KSA of the Day: Substance Use Disorders

Next up in our hopping around through the ASWB exam outline: substance use disorders . It's part of the Addictions section of the outline, a subset of HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DIVERSITY AND BEHAVIOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT, which all-in-all accounts for 31% of exam questions.

What exactly do you need to know about substance use disorders? The outline doesn't say. But since substance use disorders also shows up in the DSM, you have all the more reason to get them understood.

We're not going to spell out all of the details about the topic here. But we can link you to some helpful sources of info. Start with these:

• Substance Use Disorders (SAMHSA)
• Revised Criteria (PsychCentral)

PsychCentral summarizes DSM-5 criteria like this:

The DSM-5 states that in order for a person to be diagnosed with a disorder due to a substance, they must display 2 of the following 11 symptoms within 12-months:

• Consuming more alcohol or other substance than originally planned
• Worrying about stopping or consistently failed efforts to control one’s use
• Spending a large amount of time using drugs/alcohol, or doing whatever is needed to obtain them
• Use of the substance results in failure to “fulfill major role obligations” such as at home, work, or school.
• “Craving” the substance (alcohol or drug)
• Continuing the use of a substance despite health problems caused or worsened by it. This can be in the domain of mental health (psychological problems may include depressed mood, sleep disturbance, anxiety, or “blackouts”) or physical health.
• Continuing the use of a substance despite its having negative effects in relationships with others (for example, using even though it leads to fights or despite people’s objecting to it).
• Repeated use of the substance in a dangerous situation (for example, when having to operate heavy machinery, when driving a car)
• Giving up or reducing activities in a person’s life because of the drug/alcohol use
• Building up a tolerance to the alcohol or drug. Tolerance is defined by the DSM-5 as “either needing to use noticeably larger amounts over time to get the desired effect or noticing less of an effect over time after repeated use of the same amount.”
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms after stopping use. Withdrawal symptoms typically include, according to the DSM-5: “anxiety, irritability, fatigue, nausea/vomiting, hand tremor or seizure in the case of alcohol.”

The two sites above should cover you, but for more reading on substance use disorders try:

• Substance Use Disorders (Wikipedia)
• Substance Use Disorders (MentalHelp.net)

Off topic: We mentioned outline sections above. What are the sections of the outline, you ask?

• HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DIVERSITY AND BEHAVIOR IN THE ENVIRONMENT, 31%
• ASSESSMENT, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT PLANNING is 26% of the exam
•  PSYCHOTHERAPY, CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS AND CASE MANAGEMENT is another 25%
• PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND VALUES makes up 18%.

That's the full 100%. If it's not included in one of those main areas, it's not going to be on the social work licensing exam.

Happy studying and good luck!