Which term describes financial losses, loss of employment, school failure, and divorce?

• A. Marked impairment in social/occupational function
• B. Increased goal-directed activity
• C. Lability
• D. Delirium

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is marked impairment in social/occupational functioning. When someone experiences financial losses, loses employment, fails in school, and goes through a divorce, it reflects a significant decline in their ability to function in daily life across major roles—work, education, and relationships. In psychiatric terminology, this level of functional impairment is a key way to describe the impact of symptoms on real-world functioning, beyond any single mood or cognitive symptom.

This fits best because the other options point to different phenomena: increased goal-directed activity is typical of mania, not impairment; lability refers to rapid mood changes; delirium is an acute, global disturbance of consciousness and attention. None of those describe a broad, sustained decline in social and occupational functioning across multiple life areas.