ASWB Bachelors MCQ 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker notices a client has unexplained bruises during a home visit. The client is a 9-year-old child. What is the social worker's FIRST priority?
- Document observations and report to child protective services (Correct answer)
- Ask the child's parent about the bruises
- Call the child's pediatrician for medical advice
- Schedule a follow-up visit to monitor the situation
Correct answer: Document observations and report to child protective services
Suspected child abuse mandates immediate reporting to child protective services before taking any other action.
Question 2: Which ethical principle requires social workers to promote the client's right to self-determination even when the social worker disagrees with the client's choice?
- Beneficence
- Nonmaleficence
- Autonomy (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Autonomy
Autonomy is the ethical principle that upholds clients' rights to make their own decisions about their lives.
Question 3: A BSW-level social worker is assigned a case involving complex trauma and PTSD treatment. What is the most appropriate action?
- Attempt the case using basic counseling skills
- Decline the case entirely
- Consult with a supervisor and refer to a more qualified clinician (Correct answer)
- Research PTSD treatment independently and proceed
Correct answer: Consult with a supervisor and refer to a more qualified clinician
Social workers must practice within their scope of competence and seek supervision or referral when cases exceed that scope.
Question 4: In systems theory, what term describes the tendency of a family system to maintain its current patterns of behavior even under pressure to change?
- Equifinality
- Homeostasis (Correct answer)
- Entropy
- Differentiation
Correct answer: Homeostasis
Homeostasis describes a system's tendency to maintain stability and resist change to preserve its current functioning.
Question 5: A client tells their social worker, 'I haven't felt like myself since my mother died three months ago.' Which type of grief does this BEST describe?
- Complicated grief
- Disenfranchised grief
- Anticipatory grief
- Normal bereavement (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Normal bereavement
Grief lasting three months following a significant loss with altered self-perception is consistent with normal bereavement, not complicated grief.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of psychosocial assessment in social work practice?
- To diagnose mental health disorders using DSM criteria
- To understand the client's functioning within their social environment (Correct answer)
- To determine eligibility for public assistance programs
- To evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions
Correct answer: To understand the client's functioning within their social environment
Psychosocial assessment examines how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to affect a client's overall functioning.
Question 7: A social worker is facilitating a support group for adults with chronic illness. One member begins to dominate every session. What is the BEST initial intervention?
- Privately ask the dominant member to leave the group
- Redirect the group by inviting others to share their experiences (Correct answer)
- Allow the behavior since all group members have equal rights
- Terminate the group and restructure it
Correct answer: Redirect the group by inviting others to share their experiences
Redirecting by inviting other members to participate is the least restrictive and most therapeutic first intervention to balance group dynamics.
ASWB Bachelors MCQ 2
A social worker notices a client has unexplained bruises during a home visit.
The client is a 9-year-old child.
What is the social worker's FIRST priority?