ASWB Complete Practice Exam with Answers
1. 1. Which of the following is NOT true D
about motivation to change? Motivation is a state of readiness
A. Motivation fluctuates from one time or eagerness to change, which
to another. fluctuates from one time to anoth-
B. Motivation can be increased by er. The role of the social worker
working to remove barriers to change. is to create an atmosphere that
C. Motivation is driven by hope or the is conducive to change and to in-
belief that life can be different. crease a client's intrinsic motiva-
D. Motivation that is imposed by ex- tion, so that change arises from
ternal forces is more salient than that within rather than being imposed
which is intrinsic. 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. 2. Evidence-based social work practice C
can BEST be defined as: Evidence-based practice (EBP)
A. Interventions that a social worker combines well-researched inter-
has gained training and experience in ventions with clinical experience
delivering and ethics, as well as client pref-
B. Treatment that yields the most erences and culture, to guide
cost-effective outcomes according to a and inform the delivery of treat-
cost-benefit analysis ments and services. Social work-
C. Decision making based on the con- ers, clients, and others must
scientious, explicit, and judicious use work together in order to identify
of research knowledge, clinical exper- what works, for whom, and under
tise, social work values, and client what conditions. This approach
wishes ensures that the treatments and
D. Practice evaluations that adhere to services, when used as intended,
scientific principles will have the most effective out-
comes as demonstrated by the re-
search.
3. 3. What are the stages of change in D
sequential order? Precontemplation is denial or ig-
A. Precontemplation, preparation, con- norance of the problem. It is fol-
, ASWB Complete Practice Exam with Answers
templation, action, maintenance, and lowed by contemplation in which
relapse there is ambivalence about mak-
B. Preparation, action, precontempla- ing change. Then comes prepara-
tion, contemplation, maintenance, and tion or experimenting with small
relapse changes. Action moves toward
C. Preparation, precontemplation, con- achieving a goal, whereas main-
templation, action, maintenance, and tenance sustains a new behav-
relapse ior and avoids relapse, which can
D. Precontemplation, contemplation, lead to feelings of frustration and
preparation, action, maintenance, and failure.
relapse
4. 4. Which of the following is NOT an D
essential step in ethical problem solv- A social worker, not his or her su-
ing? pervisor, should monitor practice
A. Identifying the ethical standards to identify whether new issues or
that may be compromised dilemmas arise.
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
5. 5. A young boy is stopped by a police D
officer and claims that he is a member A delusion is a false, fixed belief
of the armed forces, though it is obvi- despite evidence to the contrary
ous that he is not. This assertion by the (i.e., believing something that is
boy is MOST likely a: not true). Comorbid means exist-
A. Comorbid thought ing at the same time. Dissocia-
B. Dissociation tion is a change in memory, per-
C. Folie à deux ception, or consciousness. Folie à
D. Delusion deux is a shared delusion.
6. 6. A social work administrator is hav- B
ing trouble finding a group home man- Social workers should avoid sit-
ager for a new program scheduled to uations interfering with impartial
open in 2 weeks. Further delays in lo- judgment. Hiring a family member
, ASWB Complete Practice Exam with Answers
cating staff will delay clients from mov- creates a dual relationship and
ing into the program. The administrator should be avoided.
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 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
7. 7. A social worker is interested in see- D
ing the extent to which current clients Formative evaluations examine
are satisfied with a new relapse pre- the process of delivering services,
vention program. The social worker whereas summative evaluations
distributes a client satisfaction survey examine the outcomes. Formative
to those in the program. The social evaluations are ongoing process-
worker then collects the surveys and es that allow for feedback to be im-
analyzes the results that are presented plemented during service delivery.
to a management team in the agency. These types of evaluations allow
The social worker is conducting which social workers to make changes
type of evaluation? as needed to help achieve pro-
A. Summative gram goals. Summative evalua-
B. Experimental tions occur at the end of services
C. Quasi-experimental and provide an overall descrip-
D. Formative tion of their effectiveness. Sum-
mative evaluation examines out-
comes to determine whether ob-
jectives were met.
The design described is not
experimental—which requires a
control group and randomization
of assignment—or quasi-experi-
, ASWB Complete Practice Exam with Answers
mental, which does not require
randomization, but has more sup-
port for causal inferences than
does preexperimental designs.
8. 8. Which of the following is an example D
of social stratification? Stratification refers to structured
A. A child is not included in group ac- inequality of entire categories of
tivities in school because of his or her people in society who have un-
poor social skills. equal access to social rewards.
B. Children who are violent need to be Stratification applies to individuals
segregated from their peers. based on ethnic and racial back-
C. A child with social deficits is as- ground, social status, and/or other
sumed to be delayed in cognition with- factors.
out additional assessment.
D. Children from affluent households
receive a better public education than
those from low-income households.
9. 9. During an intake interview, a C
client reports that she is extreme- Despite the client's report that she
ly depressed and has self-destructive will not act on her thoughts, she
thoughts. She has had prior suicide is at risk because she has had
attempts, but tells the social worker not these feelings and has acted on
to worry as she won't "do it again." The them in the past. The case vi-
social worker should FIRST: gnette does not describe the so-
A. Tell the client that her decision not to cial worker taking any action yet. A
harm herself is a good one safety assessment will determine
B. Explore with the client what is caus- the severity of the depression and
ing her depression whether the client is at risk for a
C. Conduct a safety assessment suicide attempt. It must be done
D. Refer the client to a psychiatrist for FIRST before any other action is
a medication evaluation taken.
10. 10. A client with a Social Anxiety Dis- A The primary medications used
order will MOST likely be prescribed to treat social anxiety disorder are
which of the following medications to selective serotonin reuptake in-
take on an ongoing basis? hibitors (SSRIs), which were first
A. Zoloft (sertraline) developed to treat depression.
