ASWB Social Work Bachelor Level / LSW Exam
Questions –Test with Answers and Rationales
Question 1: A social worker discovers that a colleague is having a sexual
relationship with a former client who was terminated two years ago. According to
the NASW Code of Ethics, which of the following is true?
A) Sexual relationships with former clients are never permitted, regardless of time
elapsed
B) Sexual relationships with former clients are permitted after a one-year cooling-
off period
C) Sexual relationships with former clients are prohibited if the social worker
uses coercion, but otherwise allowed
D) The Code of Ethics does not address former clients
Correct answer: ✔✔ A
Rationale: The NASW Code of Ethics (Standard 1.09(c)) prohibits sexual
relationships with former clients permanently because of the potential for
exploitation and lasting vulnerability.
Question 2: A 15-year-old client tells her social worker that she is pregnant and
that the father is her 28-year-old teacher. The client asks the worker not to tell
anyone. The social worker’s FIRST action should be:
A) Respect the client’s confidentiality because she is a minor
B) Report the sexual abuse to child protective services as mandated by law
C) Confront the teacher directly
D) Discuss the risks of pregnancy without addressing the statutory rape
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: In most jurisdictions, sexual contact between a minor and an adult in a
position of authority (teacher) is statutory rape and must be reported to child
protective services or law enforcement, overriding confidentiality.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the concept of “cultural
humility” in social work practice?
,A) Mastering all cultural facts about a client’s ethnic group
B) A lifelong process of self-reflection and critique of power imbalances,
acknowledging that the social worker is not the expert on the client’s culture
C) Treating all clients exactly the same regardless of cultural background
D) Requiring clients to adapt to the dominant culture
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Cultural humility emphasizes ongoing self-reflection, partnership with
clients, and recognizing systemic power dynamics, rather than memorizing cultural
traits.
Question 4: A social worker in a mental health clinic is seeing a client for
depression. The client reveals that she has been having thoughts of killing her
neighbor but has no plan or intent to harm herself. The social worker should:
A) Maintain confidentiality because the threat is not toward self
B) Assess the lethality and imminence of the threat, and if serious, breach
confidentiality to warn the potential victim under Tarasoff duty
C) Immediately hospitalize the client
D) Ignore the statement as therapeutic venting
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Under the Tarasoff duty to protect, social workers must take reasonable
steps to warn identifiable potential victims when a client makes a serious threat of
violence, even if not toward self.
Question 5: A social worker is using a cognitive-behavioral approach with a client
who has social anxiety. Which intervention is MOST consistent with this model?
A) Exploring childhood attachment patterns with parents
B) Identifying and challenging automatic negative thoughts about social
situations
C) Prescribing antianxiety medication
D) Referring the client to a support group for unstructured sharing
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the relationship between
,thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Identifying and restructuring maladaptive
cognitions is a core intervention.
Question 6: A client who is a refugee from a war-torn country reports nightmares,
hypervigilance, and avoidance of reminders of the trauma. The most likely
diagnosis is:
A) Major depressive disorder
B) Generalized anxiety disorder
C) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
D) Adjustment disorder
Correct answer: ✔✔ C
Rationale: The symptom triad of re-experiencing (nightmares), hyperarousal
(hypervigilance), and avoidance is characteristic of PTSD, often seen in survivors
of war and persecution.
Question 7: A social worker receives a court subpoena for a client’s
psychotherapy records. The client has not consented to release. The social worker
should FIRST:
A) Release the records immediately to avoid contempt of court
B) Assert privilege and seek legal advice; the worker may need to file a motion
to quash the subpoena
C) Destroy the records
D) Provide only the client’s demographic information
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: A subpoena does not automatically override confidentiality. The social
worker should consult with an attorney and attempt to protect client privilege,
often by filing a motion to quash or seeking a protective order.
Question 8: The ecological systems perspective, as developed by Bronfenbrenner,
emphasizes that a client’s functioning is influenced by:
A) Only genetic and biological factors
B) Multiple nested systems including micro, meso, exo, macro, and
chronosystems
, C) The therapeutic relationship exclusively
D) Unconscious drives
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory describes how individuals
are affected by immediate relationships (micro), connections between systems
(meso), community structures (exo), cultural values (macro), and changes over
time (chrono).
Question 9: A social worker is conducting an intake with a family. The father is
dominant, makes all decisions, and expects unquestioning obedience. This
parenting style is best described as:
A) Permissive
B) Authoritative
C) Authoritarian
D) Uninvolved
Correct answer: ✔✔ C
Rationale: Authoritarian parenting is characterized by high demands, low
responsiveness, and an expectation of absolute obedience, often without
explanation.
Question 10: Which of the following is an example of a microaggression in social
work practice?
A) Asking a client about their preferred pronouns
B) Telling a Latino client that they speak “very good English” as a
compliment
C) Providing a translator for a non-English speaking client
D) Displaying a rainbow flag in the office to signal LGBTQ+ allyship
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional slights that convey
demeaning messages. Commenting on a person’s English proficiency implies they
are perpetual foreigners, which is a microaggression.
