More Free Social Work Exam Practice Questions

The best way to prepare for to pass the ASWB exam is practice, practice, practice. Here, from SWTP (with permission), are three free social work exam practice questions. See how you do!

1. A 15-year-old boy is court-ordered into therapy after several brushes with the law, including charges for breaking and entering, assaulting a classmate, and driving a stolen vehicle. Although the boy witnessed all these incidents, he appears unconcerned and denies he was involved in any of them. The MOST appropriate diagnosis is:

A. Conduct disorder

B. Schizophrenia

C. Antisocial personality disorder

D. Substance abuse

Answer and explanation are here.

2. During a meeting with a social worker, a client suddenly becomes enraged. She stands up, slams her fist on the desk, and throws a book across the room, breaking a picture frame. How should the clinician FIRST respond?

A. Shout for help.

B. Order the client out of the office.

C. Speak in a calm, soothing manner.

D. Tell the client to sit back down in order to discuss whatever is upsetting her.

Check your answer here.

3. A man brings his 16-year-old son to a therapy appointment to have him assessed for depression. His son has started wearing black and has dyed his blond hair black. The boy denies he's depressed and says that all his friends dress the way he does. According to Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, which crisis is the client experiencing?

A. Industry vs. inferiority.

B. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt.

C. Identity vs. role confusion.

D. Intimacy vs. isolation.

Correct answer--and how to arrive at it--here.

The DSM, best/first, Erikson. Just the type of stuff you can expect to see on the ASWB exam. Knowing the material and knowing how to apply that knowledge to correctly answering vignette questions are going to get you to that PASS sheet. It's doable. People pass every day. You're next!

Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders

Here's a simple item from the ASWB Bachelors exam outline that will help at every exam level: the indicators of somatization.

First, to get started, a definition (from the Merck Manual)

Somatization is the expression of mental phenomena as physical (somatic) symptoms. Disorders characterized by somatization extend in a continuum from those in which symptoms develop unconsciously and nonvolitionally to those in which symptoms develop consciously and volitionally. 

Can  you name define each of these?

Somatic symptom disorder
Illness anxiety disorder
Conversion disorder
Factitious disorder

Let's turn to the DSM Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders chapter for answers.

Somatic symptom disorder has the following criteria:

A. Distressing somatic symptoms
B. Excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to those symptoms.
C. Symptoms appear for more than 6 months.

Illness anxiety disorder involves preoccupation with acquiring a serious illness without the presence of somatic symptoms. You may know this by the retired term hypochondriasis.

Conversion disorder requires symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function that are incompatible with recognized neurological or medical conditions. That is, the symptoms don't match a known diagnosis.

Factitious disorder can be Imposed on Self or Imposed on Another. Both types involve the falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms associated with identified deception. The behavior is evident even in the absence of external rewards.

You can easily imagine ASWB exam questions that might test for your knowledge of these disorders. Something like...

A client worries constantly about getting cancer. He frequently visits doctors and requests the latest scan to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with him. What is the BEST diagnosis for this client?

Or...

A client reports agonizing knee pain that keeps her from being able to enjoy her life. She has received a clean bill of health from multiple doctors. What is the MOST likely diagnosis for this client?

And now that you've read this post, you'll be ready for them! (Answers: Illness anxiety disorder and Somatic disorder.)

You're that much more ready for the exam. Though this is no substitute for full-length practice tests, of course. But closer is closer.

Happy studying and good luck.

Free ASWB Exam Practice Questions

The more practice, the better. Full-length practice best. Free practice, really, really nice.

Here are three questions recently posted on the SWTP blog. See you how you. Reposted by permission:

1. A social worker sees a client who reports a lifetime of "seeing things all the time, shadows." He also reports hearing voices, "probably the NSA," which tell him he's "useless and stupid." The voices leave him feeling "pretty sad and really annoyed." Given the symptoms the client describes, what is the MOST likely of the following DSM diagnoses?

A. Major depression with psychotic features

B. Schizophrenia

C. Schizophreniform disorder

D. Schizoaffective disorder

Stumped? An information-rich explanation is here. 

2.  A 17-year-old client who appears noticeably underweight reports frequently forcing herself to vomit after meals in order to "stay skinny for cheerleading." The MOST likely DSM diagnosis for this client is a type of:

A. Bulimia nervosa

B. Body dysmorphic disorder

C. Rumination disorder

D. Anorexia nervosa

Not sure?  Here's the answer and how you get to it.

