff to telephone the parent at work
  2. Explaining that the parent will return in about an hour
  3. Crying when the parent leaves the room and calming when they return Correct answer.
  4. Reading a picture book to cope with the separation

Explanation

Infants and toddlers are highly sensitive to separation, and protest crying at departure with comfort on reunion is an expected response at this age. Strategies that depend on time concepts or verbal reasoning exceed a 12-month-old's developmental capacity.

Question 23Child Life Assessment

A 6-year-old cries and pulls away during a dressing change but later tells the specialist the change 'didn't hurt much.' The best assessment conclusion is:

  1. The child needs a higher dose of analgesia before anything else
  2. Distress and pain are distinct and both should be addressed Correct answer.
  3. The child is lying about the pain
  4. The reported pain score should be discarded

Explanation

Behavioral distress during a procedure reflects fear, anticipation, and loss of control and does not always track with reported pain intensity. Assessment should capture both sensory pain and procedure-related distress so the plan can address each appropriately.

Question 24Child Life Assessment

A 3-year-old with a significant communication delay needs a psychosocial assessment. The strongest approach is to:

  1. Combine observation, play, and caregiver report over several visits Correct answer.
  2. Delay the assessment until the child can speak clearly in sentences
  3. Rely only on the parent's written questionnaire completed at admission
  4. Administer a standard school-age self-report interview to the child alone

Explanation

Children with communication delays are best assessed through multiple modalities, including structured observation, play, caregiver report, and how the child responds to the specialist's interactions. Waiting for verbal skill or forcing an age-normed interview yields poor data.

Question 25Child Life Assessment

Reassessing a child after an intervention is important primarily because it:

  1. Transfers responsibility for the child to another discipline
  2. Replaces the need for an initial assessment
  3. Shows whether the plan is working and guides revisions Correct answer.
  4. Fulfills a requirement to fill out more paperwork

Explanation

Assessment is cyclical: data are collected, interventions are delivered, and outcomes are evaluated to decide whether to continue, modify, or discontinue the plan. Reassessment keeps care responsive to a changing clinical picture.

Question 26Child Life Assessment

A 2-year-old hospitalized for several days initially cried and clung to her mother at every separation. She now lies quietly, sucks her thumb, and shows little interest in toys, though she briefly brightens when her mother visits. Which phase of separation anxiety is she most likely showing?

  1. Regression
  2. Protest
  3. Detachment
  4. Despair Correct answer.

Explanation

After prolonged separation, toddlers may move from active protest to despair, marked by crying that stops, apathy, withdrawal, and regressed behaviors such as thumb sucking. Brief responsiveness to the parent helps distinguish despair from detachment, in which the child appears superficially adjusted and indifferent.

Question 27Child Life Assessment

A 4-year-old is told that her grandfather has died. Which understanding of death is most developmentally typical for a preschooler?

  1. Death is final and universal.
  2. Death is temporary and reversible. Correct answer.
  3. Death permanently stops all body functions.
  4. Death is caused only by old age.

Explanation

Preschoolers often understand death as a temporary state, similar to sleep or a trip, and may ask when the person will return. Understanding of finality, universality, and permanent cessation of body functions generally develops later in school age.

Question 28Child Life Assessment

When interviewing a 7-year-old about her feelings regarding upcoming surgery, which question is most appropriate?

  1. "Why are you worried about the surgery?"
  2. "Do you want to talk about your surgery?"
  3. "How are you feeling about your surgery?" Correct answer.
  4. "You're scared about the surgery, aren't you?"

Explanation

Open-ended questions invite the child to describe her own experience without imposing an emotion. Leading or why-questions can suggest a feeling or create pressure, while yes-or-no questions yield limited information.

Question 29Child Life Assessment

A 20-month-old is described by his parents as slow to warm up. Which approach best supports the child life assessment?

  1. Let him watch from a distance and approach gradually. Correct answer.
  2. Begin with active, stimulating play to engage him quickly.
  3. Limit the parent's presence so he learns independence.
  4. Complete the assessment quickly before he becomes upset.

Explanation

Children with a slow-to-warm-up temperament adjust best when given time, predictability, and a gradual introduction to new people and materials. Parent presence usually supports regulation rather than interfering with it.

Question 30Child Life Assessment

Which statement best describes the purpose of a screening measure in child life assessment?

  1. It flags children who need further evaluation. Correct answer.
  2. It provides a definitive diagnosis.
  3. It measures only physical pain intensity.
  4. It replaces the need for comprehensive assessment.

Explanation

Screening tools are brief and designed to flag children who may need a fuller assessment; they do not establish diagnoses by themselves. Comprehensive assessment then clarifies the nature and severity of the concern.

Question 31Child Life Assessment

Two 7-year-olds decide that one will be the doctor and the other the patient, assign roles, and take turns following a shared plan. This is best described as:

  1. Solitary play
  2. Parallel play
  3. Cooperative play Correct answer.
  4. Associative play

Explanation

Cooperative play involves shared goals, assigned roles, and organized turn-taking. Parallel play is side-by-side without interaction, and associative play involves sharing materials without a coordinated plan.

