ASWB Licensed Clinical Social Worker 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A social worker suspects a colleague is impaired by substance use during work hours. According to the NASW Code of Ethics, what should the social worker do?
- Report the colleague anonymously to licensing board immediately
- Consult with a supervisor, and if the concern persists, report through appropriate channels to protect clients (Correct answer)
- Confront the colleague privately and take no further action
- Document observations but take no action unless a client complaint is filed
Correct answer: Consult with a supervisor, and if the concern persists, report through appropriate channels to protect clients
The NASW Code requires addressing colleague impairment to protect clients, beginning with consultation and escalating through appropriate professional channels.
Question 2: A parent reports using spanking as discipline. The child shows no injuries. The social worker should FIRST:
- File a mandated report for physical abuse
- Assess the frequency, severity, and context of the discipline and provide psychoeducation on effective alternatives (Correct answer)
- Close the case as no abuse has occurred
- Refer the family to parenting classes without further assessment
Correct answer: Assess the frequency, severity, and context of the discipline and provide psychoeducation on effective alternatives
Thorough assessment of disciplinary practices is required before making clinical or reporting decisions; psychoeducation supports safer parenting.
Question 3: Which attachment style is associated with a child who shows distress when the caregiver leaves but is not comforted upon reunion?
- Secure attachment
- Anxious-ambivalent (resistant) attachment (Correct answer)
- Avoidant attachment
- Disorganized attachment
Correct answer: Anxious-ambivalent (resistant) attachment
Anxious-ambivalent attachment involves high distress at separation and angry, inconsolable behavior at reunion due to inconsistent caregiving.
Question 4: A social worker is ending treatment with a client who has made significant progress. Which termination task is MOST important clinically?
- Scheduling a follow-up appointment six months later
- Reviewing progress, identifying relapse warning signs, and consolidating coping skills for independence (Correct answer)
- Providing a referral to another clinician as a precaution
- Reducing session frequency gradually over six months
Correct answer: Reviewing progress, identifying relapse warning signs, and consolidating coping skills for independence
Effective termination consolidates gains, prepares the client for independence, and includes relapse prevention planning.
Question 5: Which ethical principle requires the social worker to keep promises and honor commitments to clients?
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice
- Fidelity (Correct answer)
- Veracity
Correct answer: Fidelity
Fidelity involves being trustworthy and keeping commitments; it forms the foundation of the therapeutic relationship.
Question 6: A client with schizophrenia is stable on medication but refuses to take it because of side effects. The most appropriate clinical response is to:
- Document the refusal and take no further action
- Collaborate with the client and prescriber to explore side effect management and medication alternatives (Correct answer)
- Arrange involuntary hospitalization to ensure medication compliance
- Discharge the client from services for non-compliance
Correct answer: Collaborate with the client and prescriber to explore side effect management and medication alternatives
Person-centered care involves partnering with the client to address barriers to treatment adherence rather than coercing or abandoning them.
Question 7: Erikson's stage of 'Generativity vs. Stagnation' is most associated with which life period?
- Adolescence
- Young adulthood
- Middle adulthood (Correct answer)
- Late adulthood
Correct answer: Middle adulthood
Generativity vs. Stagnation occurs in middle adulthood (roughly ages 40–65), focusing on contributing to society and guiding the next generation.
ASWB Licensed Clinical Social Worker 5
A social worker suspects a colleague is impaired by substance use during work hours.
According to the NASW Code of Ethics, what should the social worker do?