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100+ Free Psychiatry Board Practice Questions
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Sample Psychiatry Board Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your Psychiatry Board exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1A 28-year-old male presents with a 4-month history of a fixed belief that his liver is putrefying and emitting a foul odor. Despite normal liver function tests and abdominal imaging, he insists this is true. He is highly distressed but does not try to resist the thought. He has no other psychotic symptoms. What is the most appropriate psychopathological categorization of this symptom?
A.Somatic delusion
B.Obsession
C.Overvalued idea
D.Sensory hallucination
Explanation: This represents a somatic delusion. A delusion is a fixed, false belief that is out of keeping with the patient's social and cultural background, and is held with absolute conviction despite evidence to the contrary. In this case, the belief that his liver is putrefying is fixed, unshakeable, and somatic in nature. Unlike obsessions, there is no subjective resistance and the belief is not recognized as senseless.
2A 45-year-old female presents with depression. She claims that she has no internal organs, that her blood has dried up, and that she is actually dead. Which delusion is this candidate demonstrating?
A.Cotard's delusion
B.Capgras delusion
C.Fregoli delusion
D.De Clerambault's delusion
Explanation: This is Cotard's delusion (or nihilistic delusion), where a patient believes that they do not exist, are dead, or have lost their internal organs or body parts. It is commonly associated with severe psychotic depression, schizophrenia, or organic brain lesions.
3During a mental state examination, a patient with mania speaks rapidly and shifts from one topic to another. The connections between the topics are based on sounds (clanging) and distractibility by environmental stimuli, but a logical connection can still be traced if the listener pays close attention. What form of thought disorder is this?
A.Flight of ideas
B.Derailment (loose associations)
C.Circumstantiality
D.Tangentiality
Explanation: Flight of ideas is characterized by rapid, continuous speech in which the patient moves quickly from one topic to another. The connections between ideas are logical or associative (such as clanging, punning, or environmental distraction), allowing the listener to track the train of thought, although it moves very rapidly. It is classic for mania.
4Which of the following represents a key diagnostic difference for Schizophrenia between the DSM-5-TR and the ICD-11 criteria?
A.ICD-11 requires a minimum duration of symptoms of 1 month, whereas DSM-5-TR requires 6 months of continuous signs.
B.DSM-5-TR requires first-rank symptoms, while ICD-11 does not mention them.
C.ICD-11 requires cognitive impairment as a core diagnostic criterion, whereas DSM-5-TR does not.
D.DSM-5-TR requires a minimum duration of symptoms of 1 month, whereas ICD-11 requires 6 months.
Explanation: A key difference is the duration requirement: ICD-11 requires the characteristic symptoms to be present for most of the time during a period of at least 1 month. DSM-5-TR requires continuous signs of the disturbance to persist for at least 6 months (which must include at least 1 month of active-phase symptoms).
5A 23-year-old male patient reports that his thoughts are being broadcast out loud so that everyone around him can hear them as they occur. He describes this as a physical sensation of his thoughts leaving his head. Which of Schneider's first-rank symptoms is described here?
A.Thought broadcasting
B.Thought insertion
C.Thought withdrawal
D.Auditory hallucinations of the third person
Explanation: Thought broadcasting is the belief or feeling that one's thoughts are escaping from one's mind and are being made known to others, sometimes described as being transmitted over the air or heard out loud by others.
6A 35-year-old female presents with a history of mood swings. She describes episodes lasting 4 to 5 days where she feels highly energetic, needs less sleep, is very productive, and has a mildly elevated mood. These episodes do not cause significant social or occupational impairment, and there are no psychotic features. However, she also has episodes of deep depression lasting 3 weeks that cause significant distress and impairment. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A.Bipolar II disorder
B.Bipolar I disorder
C.Cyclothymic disorder
D.Major depressive disorder with anxious distress
Explanation: Bipolar II disorder is characterized by the occurrence of at least one hypomanic episode (minimum 4 days, elevated/irritable mood, no severe functional impairment, no psychosis) and at least one major depressive episode (minimum 2 weeks). Bipolar I requires a manic episode (minimum 7 days or requiring hospitalization, severe impairment, or psychosis).
7A patient with borderline personality disorder unconsciously attributes her own unacceptable feelings of anger to her therapist. She then acts in a hostile manner that provokes the therapist to react with anger, thereby confirming the patient's belief that the therapist is indeed angry with her. Which defense mechanism is this?
A.Projective identification
B.Projection
C.Splitting
D.Reaction formation
Explanation: Projective identification is an unconscious defense mechanism where a person projects their own unwanted feelings onto another person, and then behaves toward that person in a way that induces them to experience and act in accordance with those projected feelings.
8To meet the DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria for Schizoaffective Disorder, what is the required relationship between the psychotic symptoms and the mood episodes?
A.Delusions or hallucinations must be present for at least 2 weeks in the absence of a major mood episode.
B.Psychotic symptoms must occur exclusively during periods of major mood disturbance.
C.The mood episode must occupy at least 90% of the total duration of the illness.
D.Psychotic symptoms and mood symptoms must begin and end at the exact same time.
Explanation: According to DSM-5-TR, Schizoaffective Disorder requires an uninterrupted period of illness during which there is a major mood episode concurrent with Criterion A of schizophrenia. Crucially, there must be delusions or hallucinations for 2 or more weeks in the absence of a major mood episode (depressive or manic) during the lifetime duration of the illness.
9A 78-year-old male is admitted with a 3-day history of acute confusion, fluctuating levels of alertness, and visual hallucinations of insects on the wall. He has a history of mild cognitive impairment but was functioning well at home. His physical examination reveals a urinary tract infection. What is the most likely diagnosis?
A.Delirium
B.Dementia with Lewy Bodies
C.Alzheimer's dementia
D.Late-onset schizophrenia
Explanation: This patient presents with delirium, characterized by an acute onset (3 days), fluctuating course, disturbances in attention/awareness, and visual hallucinations, triggered by an underlying medical condition (urinary tract infection).
10During an examination of a patient with schizophrenia, the therapist places the patient's arm in an awkward, raised position. The patient maintains this posture for over 30 minutes without moving, despite being told they can relax. Which catatonic feature is demonstrated?
A.Waxy flexibility
B.Catalepsy
C.Posturing
D.Negativism
Explanation: Waxy flexibility (cerea flexibilitas) is a catatonic sign where the patient offers slight, even resistance to positioning by the examiner, and then maintains the posture into which they have been placed.
About the Psychiatry Board Exam
This practice exam covers psychopathology, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, child/geriatric/forensic psychiatry, and addiction/emergency psychiatry.
Assessment
100 multiple-choice questions
Time Limit
3 hours
Passing Score
60%
Exam Fee
Free (Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS))
Psychiatry Board Exam Content Outline
20%
Psychopathology & Classification
Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5 / ICD-11), history taking, and mental status exams.
20%
Psychopharmacology & Somatic
Antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
20%
Psychotherapy & Counseling
CBT, psychodynamic therapy, supportive therapy, and behavioral interventions.
20%
Specialty Psychiatry
Child/adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry.
20%
Addiction & Emergency Psychiatry
Substance use disorders, detoxification, suicidal risk assessment, and crisis intervention.
How to Pass the Psychiatry Board Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: 60%
- Assessment: 100 multiple-choice questions
- Time limit: 3 hours
- Exam fee: Free
Keys to Passing
- Complete 500+ practice questions
- Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
- Focus on highest-weighted sections
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the format of the Psychiatry Board exam?
The exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions covering all five content domains.
What is the passing score for the Psychiatry Board exam?
Candidates must score at least 60% to pass the exam.