ASWB MSW Exam Questions

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121.

You are treating a client who has depression. This client tells you that he feels as if he is weak, and should just be able to "snap out of it." You provide him with information about the causes and symptoms of depression, and you explain that it is a legitimate health condition that can be treated. You talk about risk factors for depression, as well as what can be done to manage symptoms.

What sort of method are you using with this client?

  • Psychoeducation

  • Psychodynamic approach

  • Behavioral therapy

  • Assertiveness training

Correct answer: Psychoeducation

Psychoeducation is a method in which social workers provide information to clients to help them understand their problems and develop better knowledge of resources and coping skills. Psychoeducation is described in the question, as the social worker is providing the client with information about depression and its causes and symptoms.

The psychodynamic approach focuses on understanding unconscious processes, past experiences, and emotional conflicts that contribute to a person's current behavior and feelings.

Behavioral therapy focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors through techniques such as conditioning, reinforcement, and skills training.

Assertiveness training involves teaching clients how to express their thoughts, feelings, and needs in a direct, honest, and appropriate manner.

122.

Which of the following is TRUE regarding subgroupings that form within the context of group therapy?

  • Subgroupings usually consist of less than five members

  • Subgroupings should be avoided, as they impair group functioning

  • Subgroupings can be assessed using a genogram

  • Subgroupings hinder the process of achieving true intimacy

Correct answer: Subgroupings usually consist of less than five members

Within the context of group therapy, members develop relationships and affiliations with other group members and form subgroupings. Usually, these subgroupings involve pairs, triads, and foursomes but rarely consist of five or more members.

Subgroupings are not necessarily a bad phenomenon that should be avoided, as group members can derive strength from relationships with others. Subgroupings can be assessed using a sociogram, not a genogram; a genogram is a tool used to assess family dynamics. It is through group alliances and subgroupings that group members begin to practice skills to achieve true intimacy.

123.

Jennifer is a social worker who mainly works in family therapy. Today, Jennifer is treating a family that consists of a father, a mother, and two biological children.

What type of family is Jennifer treating today?

  • Nuclear family

  • Blended family

  • Balanced family

Correct answer: Nuclear family

A nuclear family is considered a basic family unit consisting of a father, a mother, and any biological children.

A blended family consists of a husband and a wife who have been previously married and have children from previous marriages. Balanced family is not a term used to describe the makeup of a family.

124.

Which of the following types of validity/reliability in social work research measures to which degree all of the desired data domains are covered?

  • Content validity

  • Face validity

  • Internal consistency reliability

  • Discriminant validity

Correct answer: Content validity

Content validity measures the degree to which a desired pool of content or data is meaningfully addressed by an instrument of measurement.

The other types of social work research validity listed do not measure this. Face validity refers to the apparent, subjective integrity of the construct measurements. Discriminant validity, a kind of criterion-related validity, refers to comparisons with other research constructs. Internal consistency reliability seeks to measure the consistency of items within an inventory.

 

125.

According to the DSM-5, which of the following statements is TRUE regarding anorexia and/or bulimia?

  • Individuals with anorexia nervosa are often significantly below their expected body weight

  • Individuals with anorexia nervosa are often at a normal body weight

  • Individuals with bulimia nervosa are often significantly below their expected body weight

  • Individuals with bulimia nervosa are often severely overweight

Correct answer: Individuals with anorexia nervosa are often significantly below their expected body weight

Anorexia nervosa can be a serious eating disorder leading to health complications and even death due to significant weight loss. Individuals with anorexia are often severely underweight due to restricting calories and overexercising.

As stated above, individuals with anorexia nervosa are often below a normal body weight. In contrast, individuals with bulimia nervosa, another eating disorder which includes bingeing and purging, are often either at a normal body weight or slightly overweight.

126.

Which of the following is the MOST appropriate way to use client information if you as a social worker are sued?

  • Use as little as possible to defend oneself

  • Use as much as the client has agreed to in writing

  • Don't use client information at all, as it is against the law

  • Use as much as possible to defend oneself

Correct answer: To use as little as possible to defend oneself

Social workers have a right to defend themselves if sued and they have a choice as to how much information is used in these proceedings; some use of client information will likely be necessary.  The amount of client information used in court proceedings will not be under the client's control.