3. A man in his 40s comes to a mental health clinic complaining of gradual memory loss and occasional confusion, such as getting lost on the way to a job he has held for years. The man is a retired boxer who suffered multiple concussions during his career. The MOST likely diagnosis for this client is:

A. Post-traumatic stress disorder

B. Alzheimer's disease

C. Delirium

D. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Uncertain? Answer and explanation here. 

There's more where these came from. Check out the "practice" tag on the blog for additional free questions. Then stick around at SWTP--as they intend--for full-length, 170-question, covering-all-topic-areas ASWB exam practice tests. 

Happy studying!

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis IV

Let's dig back into the DSM and get quizzing. All in the name of ASWB exam preparation. Your job: Name that diagnosis!

1. Intrusion symptoms, avoidance, and cognitive alterations following exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.

2. In children, a consistent pattern of inhibited, emotionally withdrawn behavior, emotional and social disturbance following extremes of insufficient care.

3. Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states with recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events.

4. Falsification of physical or psychological signs or symptoms associated with identified deception.

5. Self-reported excessive sleepiness including lapses into sleep during the day, more than hours of nonrestorative sleep, or difficulty being awake after abrupt awakening.

Have answers for all of them?

The social work licensing exam, as we've stated before, doesn't generally include questions that are direct as these quiz questions. Expect vignettes more like the ones you see on practice tests (like the ones at SWTP). Still, it's great to know as much of the fact-based info that may appear on the exam as you can. That way, you'll be able to speed more quickly through any more simple questions and hopefully give yourself a little room to answer a lower percentage of the tricky, close-call vignette questions correctly. 

Good luck!

Answers below. Scroll down...……

1. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

2. Reactive Attachment Disorder

3. Dissociative Identity Disorder

4. Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self  (Note: When symptoms are presented in another--by proxy--the diagnosis is Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another)

5. Hypersomnolence Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis III

The biggest gimmes on the ASWB exam--quick, easy items that take no real though--are questions, increasingly rare, that lean on facts alone and not on synthesizing all parts of your social work knowledge. If you know your stuff, a simple DSM question is as easy as answering 1+1. This symptom for that length of time? Got it. 

So here's a quick quiz to help build your gimme muscles. Your job: Name That Diagnosis. Knock it out of the park!

1. Repeated voiding of urine into bed or clothes, whether voluntary or intentional after age five.

2. Fear or anxiety about social situations in which the individual is exposed to scrutiny by others.

3. Repeated regurgitating of food for at least one month. 

4. Excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities.

5. Mood swings, irritability, depressed mood, and/or anxiety along with anhedonia, lethargy, concentration difficulties, appetite change, sleep problems, a sense of being overwhelmed, and/or physical symptoms in the final weeks before the onset of menses. 

What do you think? 

If you come across a question that reads something direct like, "A client describes excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities. What is the BEST diagnosis for this client?" count yourself lucky, mark your answer, and move along. Most exam questions are as straightforward as that. Instead expect more difficulty--curveballs, sliders, and change-ups (for baseball fans). Baseball fan or not, to get better prepared for the licensing exam, get exposed to lots and lots of realistic practice questions like the ones at SWTP. You'll be glad you did come exam day.

Ready for the answers? Scroll down....

1. Enuresis 

2. Social Anxiety Disorder

3. Rumination Disorder

4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

5. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis II

Back by popular demand, quick quiz help for your ASWB exam prep. Like electronic flash cards or a unusual game show. Below find a set of partial diagnostic criteria from throughout the DSM. Your task, should you accept it: Name That Diagnosis.

1. Low or absent desire for sex for six months or more, in men.

2. Intrusion symptoms, negative mood, dissociative, avoidance, or arousal symptoms between three days and one month after exposure to trauma.

3. A combination of depressed mood, anhedonia, appetite, sleep, and focus problems, restlessness, fatigue, and/or feelings of worthlessness almost every day for at least two weeks.

4. Frequent angry, unplanned, and outsized outbursts after age six.

5. High level of stress in connection with physical symptoms which have no apparent medical explanation.

What do you think?

This set is a little easier than the ones from Name That Diagnosis I, but you still need to have a good handle on the DSM to people answer these without some wild guesses. If the ASWB exam were made up of questions like these, it'd be pretty easy to prepare for. You'd just memorize and ton of content and you'd be set. The actual exam contains vignette questions which combine memorizable content with close-call, real-world social work situations. Prepping for those is trickier. For most, taking lots and lots of practice tests is the best way to prepare. But as you're doing those, come back here. This kind of mental weightlifting is helpful too.

