ASWB STUDY GUIDE 2026 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔You have been seeing an elderly couple for one month. The 70 year old husband
recently had a stroke. The wife tells you that sometimes he hits her. She rolls up her
sleeve and shows you large bruises. You should:
a. consider that the stroke caused his violence
b. report elder abuse
c. refer the couple to a doctor before reporting abuse
d. call adult protective services and ask if you should file a report - ✔✔b. report elder
abuse
✔✔A 28 year old female has been raped. When she calls you, she is crying and having
difficulty breathing. The most important thing to do first is:
a. get her medical treatment
b. give her phone numbers of shelters
c. have her call the police
d. call the police yourself, but get her permission to do so - ✔✔a. get her medical
treatment
✔✔Your 17 year old client is demonstrating behavioral problems and considerable
anger. You consider referring him for group therapy. Your main concern should be:
a. the education of the group leader
b. the experience of the group leader
c. whether the group is heterogeneous or homogeneous
d. the structure and format of the group - ✔✔d. the structure and format of the group
✔✔If a client from a minority group seems suspicious and mistrustful and hesitant to talk
to a white social worker, the most likely reason is:
a. resistance
b. paranoia
c. transference
d. language issues - ✔✔c. transference
✔✔A healthy couple has been referred to you because the woman is unable to have
orgasms. The doctor that referred them states there are no obvious medical problems.
You would first:
a. explain female anatomy
b. begin exploring the couple's relationship
c. find out what the couple has tried thus far to address the problem
,d. do a genogram to explore family of origin issues - ✔✔c. find out what the couple has
tried thus far to address the problem
✔✔An effective intervention for hyperactive children would include which of the
following:
a. the child will decide on rewards for completing tasks
b. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and enforce it consistently
c. both the parents and child will determine appropriate punishments
d. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and be flexible in its
enforcement - ✔✔b. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and
enforce it consistently
✔✔You are a social worker in an inpatient psychiatric facility. A female patient tells you
a secret and asks you not to share it with others. You should:
a. Assess her needs and decide whether or not to disclose her secret to other staff
members
b. Disclose her secret to other staff members and her therapy group and tell the client
when you do this
c. Discuss the case with a supervisor
d. Tell the client you will honor her wishes - ✔✔a. Assess her needs and decide
whether or not to disclose her secret to other staff members
✔✔Your client is a man whose wife was raped. He reports feeling overwhelmed and
confused, wanting to be supportive but also feeling sexually distant from his wife. She is
in treatment with another therapist. Your best treatment plan would be:
a. Call the wife's therapist to consult and coordinate treatment
b. Bring the wife into counseling with you and her husband
c. Refer your client to a group for men whose partners have been assaulted
d. Normalize your client's feelings and continue individual counseling - ✔✔c. Refer your
client to a group for men whose partners have been assaulted
✔✔A social work intern admits to his supervisor that he had sex with a client. The
supervisor should:
a. Report the intern to the licensure board
b. Explain to the intern that sex with a client is inappropriate and take the intern off the
case
c. Consult with the client before taking any further action in order to determine whether
the client consented to the sex
d. None of the above - ✔✔a. Report the intern to the licensure board
✔✔You are beginning a group for parents and their teenage children. From your
experiences with new groups, you know that there is an expected communication style
among members in the early stages of groups. Typically, which of the following occurs:
a. Group members are hostile toward the social worker
, b. Group members interact with one another and more or less ignore the social worker
c. Group members communicate through the social worker and ignore one another
d. Cliques develop within the group - ✔✔c. Group members communicate through the
social worker and ignore one another
✔✔Which of the following is an issue that lawmakers may need to decide?
a. Anonymity
b. Privilege
c. Confidentiality
d. Self-determination - ✔✔b. Privilege
✔✔A man dies and, after hearing of this, a relative living in another state experiences
chest pains. Which of the following describes this reaction:
a. Projection
b. Reaction formation
c. Sublimation
d. Introjection - ✔✔d. Introjection
✔✔A lesbian client says she wants a lesbian social worker. You should:
a. Tell her you are a lesbian, if you are
b. Refer her to a lesbian therapist
c. Explore why she wants a lesbian therapist
d. Reassure her that you can be helpful to her regardless of whether or not you are gay
- ✔✔c. Explore why she wants a lesbian therapist
✔✔65. What do you do first in a clinical interview with a client?