Questions –Test with Answers and Rationales
Question 1: A social worker discovers that a colleague is having a sexual
relationship with a former client who was terminated two years ago. According to
the NASW Code of Ethics, which of the following is true?
A) Sexual relationships with former clients are never permitted, regardless of time
elapsed
B) Sexual relationships with former clients are permitted after a one-year cooling-
off period
C) Sexual relationships with former clients are prohibited if the social worker
uses coercion, but otherwise allowed
D) The Code of Ethics does not address former clients
Correct answer: ✔✔ A
Rationale: The NASW Code of Ethics (Standard 1.09(c)) prohibits sexual
relationships with former clients permanently because of the potential for
exploitation and lasting vulnerability.
Question 2: A 15-year-old client tells her social worker that she is pregnant and
that the father is her 28-year-old teacher. The client asks the worker not to tell
anyone. The social worker’s FIRST action should be:
A) Respect the client’s confidentiality because she is a minor
B) Report the sexual abuse to child protective services as mandated by law
C) Confront the teacher directly
D) Discuss the risks of pregnancy without addressing the statutory rape
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: In most jurisdictions, sexual contact between a minor and an adult in a
position of authority (teacher) is statutory rape and must be reported to child
protective services or law enforcement, overriding confidentiality.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes the concept of “cultural
humility” in social work practice?
,A) Mastering all cultural facts about a client’s ethnic group
B) A lifelong process of self-reflection and critique of power imbalances,
acknowledging that the social worker is not the expert on the client’s culture
C) Treating all clients exactly the same regardless of cultural background
D) Requiring clients to adapt to the dominant culture
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Cultural humility emphasizes ongoing self-reflection, partnership with
clients, and recognizing systemic power dynamics, rather than memorizing cultural
traits.
Question 4: A social worker in a mental health clinic is seeing a client for
depression. The client reveals that she has been having thoughts of killing her
neighbor but has no plan or intent to harm herself. The social worker should:
A) Maintain confidentiality because the threat is not toward self
B) Assess the lethality and imminence of the threat, and if serious, breach
confidentiality to warn the potential victim under Tarasoff duty
C) Immediately hospitalize the client
D) Ignore the statement as therapeutic venting
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Under the Tarasoff duty to protect, social workers must take reasonable
steps to warn identifiable potential victims when a client makes a serious threat of
violence, even if not toward self.
Question 5: A social worker is using a cognitive-behavioral approach with a client
who has social anxiety. Which intervention is MOST consistent with this model?
A) Exploring childhood attachment patterns with parents
B) Identifying and challenging automatic negative thoughts about social
situations
C) Prescribing antianxiety medication
D) Referring the client to a support group for unstructured sharing
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on the relationship between
,thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Identifying and restructuring maladaptive
cognitions is a core intervention.
Question 6: A client who is a refugee from a war-torn country reports nightmares,
hypervigilance, and avoidance of reminders of the trauma. The most likely
diagnosis is:
A) Major depressive disorder
B) Generalized anxiety disorder
C) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
D) Adjustment disorder
Correct answer: ✔✔ C
Rationale: The symptom triad of re-experiencing (nightmares), hyperarousal
(hypervigilance), and avoidance is characteristic of PTSD, often seen in survivors
of war and persecution.
Question 7: A social worker receives a court subpoena for a client’s
psychotherapy records. The client has not consented to release. The social worker
should FIRST:
A) Release the records immediately to avoid contempt of court
B) Assert privilege and seek legal advice; the worker may need to file a motion
to quash the subpoena
C) Destroy the records
D) Provide only the client’s demographic information
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: A subpoena does not automatically override confidentiality. The social
worker should consult with an attorney and attempt to protect client privilege,
often by filing a motion to quash or seeking a protective order.
Question 8: The ecological systems perspective, as developed by Bronfenbrenner,
emphasizes that a client’s functioning is influenced by:
A) Only genetic and biological factors
B) Multiple nested systems including micro, meso, exo, macro, and
chronosystems
, C) The therapeutic relationship exclusively
D) Unconscious drives
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory describes how individuals
are affected by immediate relationships (micro), connections between systems
(meso), community structures (exo), cultural values (macro), and changes over
time (chrono).
Question 9: A social worker is conducting an intake with a family. The father is
dominant, makes all decisions, and expects unquestioning obedience. This
parenting style is best described as:
A) Permissive
B) Authoritative
C) Authoritarian
D) Uninvolved
Correct answer: ✔✔ C
Rationale: Authoritarian parenting is characterized by high demands, low
responsiveness, and an expectation of absolute obedience, often without
explanation.
Question 10: Which of the following is an example of a microaggression in social
work practice?
A) Asking a client about their preferred pronouns
B) Telling a Latino client that they speak “very good English” as a
compliment
C) Providing a translator for a non-English speaking client
D) Displaying a rainbow flag in the office to signal LGBTQ+ allyship
Correct answer: ✔✔ B
Rationale: Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional slights that convey
demeaning messages. Commenting on a person’s English proficiency implies they
are perpetual foreigners, which is a microaggression.
