ASWB Complete Practice Exam
1. Which of the following is NOT true about motivation to change?
A. Motivation fluctuates from one time to another.
B. Motivation can be increased by working to remove barriers to change.
C. Motivation is driven by hope or the belief that life can be different.
D. Motivation that is imposed by external forces is more salient than that which is
intrinsic. - D
Motivation is a state of readiness or eagerness to change, which fluctuates from one
time to another. The role of the social worker is to create an atmosphere that is
conducive to change and to increase a client's intrinsic motivation, so that change arises
from within rather than being imposed from without. If a client is driven to change
internally, it is much more likely that the change effort will be sustained. A technique to
increase motivation is to work to remove barriers and instill hope or the belief that life
can be different.
2. Evidence-based social work practice can BEST be defined as:
A. Interventions that a social worker has gained training and experience in delivering
B. Treatment that yields the most cost-effective outcomes according to a cost-benefit
analysis
C. Decision making based on the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of research
knowledge, clinical expertise, social work values, and client wishes
D. Practice evaluations that adhere to scientific principles - C
Evidence-based practice (EBP) combines well-researched interventions with clinical
experience and ethics, as well as client preferences and culture, to guide and inform the
delivery of treatments and services. Social workers, clients, and others must work
together in order to identify what works, for whom, and under what conditions. This
approach ensures that the treatments and services, when used as intended, will have
the most effective outcomes as demonstrated by the research.
3. What are the stages of change in sequential order?
A. Precontemplation, preparation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse
B. Preparation, action, precontemplation, contemplation, maintenance, and relapse
C. Preparation, precontemplation, contemplation, action, maintenance, and relapse
D. Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and relapse - D
Precontemplation is denial or ignorance of the problem. It is followed by contemplation
in which there is ambivalence about making change. Then comes preparation or
experimenting with small changes. Action moves toward achieving a goal, whereas
maintenance sustains a new behavior and avoids relapse, which can lead to feelings of
frustration and failure.
4. Which of the following is NOT an essential step in ethical problem solving?
A. Identifying the ethical standards that may be compromised
B. Determining whether there is an ethical dilemma
C. Weighing ethical issues in light of social work values and principles
D. Asking a supervisor to monitor practice to identify new ethical issues or dilemmas - D
A social worker, not his or her supervisor, should monitor practice to identify whether
new issues or dilemmas arise.
,ASWB Complete Practice Exam
5. A young boy is stopped by a police officer and claims that he is a member of the
armed forces, though it is obvious that he is not. This assertion by the boy is MOST
likely a:
A. Comorbid thought
B. Dissociation
C. Folie à deux
D. Delusion - D
A delusion is a false, fixed belief despite evidence to the contrary (i.e., believing
something that is not true). Comorbid means existing at the same time. Dissociation is a
change in memory, perception, or consciousness. Folie à deux is a shared delusion.
6. A social work administrator is having trouble finding a group home manager for a new
program scheduled to open in 2 weeks. Further delays in locating staff will delay clients
from moving into the program. The administrator temporarily hires her niece, who just
graduated with a social work degree, for this position. This action is:
A. Ethical because the niece is clearly qualified for the position
B. Unethical because this is a conflict of interest
C. Ethical because the position is temporary and ensures clients get the services
needed
D. Unethical because clients will experience staff turnover when a new manager is hired
-B
Social workers should avoid situations interfering with impartial judgment. Hiring a
family member creates a dual relationship and should be avoided.
7. A social worker is interested in seeing the extent to which current clients are satisfied
with a new relapse prevention program. The social worker distributes a client
satisfaction survey to those in the program. The social worker then collects the surveys
and analyzes the results that are presented to a management team in the agency. The
social worker is conducting which type of evaluation?
A. Summative
B. Experimental
C. Quasi-experimental
D. Formative - D
Formative evaluations examine the process of delivering services, whereas summative
evaluations examine the outcomes. Formative evaluations are ongoing processes that
allow for feedback to be implemented during service delivery. These types of
evaluations allow social workers to make changes as needed to help achieve program
goals. Summative evaluations occur at the end of services and provide an overall
description of their effectiveness. Summative evaluation examines outcomes to
determine whether objectives were met.
The design described is not experimental—which requires a control group and
randomization of assignment—or quasi-experimental, which does not require
randomization, but has more support for causal inferences than does preexperimental
designs.
,ASWB Complete Practice Exam
8. Which of the following is an example of social stratification?
A. A child is not included in group activities in school because of his or her poor social
skills.
B. Children who are violent need to be segregated from their peers.
C. A child with social deficits is assumed to be delayed in cognition without additional
assessment.
D. Children from affluent households receive a better public education than those from
low-income households. - D
Stratification refers to structured inequality of entire categories of people in society who
have unequal access to social rewards. Stratification applies to individuals based on
ethnic and racial background, social status, and/or other factors.
9. During an intake interview, a client reports that she is extremely depressed and has
self-destructive thoughts. She has had prior suicide attempts, but tells the social worker
not to worry as she won't "do it again." The social worker should FIRST:
A. Tell the client that her decision not to harm herself is a good one
B. Explore with the client what is causing her depression
C. Conduct a safety assessment
D. Refer the client to a psychiatrist for a medication evaluation - C
Despite the client's report that she will not act on her thoughts, she is at risk because
she has had these feelings and has acted on them in the past. The case vignette does
not describe the social worker taking any action yet. A safety assessment will determine
the severity of the depression and whether the client is at risk for a suicide attempt. It
must be done FIRST before any other action is taken.