In order to be fair to clients and to oneself, one should use the minimum amount of client information necessary in order to defend oneself. Using more than is necessary would be unfair to the client.

127.

A social worker is meeting with an adolescent client for individual therapy. The client tells the social worker that she ran away from home the week before and stayed away for two nights. The social worker responds, "You were wrong to do that. You probably weren't thinking straight." What mistake is the social worker making in responding in this way?

  • The social worker is placing blame on the client and is violating the value of having a nonjudgmental attitude

  • The social worker is forgetting to use humor in the situation

  • The social worker is making a premature evaluation

  • The social worker is being too logical

Correct answer: The social worker is placing blame on the client and is violating the value of having a nonjudgmental attitude

By telling the client that she was wrong to run away from home and that she wasn't thinking clearly, the social worker is likely going to elicit a defensive response from the client. The client may also internalize the social worker's comments and accept these evaluations as accurate reflections of her worth. In this situation, the social worker is being quite judgmental rather than accepting the client and having a nonjudgmental attitude.

The social worker should certainly have responded in a different manner, but the use of humor may or may not have been appropriate, depending on the client. The social worker's response was premature but should not have been stated at all. The social worker is not being too logical in this situation but rather is not being sensitive enough.

128.

Which school of thought about crime prevention emphasizes systemic causes?

  • Positivist

  • Partialist

  • Palliative

  • Predicate

Correct answer: Positivist

The positivist school of thought emphasizes the need for understanding the need for treatment as an approach to crime prevention.

Partialist, palliative, and predicate are all fabricated terms in this context.

129.

Which of the following types of client would be considered a poor choice for group therapy?

  • A client who is compulsively needy for attention

  • A client with dissociative identity disorder

  • A client suffering from drug withdrawal

  • A client with anorexia nervosa

Correct answer: A client who is compulsively needy for attention

Group work relies on a balance of group dynamics and participation. A client who is compulsively needy for attention may strive to dominate the group either passively or openly in order to serve this need, and will likely subvert the functioning of the group as a whole.

There is no special reason why a client with dissociative identity disorder or anorexia nervosa could not benefit from group work. Clients who are experiencing drug withdrawal are sometimes the most active and productive members of substance abuse treatment groups, so long as their drug withdrawal is not making them acutely psychotic at the time of the sessions.

130.

According to Sigmund Freud's theories of psychosexual development, boys may go through a period in childhood during which they want to marry their mothers and get rid of, replace, or even kill their fathers. What is this phenomenon called?

  • The Oedipus Complex

  • The Electra Complex

  • The Odysseus Complex

Correct answer: The Oedipus Complex

According to Freud, the Oedipus Complex occurs in boys during the phallic stage of psychosexual development, which occurs between the ages of 3 and 6.

The Electra Complex is when girls want to marry their fathers and replace, remove, or kill their mothers. The Odysseus Complex is not part of Freud's theories of psychosexual development.

131.

With which of the following is the Patient Self-Determination Act (PDSA) of 1991 mostly concerned?

  • Advance directives

  • Privacy of records

  • Mandating patient consent for healthcare decisions

Correct answer: Advance directives 

The Patient Self-Determination Act (PDSA) of 1991 mostly concerned with the topic of advance directives, ensuring that a patient's wishes are honored at every stage of treatment and that these wishes can be recorded and honored if and when that client becomes incapacitated.

This legislation is not chiefly concerned with privacy of records or mandating consent for healthcare decisions.

132.

Which of the following is the MOST helpful way to determine whether a social worker's response is effective?

  • The client is more forthcoming with their needs

  • The client expresses more emotion

  • The client develops feelings for the social worker

  • The client begins to ask for more contacts with the social worker

Correct answer: The client is more forthcoming with their needs

Social workers should always take time to assess whether the ways in which they respond to clients are effective. A social worker's response is probably helpful if a client begins to be more expressive about ways in which they can be helped.

The client expressing more emotion is not necessarily a positive outcome, as this may reflect a poor choice in questioning or intervention. The client having feelings for the social worker is also not always a positive, as this may be a result of a high level of transference. Though having more contacts with the social worker might be called for, if asked for by the client it may reflect dependence or transference.