Good luck on the exam!

Scroll down for answers...






















1. Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

2. Acute Stress Disorder

3. Major Depressive Disorder

4. Intermittent Explosive Disorder

5. Somatic Symptom Disorder

Quick Quiz: Name That Diagnosis

Today, we're sort of a set of electronic flash cards--some more help passing the ASWB exam. Here are several sets of partial diagnostic criteria from throughout the DSM. Your job: Name That Diagnosis.

1. Pattern of behavior in which a child actively approaches and interacts with unfamiliar adults.

2. A repetitive and persistent pattern of violating the rights of others and societal norms, possibly including aggression, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, or the serious violation of rules.

3. Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness without the presence of major somatic symptoms.

4. Pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

5. Numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms that do not meet criteria for a hypomanic episode and numerous periods with depressive symptoms that do not meet criteria for MDD.

What do you say?

These aren't easy. You may or may not encounter questions on the social work licensing exam covering non-routine DSM diagnoses. Even if you do, they aren't likely to be quite as simple as symptom, symptom, symptom...name that diagnosis. You're far more likely to see questions that synthesize knowledge from various content areas--practice, theory, ethics, etc. Practice tests are the best way to get acclimated to those questions. And come back here for more of these!

The answers? They're just below--scroll down...












1. Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

2. Conduct Disorder

3. Illness Anxiety Disorder

4. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

5. Cyclothymic Disorder

Anxiety Disorders: Sort the Symptoms

Here's a new quiz type: Sort the Symptoms. Something extra to help you get ready for the social work licensing exam.

We've got the DSM open to the Anxiety Disorders chapter. Your job. Take the symptoms below and place them where the belong. Your choices are:

Panic Disorder
Agoraphobia
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Each symptom fits best in one of those.

Ready? Go!

Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering. 

Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge.

Excessive worry about losing major attachment figures. 

Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)

Marked anxiety standing or line or being in a crowd.

Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank. 

Excessive worry about getting lost or being kidnapped.

Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate.

What do you think?

Sorting symptoms is good mental exercise to get you into shape to pass the ASWB exam. It's not what real exam questions look like. Questions on the exam are generally somewhat complicated vignettes about patients and their presentation. What is the BEST action for the social worker to take. What is the MOST likely diagnosis. Multiple choice, 170 questions, four hours. To really get ready, nothing beats full-length, realistic exam practice like the tests at SWTP. Happy studying.

Ready for the answers? They're down below--just scroll....


























GAD
Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge.
Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.

Agoraphobia
Marked anxiety standing or line or being in a crowd.

Panic Disorder
Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate.
Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering.
Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)

Separation Anxiety Disorder
Excessive worry about losing major attachment figures.
Excessive worry about getting lost or being kidnapped.

Quick Quiz: Cannabis Use Disorder

We've been quizzing you on big-picture items--the contents of this or that chapter of the DSM. Let's drill down today into the weeds, so to speak, of one diagnosis: cannabis use disorder.

Text is from the DSM. A summary is here. Your job, should you accept it...fill in the blanks.

Cannabis Use Disorder

1. A problematic pattern of cannabis use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by at least tow of the following, occurring within a __________ month period.

2. Cannabis is often taken in ____________ or over a longer period than was intended.

3. There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to _______________ cannabis use.

4. Recurrent cannabis use in situations in which it is ___________ hazardous.

5. ______________, as defined by a need for markedly increased amounts or markedly diminished effect.

6. ______________ symptoms including either irritability, anxiety, sleep difficulty, appetite changes, restlessness, depressed mood, physical symptoms.

Note additional cannabis use disorder symptoms include cravings, interpersonal problems, occupational problems, persistent physical or psychological problems.

What do you think?

You might be able to figure out several of these just by context--just like you did to get through a high school test for which you hadn't sufficiently prepared. The social work licensing exam is a little less forgiving. You're expected to know your stuff--not just the facts, but how to apply them. You can usually narrow down to two good answers out of the four. Choosing between those is tricky. Best way to work that particular muscle? Practice. Find good practice tests (like the ones at SWTP), and learn the test-taking process as you learn exam content. A win-win.

Answers are below--scroll down.

Happy studying!