Question 32Child Life Assessment

Which information is most useful when assessing a family for child life intervention planning?

  1. The child's medical diagnosis and treatment only
  2. The family's insurance coverage only
  3. The parents' marital status and income only
  4. Family routines, strengths, and supports Correct answer.

Explanation

Family-centered assessment considers routines, strengths, coping resources, and support networks because these shape how the family manages hospitalization. Single demographic or medical facts provide too narrow a picture for planning.

Question 33Child Life Assessment

A 4-year-old can understand simple instructions and point to pictures. Which pain assessment approach is most appropriate?

  1. Rely solely on the parents' estimate
  2. Observe facial expression only and do not ask the child
  3. Use a validated faces pain scale with the child Correct answer.
  4. Use a numeric 0-to-10 rating scale

Explanation

Preschoolers can often self-report pain using a validated faces scale that anchors pain to expressions they recognize. Observation and parent report are useful adjuncts but do not replace self-report when the child can use a tool.

Question 34Child Life Assessment

A 6-year-old with significant cognitive impairment cannot self-report pain. Which pain tool is most appropriate?

  1. The FLACC behavioral scale Correct answer.
  2. A numeric rating scale
  3. The Wong-Baker FACES scale
  4. A visual analog scale

Explanation

The FLACC scale rates facial expression, leg movement, activity, crying, and consolability, making it suitable when self-report is not possible. Faces, numeric, and visual analog scales depend on the child's ability to understand and report pain.

Question 35Child Life Assessment

During medical play, a 5-year-old repeatedly inserts a toy needle into a doll's arm and says, "Bad, bad." What is the best interpretation?

  1. The child is deliberately misbehaving and needs limits.
  2. The child may be processing fear or anger. Correct answer.
  3. The child is not ready for any procedural preparation.
  4. The child has a confirmed needle phobia.

Explanation

Repetitive medical play themes often allow children to express and master frightening experiences, and the specialist should observe the theme without labeling it as misbehavior. A single play episode cannot confirm a phobia or determine readiness for preparation.

Question 36Child Life Assessment

To understand why a hospitalized child screams during diaper changes, which data collection approach is most useful?

  1. Record antecedents, behavior, and consequences Correct answer.
  2. Ask the child to rate the screaming on a scale
  3. Compare the child with a developmental checklist
  4. Record only the frequency of screaming per day

Explanation

Antecedent-behavior-consequence recording identifies what triggers the behavior and what follows it, which helps explain why it persists. Frequency counts and developmental checklists do not provide that contextual information.

Question 37Child Life Assessment

A family with limited English proficiency needs a psychosocial assessment. What is the best practice?

  1. Use the family's 10-year-old child as the interpreter.
  2. Postpone the assessment until the family learns English.
  3. Use a trained medical interpreter and speak directly to the family. Correct answer.
  4. Speak only to the interpreter and avoid eye contact with the family.

Explanation

Trained medical interpreters support accurate communication, confidentiality, and family comfort. The specialist should address the family directly rather than the interpreter and should not use a child as an interpreter.

Question 38Child Life Assessment

A 9-year-old is asked to assent to a research-related assessment. Which finding best indicates that the child understands the assent information?

  1. The child is smiling and appears calm throughout.
  2. The child can describe the procedures in her own words. Correct answer.
  3. The child says yes right away without asking any questions.
  4. The parents have already signed the consent form.

Explanation

Assent reflects the child's growing understanding and willingness, best shown when the child can describe the purpose and procedures in her own words. Immediate agreement, parental consent, or calm behavior does not demonstrate understanding.

Question 39Child Life Assessment

A child scheduled for surgery prefers detailed information and asks many questions. This child's coping style is best described as:

  1. Passive, or disengaged
  2. Approach-oriented, or monitoring Correct answer.
  3. Blunting, or information-avoiding
  4. Avoidant, or blunting

Explanation

Approach-oriented or monitoring children seek information and cope better when preparation is detailed and predictable. Avoidant or blunting children prefer less sensory detail and more distraction.

Question 40Child Life Assessment

A 10-year-old with a trauma history is scheduled for assessment. Which action is most consistent with trauma-informed practice?

  1. Conduct the full assessment quickly before the child can refuse.
  2. Avoid asking any questions about the trauma.
  3. Explain the steps, offer choices, and check comfort. Correct answer.
  4. Require the parent to leave the room.

Explanation

Trauma-informed assessment emphasizes safety, predictability, choice, and collaboration, which help the child feel in control. Avoiding all trauma-related questions or rushing the child undermines assessment and trust.

Question 41Child Life Assessment

A 14-year-old hospitalized with depression is being assessed. Which approach to suicidal ideation is best?

