ASWB COMPLETE EXAM UPDATED QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
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 work-
ing 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 ex-
ternal 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 cre-ate 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.
Question:
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 con-
scientious, 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 expe-rience
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 iden-tify what works,
for whom, and under what con-ditions. This approach ensures that the treat-ments and services, when
used as intended, will have the most effective outcomes as demon-strated by the research.
Question:
3. What are the stages of change in se-quential order?
A. Precontemplation, preparation, con-
templation, action, maintenance, and relapse
B. Preparation, action, precontempla-
tion, contemplation, maintenance, and relapse
C. Preparation, precontemplation, con-
templation, 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 experiment-ing 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.
Question:
4. Which of the following is NOT an es-sential step in ethical problem solving?
A. Identifying the ethical standards that
may be compromised
B. Determining whether there is an eth-
ical dilemma
C. Weighing ethical issues in light of
social work values and principles
D. Asking a supervisor to monitor prac-
tice to identify new ethical issues or dilemmas
Answer:
D A social worker, not his or her supervisor, should monitor practice to identify whether new issues
or dilemmas arise.
Question:
5. A young boy is stopped by a police of-ficer 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.
Question:
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 tem-porarily hires her niece, who just gradu-ated 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 tem-
porary and ensures clients get the ser-vices needed
D. Unethical because clients will expe-
rience staff turnover when a new man-ager is hired
,Answer:
B Social workers should avoid situations interfer-ing with impartial judgment. Hiring a family
member creates a dual relationship and should be avoided.
Question:
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
man-agement team in the agency. The so-cial 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 evalua-tions
examine the outcomes. Formative evalua-tions are ongoing processes that allow for feed-back to be
implemented during service delivery. These types of evaluations allow social workers to make
changes as needed to help achieve pro-gram goals. Summative evaluations occur at the end of
services and provide an overall descrip-tion of their effectiveness. Summative evaluation examines
outcomes to determine whether ob-jectives were met. The design described is not
experimen-tal—which requires a control group and ran-domization of assignment—or
quasi-experi-mental, which does not require randomization, but has more support for causal
inferences than does preexperimental designs.
Question:
8. Which of the following is an example of social stratification?
A. A child is not included in group activi-
ties 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 ad-ditional 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.
Question:
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 caus-
ing 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.
Question:
10. A client with a Social Anxiety Dis-order 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)
Answer:
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 (chlorpro-mazine) are antipsychotic medications for the treatment of
psychosis.
Question:
11. A social worker is appointed by the court to conduct a child custody eval-uation for a couple that
is divorcing. The mother reports that her husband is verbally abusive, controlling, and ne-glects the
children when they are in his care. She reports that the children have missed a lot of school when
stay-ing with their father because he does not assist with getting them ready for school or doing their
homework. The father states that his wife is lazy, irre-sponsible, and cannot meet the chil-dren's basic
needs. He reports that the school frequently has to provide lunch for the children because the mother
does not supply it when they are in her care. In order to BEST evaluate the le-gitimacy of the
information, the social worker should:
A. Ask the husband and wife to put their
allegations in writing and sign them, attesting to their accuracy
B. Determine whether the husband or
wife have had any past instances with being untruthful
C. Always speak to the husband and
wife together so that they are more likely to be honest
D. Obtain information from school per-
sonnel and records after obtaining parental consent
Answer:
D Collateral information is often used when the credibility and validity of information obtained from
a client or others is questionable. For ex-ample, child custody cases are inherently char-acterized by
biased data within an adversarial process. Social workers should use data from neutral parties, such as
the school, because this information has higher integrity.
CORRECT ANSWERS
Question:
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 work-
ing 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 ex-
ternal 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 cre-ate 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.
Question:
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 con-
scientious, 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 expe-rience
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 iden-tify what works,
for whom, and under what con-ditions. This approach ensures that the treat-ments and services, when
used as intended, will have the most effective outcomes as demon-strated by the research.
Question:
3. What are the stages of change in se-quential order?
A. Precontemplation, preparation, con-
templation, action, maintenance, and relapse
B. Preparation, action, precontempla-
tion, contemplation, maintenance, and relapse
C. Preparation, precontemplation, con-
templation, 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 experiment-ing 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.
Question:
4. Which of the following is NOT an es-sential step in ethical problem solving?
A. Identifying the ethical standards that
may be compromised
B. Determining whether there is an eth-
ical dilemma
C. Weighing ethical issues in light of
social work values and principles
D. Asking a supervisor to monitor prac-
tice to identify new ethical issues or dilemmas
Answer:
D A social worker, not his or her supervisor, should monitor practice to identify whether new issues
or dilemmas arise.
Question:
5. A young boy is stopped by a police of-ficer 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.
Question:
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 tem-porarily hires her niece, who just gradu-ated 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 tem-
porary and ensures clients get the ser-vices needed
D. Unethical because clients will expe-
rience staff turnover when a new man-ager is hired
,Answer:
B Social workers should avoid situations interfer-ing with impartial judgment. Hiring a family
member creates a dual relationship and should be avoided.
Question:
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
man-agement team in the agency. The so-cial 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 evalua-tions
examine the outcomes. Formative evalua-tions are ongoing processes that allow for feed-back to be
implemented during service delivery. These types of evaluations allow social workers to make
changes as needed to help achieve pro-gram goals. Summative evaluations occur at the end of
services and provide an overall descrip-tion of their effectiveness. Summative evaluation examines
outcomes to determine whether ob-jectives were met. The design described is not
experimen-tal—which requires a control group and ran-domization of assignment—or
quasi-experi-mental, which does not require randomization, but has more support for causal
inferences than does preexperimental designs.
Question:
8. Which of the following is an example of social stratification?
A. A child is not included in group activi-
ties 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 ad-ditional 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.
Question:
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 caus-
ing 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.
Question:
10. A client with a Social Anxiety Dis-order 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)
Answer:
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 (chlorpro-mazine) are antipsychotic medications for the treatment of
psychosis.
Question:
11. A social worker is appointed by the court to conduct a child custody eval-uation for a couple that
is divorcing. The mother reports that her husband is verbally abusive, controlling, and ne-glects the
children when they are in his care. She reports that the children have missed a lot of school when
stay-ing with their father because he does not assist with getting them ready for school or doing their
homework. The father states that his wife is lazy, irre-sponsible, and cannot meet the chil-dren's basic
needs. He reports that the school frequently has to provide lunch for the children because the mother
does not supply it when they are in her care. In order to BEST evaluate the le-gitimacy of the
information, the social worker should:
A. Ask the husband and wife to put their
allegations in writing and sign them, attesting to their accuracy
B. Determine whether the husband or
wife have had any past instances with being untruthful
C. Always speak to the husband and
wife together so that they are more likely to be honest
D. Obtain information from school per-
sonnel and records after obtaining parental consent
Answer:
D Collateral information is often used when the credibility and validity of information obtained from
a client or others is questionable. For ex-ample, child custody cases are inherently char-acterized by
biased data within an adversarial process. Social workers should use data from neutral parties, such as
the school, because this information has higher integrity.