10. A client with a Social Anxiety Disorder will MOST likely be prescribed which of the
following medications to take on an ongoing basis?
A. Zoloft (sertraline)
B. Mellaril (thioridazine)
C. Thorazine (chlorpromazine)
D. Valium (diazepam) - A The primary medications used to treat social anxiety disorder
are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which were first developed to treat
depression. They have been found to be effective in the treatment of a wider range of
disorders. Zoloft (sertraline) is an SSRI.
Benzodiazepines, such as Valium (diazepam), reduce levels of anxiety. However, they
are habit-forming and sedating, so they are typically prescribed for only short-term use.
Mellaril (thioridazine) and Thorazine (chlorpromazine) are antipsychotic medications for
the treatment of psychosis.
11. A nsocial nworker nis nappointed nby nthe ncourt nto nconduct na nchild ncustody
nevaluation nfor na ncouple nthat nis ndivorcing. nThe nmother nreports nthat nher nhusband
nis nverbally nabusive, ncontrolling, nand nneglects nthe nchildren nwhen nthey nare nin nhis
ncare. nShe nreports nthat nthe nchildren nhave nmissed na nlot nof nschool nwhen nstaying
nwith ntheir nfather nbecause nhe ndoes nnot
, ASWB Complete Practice Exam
assist nwith ngetting nthem nready nfor nschool nor ndoing ntheir nhomework. nThe nfather
nstates nthat nhis nwife nis nlazy, nirresponsible, nand ncannot nmeet nthe nchildren's nbasic
nneeds. nHe nreports nthat nthe nschool nfrequently nhas nto nprovide nlunch nfor nthe
nchildren nbecause nthe nmother ndoes nnot nsupply nit nwhen nthey nare nin nher ncare. nIn
norder nto nBEST nevaluate nthe nlegitimacy nof nthe ninformation, nthe nsocial nworker
nshould:
A. Ask nthe nhusband nand nwife nto nput ntheir nallegations nin nwriting nand nsign nthem,
nattesting nto ntheir naccuracy
B. Determine nwhether nthe nhusband nor nwife nhave nhad nany npast ninstances nwith
nbeing nuntruthful
C. Always nspeak nto nthe nhusband nand nwife ntogether nso nthat nthey nare nmore
nlikely nto nbe nhonest
D. Obtain ninformation nfrom nschool npersonnel nand nrecords nafter nobtaining
nparental nconsent n- nD
Collateral ninformation nis noften nused nwhen nthe ncredibility nand nvalidity nof ninformation
nobtained nfrom na nclient nor nothers nis nquestionable. nFor nexample, nchild ncustody
ncases nare ninherently ncharacterized nby nbiased ndata nwithin nan nadversarial nprocess.
nSocial nworkers nshould nuse ndata nfrom nneutral nparties, nsuch nas nthe nschool,
nbecause nthis ninformation nhas nhigher nintegrity.
12. A nsocial nworker nis nfacilitating na npsychotherapy ngroup nfor nindividuals nwho nare
nin nrecovery nfrom nsubstance nabuse. nAfter ngroup, na nclient nmentions nthat nshe nhas
nbeen nhaving nproblems ndealing nwith njob nstress nwithout nthe nuse nof nsubstances. nIn
norder nto nmeet nthis nclient's nneeds, nthe nsocial nworker nshould: nA. nRecommend nthat
nthe nclient nsee nthe nsocial nworker nindividually nin naddition nto nthe ngroup ntherapy
nbecause nshe nappears nto nneed nsome nadditional nsupport
B. nSuggest nthat nthe nclient nbring nthis ntopic nup nin nthe ngroup nnext nweek nto nsee nif
nothers nare nhaving nsimilar nproblems
C. nEvaluate nwhether ngroup ntherapy nis nthe nbest ntreatment nmodality nfor nthe nclient
ndue nto nthe nissue nbeing nmentioned nto nthe nsocial nworker noutside nof nthe ngroup
ncontext
D. nDetermine nif nthere nis nan nemployee nassistance nprogram nin nthe nclient's nwork
nsetting nto nassist n- nB
In ngroup ntherapy, nthe ngroup nis nthe nmajor nhelping nagent. nIssues nshould nbe
nbrought nback nto nthe ngroup nto naddress. nThere nis nno nneed nfor nthe nclient nto nsee
nthe nsocial nworker nfor nindividual ntherapy. nContacting nan nemployee nassistance
nprogram nwould nbreach nconfidentiality.
13. An n11-year-old nchild nwould nlike nto nstart nhelping naround nthe nhouse nwith
nchores. nShe napproaches nher nmother nmany ntimes, nbut nis ntold nshe ncannot nassist
nbecause n"she nwon't ndo nit nright." nDuring nseveral nattempts nto ndo nthings non nher
nown, nshe nis nscolded. nAccording nto npsychosocial ndevelopment ntheory, nshe nmay
nexperience ndoubts nin nher nabilities ndue nto na ncrisis nin nwhich nof nthe nfollowing
nstages?
A. Industry nversus ninferiority
B. Initiative nversus nguilt
C. Autonomy nversus nshame/doubt
D. Generativity nversus nstagnation n- nA