Answers:

1. Twelve

2. Larger amounts

3. Cut down or control

4. Physically

5. Tolerance

6. Withdrawal

Quick Quiz: Name that Depressive Disorder

How well do you know the depressive disorders chapter of the DSM? The diagnoses there show up in life and in social work practice pretty regularly, so you may as well expect to encounter them on the social work licensing exam. Here's a quick quiz to see if you've got them understood. Your job: Name that depressive disorder.

1. Severe recurrent temper outbursts inconsistent with developmental level, three or more times per week, with irritability or anger throughout the day, nearly every day.

2. Depressive mood, irritability, affective lability, and/or marked anxiety connected with the onset of menses, which start to improve within a few days after the onset of menses, and become minimal or absent in the week postmenses.

3. Depressed mood, diminished interest in pleasure, and other symptoms occurring for two weeks or more.

4. Depressed mood for more days than not for at least two years.

Know the answers?

We left out Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition, Other Specified Depressive Disorder, and Unspecified Depressive Disorder, if that helps narrow it down.

Answers are below--scroll down, when you're ready.

The mini-DSM (aka the Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from the DSM) is a great way to quickly get all of these details learned. The big DSM has far more information that you'll see show up on ASWB exam questions.

For realistic, exam-style questions about DSM diagnoses and lots more, try full-length practice exams like those from SWTP.

Good luck on the exam!





















1. Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

2. Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

3. Major Depressive Disorder

4. Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)

Quick Quiz: Insomnia Disorder

Here's some more DSM to get under your belt before tackling the ASWB exam--and maybe before heading to sleep.

First, here the basics--no quiz, just info:

Insomnia disorder is diagnosed when there is...
--Difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep or waking early without being able to return to sleep.
--Clinically significant distress d/t the above.
--Presence of symptoms at least three nights a week.
--Difficulty present for at least three months.
--Not another sleep-wake disorder.
--Not presence of substance effects.
--Not another disorder adequately explaining the disturbance.

Now, here's the quiz. Name each of these types of insomnia--specifiers:

1. _______________: Brought on by life events or changes to sleep schedule or settings.

2. _______________: Symptoms last at least one month but less than three months.

3. _______________: Symptoms last three months or longer.

4. _______________: Two or more episodes occur within the space of one year.

Got 'em answered? Scroll down to check your work.

We'd all sleep easier if the social work licensing exam were as simple as this. You'd learn some info, you'd spit it back out, you'd be licensed. The real exam involves integrating social work knowledge into social work practice. A combo of an ethical dilemma and some diagnostic info? That's more along the lines of a real exam questions. For practice with questions like those specific to the social work exam, try SWTP. And keep coming back here. We'll keep these simpler workouts coming.





























Answers:

1. Situational
2. Episodic
3. Persistent
4. Recurrent

Quick Quiz: Name That Personality Disorder

It's good to have a handle on all the personality disorders for life and for the social work licensing exam. Before you encountered the DSM, you might've had your own language to describe people with personality disorders--things like "tricky" and "difficult." Well, now you have more precise language to put to use. And here's a chance to show what you know. We've taken samplings from each cluster and provide just enough for you to narrow down the PD. Your job: Name that personality disorder.

Here we go. A pervasive pattern of....is _____________________?

1. Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects.

2. Social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by perceptual distortions and eccentricities.

3. Grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

4. Excessively emotional and attention seeking.

5. Disregard for and violation of the rights of others.

6. Detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions.

How'd you do? Scroll down for answers.

Read up on all the personality disorders on Wikipedia. Get realistic, ASWB exam-style questions (not just "name that" questions) about the DSM and lots more on any good mock social work exam. We recommend SWTP practice tests. Good luck. Let us know how it goes!



























1. Borderline
2. Schizotypal
3. Narcissistic
4. Histrionic
5. Antisocial
6. Schizoid

Quick Quiz: Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

It's time for another licensing exam prep quiz. How well do you know the Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders chapter of the DSM? Let's find out. Text comes from Wikipedia's DSM pages.

Name that disorder:

1.  The repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused.

2. The obsessive idea that some aspect of one's own body part or appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix the perceived flaw.

3.  A long term urge that results in the pulling out of one's hair.

4.  A mental disorder where people feel the need to check things repeatedly, perform certain routines repeatedly, or have certain thoughts repeatedly.

5. Characterized by excessive acquisition and an inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that cover the living areas of the home

How'd you do?

