Blog

Here's a free practice question to help you get ready for the social work licensing exam:

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

What do you think?

Here are the steps to getting the question answered. First, ask yourself what type of question is this? That's easy. It's a DSM question. DSM questions usually involve either just knowing the answer out of the gate or using process of elimination to get to the correct answer. Let's do that.

Schizophrenia involves a break with reality, usually evident in the form of hallucinations or delusions. This client shows no symptoms of psychosis. Strike answer B.

There is no indication that the client has a substance-abuse problem. Strike answer D.

Now you're left with two plausible-seeming answers. This happens all the time as you're taking the ASWB exam. Choosing between the last two answers standing calls for you to dig deep into your social work info in these cases.

So, what do you know about conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder?

Even if you don't recall much about either, there's a way to get this answered. Personality disorders are lifelong, correct? How old is this client? Just 15. Can you even diagnose a personality disorder at 15? You don't need to know the answer to that last question to have just enough gut feeling to push you toward one answer over the other.

(Yes, most personality disorders can be diagnosed in teens. They rarely are. Antisocial personality disorder is usually reserved for people over 18.)

So, with some narrowing down and a little bit of common-sense guesswork you have your answer: A, Conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is the preferred diagnosis when a child acts out in ways that are incompatible with the rules and laws of society.

And now you're that much more prepared to go pass the ASWB exam. Want to get lots more preparation? Sign up for SWTP complete practice test!

Happy studying and good luck on the exam!

How well do you know the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder? This video journey through a DSM practice question will test and strengthen your PTSD symptom knowledge.

How best to narrow down to the best answer? Sometimes, with DSM questions especially, you just have to know the material. How to learn the material? Practice tests.

Complete exams, about DSM and a myriad of other topics covered on the ASWB exam, are available on the site. Sign up, get practice, get licensed. Good luck on the exam!

A new ASWB exam practice question video walk-through. This one's about social worker burnout.

A psychiatric hospital social worker tells her supervisor she's been feeling irritable, exhausted, restless at night, and unsure of her ability to do her job anymore. She's thinking of quitting. The supervisor suggests a new hobby, some exercise, and time with friends. How is the supervisor most likely conceptualizing the social worker's complaints?

Get the offered answers plus strategies about how to narrow down to the correct answer. Follow SWTP on YouTube or Facebook to get these as they post. For complete, 170-question practice tests for some serious ASWB exam prep, sign up!

Aiming to pass the ASWB exam? Here's a free practice question to help get you ready:

A  mother tells a social worker that her six-year-old daughter panics--hyperventilating and breaking into a sweat-- whenever she sees a spider. The child insists her parents check her room for spiders before she goes to sleep at night, and is refusing to go camping with her family because she doesn't want to sleep in a tent where there might be spiders. What is the MOST likely diagnosis for this child?

A. Specific phobia.   

B. Unspecified anxiety disorder.   

C. Panic disorder.   

D. Adjustment disorder with anxiety.

What do you think?

Let's take the answers one at a time.

Adjustment disorder is diagnosed when a client is having difficulty adjusting to change. There's no mention of change here. Just a profound dislike of spiders.

Panic disorder requires panic that comes out of the blue. This child's panic has a trigger (spiders).

Unspecified anxiety disorder would be a good fit if the client didn't meet criteria for any of the other offered answers, but…

Specific phobia is a very good fit. The child's panic is directly related to a fear of spiders, and is interfering with her daily activities. The proper diagnosis (not just the best of the offered answers) is specific phobia.

If you knew the criteria for specific phobia, this one was probably easy. The presence of panic in the stem may have drawn some to a panic disorder diagnosis. Now, if a choice like this appears on the licensing exam, you'll be ready.

Get ready for lots of different types of questions (not just DSM ones) by taking SWTP's full-length practice tests. Sign up to get started.

Happy studying and good luck on the exam!

Here's a new video walk-through all about the criteria for NPD. Follow along and see how you do. Stick around for a quick bonus question at the end of the video.

For more DSM-focused practice, try our DSM Booster, available here. Happy studying and good luck on the exam!