a. Present your qualifications
b. Establish rapport
c. Complete an intake
d. Identify treatment goals - ✔✔b. Establish rapport
✔✔Task groups are an important means of accomplishing an agency's objectives. A
task group:
a. Is leaderless so that all staff are motivated to contribute
b. Is convened to achieve a specific function or goal
c. Focuses on supporting staff members in order to maintain high quality services
delivery
d. Relies on brainstorming to identify obstacles to achieving agency objectives - ✔✔b. Is
convened to achieve a specific function or goal
✔✔A social worker who recently began working at a community agency is inadvertently
violating one of the agency's policies. The supervisor should
a. Speak to the social worker
b. Give the social worker a written evaluation
c. Discuss the matter with the social worker's clients who have been affected
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔You have been seeing an elderly couple for one month. The 70 year old husband
recently had a stroke. The wife tells you that sometimes he hits her. She rolls up her
sleeve and shows you large bruises. You should:
a. consider that the stroke caused his violence
b. report elder abuse
c. refer the couple to a doctor before reporting abuse
d. call adult protective services and ask if you should file a report - ✔✔b. report elder
abuse
✔✔A 28 year old female has been raped. When she calls you, she is crying and having
difficulty breathing. The most important thing to do first is:
a. get her medical treatment
b. give her phone numbers of shelters
c. have her call the police
d. call the police yourself, but get her permission to do so - ✔✔a. get her medical
treatment
✔✔Your 17 year old client is demonstrating behavioral problems and considerable
anger. You consider referring him for group therapy. Your main concern should be:
a. the education of the group leader
b. the experience of the group leader
c. whether the group is heterogeneous or homogeneous
d. the structure and format of the group - ✔✔d. the structure and format of the group
✔✔If a client from a minority group seems suspicious and mistrustful and hesitant to talk
to a white social worker, the most likely reason is:
a. resistance
b. paranoia
c. transference
d. language issues - ✔✔c. transference
✔✔A healthy couple has been referred to you because the woman is unable to have
orgasms. The doctor that referred them states there are no obvious medical problems.
You would first:
a. explain female anatomy
b. begin exploring the couple's relationship
c. find out what the couple has tried thus far to address the problem
,d. do a genogram to explore family of origin issues - ✔✔c. find out what the couple has
tried thus far to address the problem
✔✔An effective intervention for hyperactive children would include which of the
following:
a. the child will decide on rewards for completing tasks
b. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and enforce it consistently
c. both the parents and child will determine appropriate punishments
d. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and be flexible in its
enforcement - ✔✔b. the parents will set up a behavioral modification program and
enforce it consistently
✔✔You are a social worker in an inpatient psychiatric facility. A female patient tells you
a secret and asks you not to share it with others. You should:
a. Assess her needs and decide whether or not to disclose her secret to other staff
members
b. Disclose her secret to other staff members and her therapy group and tell the client
when you do this
c. Discuss the case with a supervisor
d. Tell the client you will honor her wishes - ✔✔a. Assess her needs and decide
whether or not to disclose her secret to other staff members
✔✔Your client is a man whose wife was raped. He reports feeling overwhelmed and
confused, wanting to be supportive but also feeling sexually distant from his wife. She is
in treatment with another therapist. Your best treatment plan would be:
a. Call the wife's therapist to consult and coordinate treatment
b. Bring the wife into counseling with you and her husband
c. Refer your client to a group for men whose partners have been assaulted
d. Normalize your client's feelings and continue individual counseling - ✔✔c. Refer your
client to a group for men whose partners have been assaulted
✔✔A social work intern admits to his supervisor that he had sex with a client. The
supervisor should:
a. Report the intern to the licensure board
b. Explain to the intern that sex with a client is inappropriate and take the intern off the
case
c. Consult with the client before taking any further action in order to determine whether
the client consented to the sex
d. None of the above - ✔✔a. Report the intern to the licensure board
✔✔You are beginning a group for parents and their teenage children. From your
experiences with new groups, you know that there is an expected communication style
among members in the early stages of groups. Typically, which of the following occurs:
a. Group members are hostile toward the social worker
, b. Group members interact with one another and more or less ignore the social worker
c. Group members communicate through the social worker and ignore one another
d. Cliques develop within the group - ✔✔c. Group members communicate through the
social worker and ignore one another
✔✔Which of the following is an issue that lawmakers may need to decide?
a. Anonymity
b. Privilege
c. Confidentiality
d. Self-determination - ✔✔b. Privilege
✔✔A man dies and, after hearing of this, a relative living in another state experiences
chest pains. Which of the following describes this reaction:
a. Projection
b. Reaction formation
c. Sublimation
d. Introjection - ✔✔d. Introjection
✔✔A lesbian client says she wants a lesbian social worker. You should:
a. Tell her you are a lesbian, if you are
b. Refer her to a lesbian therapist
c. Explore why she wants a lesbian therapist
d. Reassure her that you can be helpful to her regardless of whether or not you are gay
- ✔✔c. Explore why she wants a lesbian therapist
✔✔65. What do you do first in a clinical interview with a client?
a. Present your qualifications
b. Establish rapport
c. Complete an intake
d. Identify treatment goals - ✔✔b. Establish rapport
✔✔Task groups are an important means of accomplishing an agency's objectives. A
task group:
a. Is leaderless so that all staff are motivated to contribute
b. Is convened to achieve a specific function or goal
c. Focuses on supporting staff members in order to maintain high quality services
delivery
d. Relies on brainstorming to identify obstacles to achieving agency objectives - ✔✔b. Is
convened to achieve a specific function or goal
✔✔A social worker who recently began working at a community agency is inadvertently
violating one of the agency's policies. The supervisor should
a. Speak to the social worker
b. Give the social worker a written evaluation
c. Discuss the matter with the social worker's clients who have been affected