If only the ASWB exam had questions like these. On the exam, you may get a few straightforward quiz-like questions. On the rest, your knowledge of DSM diagnoses is generally integrated with other social work knowledge within sometimes-confusing vignettes. Someone presents with such and such symptoms...a CBT practitioner would MOST likely try such and such approach. The best way to prepare to face those questions is to practice on questions just like them. Check out SWTP's practice questions--they're mostly vignettes. Some very similar questions may even show up on the exam.

Happy studying!

You want the answers? Scroll down....




























.


1. Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder
2. Body Dysmorphic Disorder
3. Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder)
4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
5. Hoarding Disorder

Quick Quiz: Eating Disorders

Below, some definitions taken/clipped from Wikipedia's eating disorders pages. And here's a job or you: name that disorder.

1. Recurring binge eating at least once a week for over a period of 3 months while experiencing lack of control and guilt after overeating

2. Lack of maintenance of a healthy body weight, an obsessive fear of gaining weight or refusal to do so, and an unrealistic perception, or non-recognition of the seriousness, of current low body weight.

3. Recurrent binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging (self-induced vomiting, eating to the point of vomiting, excessive use of laxatives/diuretics, or excessive exercise).

4. Persistent eating of non-food items.

5. Repeated regurgitation of most meals following consumption, due to the involuntary contraction of the muscles around the abdomen.

How'd you do?

It'd be great if the social work licensing exam were this simple. On real ASWB exam questions, DSM knowledge is often folded into a tricky vignette. That knowledge, blended with  your understanding of best practices in social work gets you the correct answer. For vignette practice that recreates the real exam, try the practice tests at SWTP.

For answers, scroll down...



























1. Binge eating disorder
2. Anorexia nervosa
3. Bulimia nervosa
4. Pica
5. Rumination disorder

Quick Quiz: DSM Grab Bag

Here's a quick quiz that jumps around within the DSM. We turned to Wikipedia's DSM-5 page for text, leaning on mood disorders. But we've left important pieces out--the names of each disorder. So...name these disorders!

1. An unstable emotional condition characterized by cycles of abnormal, persistent high mood (mania) and low mood (depression) can best be diagnosed as ________________.

2. A __________________ diagnosis is made when the person has features of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder—either bipolar disorder or depression—but does not strictly meet diagnostic criteria for either alone.

3.  ________________ is characterized by  recurrent intermittent hypomanic and depressive episodes or mixed episodes.

4. _________________ is a mental disorder in children and adolescents characterized by a
persistently irritable or angry mood and frequent temper outbursts that are disproportionate to the situation and significantly more severe than the typical reaction of same-aged peers.

5. _________________ is an impulse control disorder characterized by a long term urge that results in the pulling out of one's hair.

6.   _________________ is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without subsequent purging episodes

Did you get all six? Great! You're on your way to ASWB exam success.

Note: the real exam doesn't look like this. It'd be easier if it did. For realistic exam questions--mostly in vignette form--try practice exams from SWTP. Practice makes, if not perfect, good enough to get licensed. And that's the idea.

Happy studying!

Oh, wait, you want answers? They're below. Scroll down...
















1. Bipolar I disorder
2. Schizoaffective disorder
3. Bipolar II disorder
4. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)
5. Trichotillomania
6. Binge-eating disorder

Quick Quiz: Anxiety Disorders

Here are definitions taken (or excerpted) from Wikipedia's anxiety disorders page. Your job, should you choose to accept it, name each disorder.

And...go!

1. Sufferers typically anticipate terrifying consequences from encountering the object of their fear, which can be anything from an animal to a location to a bodily fluid to a particular situation. 

2. The specific anxiety about being in a place or situation where escape is difficult or embarrassing or where help may be unavailable.

3. Intense fear and avoidance of negative public scrutiny, public embarrassment, humiliation, or social interaction

4. An anxiety disorder that results from a traumatic experience, such as combat, natural disaster, rape, hostage situations, child abuse, bullying, or even a serious accident.

5.  The feeling of excessive and inappropriate levels of anxiety over being separated from a person or place.

6. A  disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech does not speak in specific situations or to specific people.

How'd you do? 

It'd be nice if the social work licensing exam were simple like this. On real exam questions, DSM knowledge is often embedded in a wrenching vignette. You're required to synthesize your factual knowledge and social work know-how to get to the correct answer. For vignette practice that mimics the real exam, try the practice tests at SWTP.

Answers are below. Scroll down...



















1. Specific phobia
2. Agoraphobia
3. Social anxiety disorder
4. PTSD
5. Separation anxiety disorder
6. Selective mutism