133.

What level of informed consent should a social worker seek from minor children?

  • The same as with adults

  • It is not necessary if guardians have consented

  • It varies according to local laws about emancipated minors

  • It is already covered in most agency consents

Correct answer: The same as with adults

Regardless of what parents or guardians have consented to, it is incumbent upon the social worker to advocate for the child by gaining as much consent from them as is possible given their age. The spirit of this guidance derives from the NASW Code of Ethics regardless of agency procedures or local law regarding emancipation and is meant to provide any person receiving services of any kind the maximum level of self-determination.

134.

Which of the following would be the BEST definition of ego strength?

  • The ability to deal with psychodynamic and environmental conflict

  • The overall power of one's self-esteem

  • The interactive ability of one's consciousness

Correct answer: The ability to deal with psychodynamic and environmental conflict 

Ego strength is a term taken from the school of psychodynamic theory, which suggests that much personal conflict arises from the conflict between inner states. The ego in this case refers to the "self" that is consciously navigating the environment while managing inner psychodynamic conflict.

Ego strength does not deal mainly with self-esteem, and it refers to more than interactive ability.

135.

Which of the following is an important part of culturally competent practice?

  • Being aware of one's own values and beliefs

  • Instructing clients to learn about other cultural groups' values, practices, and behaviors

  • Helping the client learn new skills, no matter if those skills are relevant to the client's home culture

Correct answer: Being aware of one's own values and beliefs

Cultural competency refers to one's ability to effectively interact with other individuals from different cultures. A clinician must be aware of their own values as well as the values and beliefs of other cultural groups. 

The remaining answers are incorrect. In instructing clients to learn about other cultural groups' values, practices, and behaviors, social workers do not consider the importance of the client's own culture. Social workers should not be overly focused on helping clients learn skills that are irrelevant to their home culture.

136.

Which of the following would be an example of negative punishment?

  • Removing dessert

  • Adding dessert

  • Removing a scary picture

Correct answer: Removing dessert

Negative punishment is the behavioral technique by which a desirable stimulus, such as dessert, is removed. It is used to reduce undesirable behavior.

Adding dessert would be positive reinforcement. Removing a scary picture would be negative reinforcement.

137.

Which of the following is MOST likely to be a sign of abuse?

  • Somatic complaints

  • Hallucinations

  • Delusions

  • Tic disorder

Correct answer: Somatic complaints

A person experiencing abuse may show visible signs such as injury. Other signs are possible; in some cases, people experiencing abuse express their experience in somatic complaints without a specific diagnosis, such as chronic pain in some location.

Hallucinations, delusions, and tic disorder in general have different etiologies than abuse.

138.

Melanie is serving elderly patients in a nursing home. Recently she has seen some changes in the emotions of her patient Mrs. Reynolds. Mrs. Reynolds has recently become very hostile and aggressive to her aides, caregivers, and even her husband.

Which of the following BEST describes Mrs. Reynolds' possible mental status?

  • Delirium

  • Dementia

  • Depression

  • Alcoholism

Correct answer: Delirium

In delirium, emotionality often changes to a hostile, aggressive, or fearful presentation, particularly in older adults.

In dementia, one would expect a more labile, apathetic presentation. Depression would appear as a flat, unresponsive, or sad emotional state. Alcoholism might result in a combination of some of the above factors, most likely depression and emotional lability.

139.

A central value of social work is the belief in the fundamental importance of improving the quality of social interaction for all people. What is the name of this value?

  • Social betterment

  • Community improvement

  • Social improvement

  • Community betterment

Correct answer: Social betterment 

Social workers believe that all people should have the opportunity for assistance in meeting their social needs. Social betterment is the belief in the importance of enhancing one's social interaction.

The other answer options are incorrect because they are not terms used in regard to the central values of social work.

140.

Which of the following terms has the MOST vague and problematic definition?

  • Race

  • Culture

  • Ethnicity

  • Cultural identity

Correct answer: Race

The concept of "race" is a troubling and confusing one, and has no fixed meaning. Though it has many connotations, it has gone through a long history of classification and reclassification and has often been misused in scientific and political contexts for other than therapeutic motives.

The other terms are somewhat more specific and refer to things that do have a more stable definition.