  1. Avoid asking directly so as not to plant the idea in her mind
  2. Wait until the teen brings it up
  3. Ask the teen directly and calmly about suicidal thoughts. Correct answer.
  4. Ask the parent only, not the teen

Explanation

Direct, calm screening for suicidal ideation does not increase risk and is essential for safety planning. Relying only on parent report or waiting for the teen to initiate the topic can miss dangerous symptoms.

Question 42Child Life Assessment

The primary purpose of a developmental screening tool such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire is to:

  1. Flag children who need further developmental evaluation Correct answer.
  2. Diagnose intellectual disability
  3. Replace a comprehensive developmental assessment by a specialist
  4. Measure pain intensity

Explanation

Developmental screening briefly checks milestones to flag children who need deeper evaluation. Diagnosis and detailed developmental profiles require comprehensive assessment by qualified professionals.

Question 43Child Life Assessment

A 6-year-old believes she is sick because she was angry at her brother. This thinking best reflects:

  1. Formal operational reasoning about abstractions
  2. Concrete operational reasoning about tangible events
  3. Object permanence in early infancy
  4. Immanent justice or magical thinking Correct answer.

Explanation

Young children may interpret illness as punishment for real or imagined misbehavior, often called immanent justice or magical thinking. This reflects their developing causal reasoning rather than a formal logical system.

Question 44Child Life Assessment

To assess how a hospitalized preschooler typically plays and interacts, the child life specialist should:

  1. Assess the child immediately after a painful procedure
  2. Interview only the parents and not observe the child
  3. Observe the child only during formal testing
  4. Observe free play in a familiar, natural setting Correct answer.

Explanation

Naturalistic observation during free play yields representative information about play skills, temperament, and social interaction. Formal testing and post-procedure periods may not reflect typical behavior, and parent interview alone misses direct observation.

Question 45Child Life Assessment

Which tool is designed to screen families for psychosocial risk when a child is newly diagnosed with a serious illness?

  1. The Wong-Baker FACES scale
  2. Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) Correct answer.
  3. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire for development
  4. The FLACC scale

Explanation

The PAT is a brief family psychosocial risk screen used after a child's serious diagnosis to identify families needing more support. The FLACC and FACES assess pain, and the ASQ screens development.

Question 46Child Life Assessment

A specialist wants to count each episode of distress during a 30-minute procedure and note what happened immediately before it. Which observation method best fits this goal?

  1. A running record of everything the child does
  2. Event sampling with antecedent notes Correct answer.
  3. Time sampling at 5-minute intervals
  4. A single global rating at the end

Explanation

Event sampling records each occurrence of the target behavior and can include the context preceding it, making it suited to frequency plus trigger analysis. Time sampling may miss episodes, and a running record or global rating is less efficient for counting specific events.

Question 47Child Life Assessment

A 9-year-old discloses during assessment that a caregiver hits him with a belt and asks the specialist not to tell. What is the best response?

  1. Wait to see if bruises appear before reporting
  2. Confront the caregiver immediately in front of the child
  3. Promise the child complete confidentiality and keep the disclosure secret
  4. Thank the child and explain that safety concerns must be reported Correct answer.

Explanation

Child life specialists are mandated reporters; they should respond calmly, avoid promising secrecy, explain that safety information must be shared, and follow reporting procedures. Confronting the caregiver in front of the child could endanger the child and compromise the investigation.

Question 48Child Life Assessment

A standardized behavior checklist was developed and normed in one cultural group and is being used with a child from a different cultural background. What is the most important consideration?

  1. The total score is always valid regardless of the child's cultural background.
  2. Its norms and item meanings may not fit the child's culture. Correct answer.
  3. Culture never affects how behavior is rated.
  4. The tool should be used without caregiver input.

Explanation

A measure's norms, item interpretations, and behavioral expectations may not generalize across cultures, so results must be interpreted cautiously with cultural context. Caregiver input and local norms can help prevent mislabeling.

Question 49Child Life Assessment

A 16-year-old with a chronic illness is asked to participate in a psychosocial research study. Which combination best supports ethically sound enrollment?

  1. No consent or assent is needed for psychosocial research.
  2. Parental permission plus informed adolescent assent. Correct answer.
  3. Parental consent alone is sufficient.
  4. The adolescent's assent alone is sufficient.

Explanation

Research with minors generally requires parental permission and the adolescent's assent, along with safeguards for comprehension and voluntary choice. Neither parental consent alone nor adolescent assent alone satisfies both legal and ethical standards.

Question 50Child Life Assessment

A hospitalized child with fever develops new confusion, fluctuating attention, and visual hallucinations. The child life specialist should interpret these findings as:

  1. A side effect of play therapy sessions
  2. Attention-seeking behavior during illness
  3. Normal adjustment to being hospitalized
  4. Possible delirium needing urgent evaluation Correct answer.

Explanation

Acute confusion, fluctuating attention, and hallucinations in a medically ill child suggest delirium, a medical emergency that requires prompt evaluation. These signs are not explained by normal adjustment, attention seeking, or play therapy.