Master your social work licensing exam with this comprehensive, high-yield
preparation resource. This study guide features a complete bank of ASWB Practice
Exam Questions paired with 100% verified answers, specifically curated to mimic
the format, style, and rigor of the official Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
exam.
Whether you are preparing for the Bachelors, Masters (LMSW), or Clinical (LCSW)
level exam, this document provides the critical practice you need to identify
knowledge gaps and sharpen your test-taking strategies.
Key Features Included:
• Comprehensive Coverage: Questions spanning human development,
diversity, behavior in the environment (HBSE), assessment, diagnosis,
treatment planning, and interventions.
• Core Social Work Ethics: Focused sections dedicated to values, ethics, and
professional boundaries (including NASW-aligned scenarios).
• Verified Solutions: Skip the guesswork with accurate, expert-verified
answers to build true concept mastery.
• High-Yield Scenarios: Practice with real-world situational vignettes—the
exact types of complex decision-making questions that trip candidates up on
exam day.
Invest in your future career as a licensed social worker today. Get instant access to
download your study material and study at your own pace!
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. -
Answer✅ 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
1
, 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 - Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ D
2
, A social worker, not his or her supervisor, should monitor practice to identify whether new
issues or dilemmas arise.
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 - Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ 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 - Answer✅ 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
3
, 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.
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. - Answer✅ 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 - Answer✅ 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)
4
preparation resource. This study guide features a complete bank of ASWB Practice
Exam Questions paired with 100% verified answers, specifically curated to mimic
the format, style, and rigor of the official Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
exam.
Whether you are preparing for the Bachelors, Masters (LMSW), or Clinical (LCSW)
level exam, this document provides the critical practice you need to identify
knowledge gaps and sharpen your test-taking strategies.
Key Features Included:
• Comprehensive Coverage: Questions spanning human development,
diversity, behavior in the environment (HBSE), assessment, diagnosis,
treatment planning, and interventions.
• Core Social Work Ethics: Focused sections dedicated to values, ethics, and
professional boundaries (including NASW-aligned scenarios).
• Verified Solutions: Skip the guesswork with accurate, expert-verified
answers to build true concept mastery.
• High-Yield Scenarios: Practice with real-world situational vignettes—the
exact types of complex decision-making questions that trip candidates up on
exam day.
Invest in your future career as a licensed social worker today. Get instant access to
download your study material and study at your own pace!
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. -
Answer✅ 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
1
, 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 - Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ D
2
, A social worker, not his or her supervisor, should monitor practice to identify whether new
issues or dilemmas arise.
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 - Answer✅ 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 -
Answer✅ 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 - Answer✅ 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
3
, 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.
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. - Answer✅ 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 - Answer✅ 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)
4
