PDF Practice Exams

Question 1

Adolescent behavior characterized by the abuse of others, vandalism, lying, disregard of rights, or destruction of property of others is most likely found in:

Answer 1

Conduct disorders

Question 2

The habitual ingestion of non-nutritive substances such as clay, soil, or leaves is common when there is a parallel diagnosis of:

Answer 2

intellectual/developmental disability

Question 3

what kind of approach to describing mental health diagnoses provides explanations of causation?

Answer 3

an etiological approach

Question 4

In a family therapy setting, a family is referred in which a child is living with his mother and stepfather. The child has expressed a desire to live with his biological father. In this situation, the social worker should hold the first interview with:

Answer 4

The mother, stepfather, and child

The choice reflects that the boy is currently living with the mother and stepfather. They constitute a family unit that should be involved initially in establishing a relationship with the therapist and defining the purpose of the treatment. At a later point, different family configurations including the biological father, may be brought together.

Question 5

A 17-year-old male high school student is referred to a social worker in a mental health agency by the school counselor. He has a history of minor delinquency, suspensions from school, and truancy. Although his parents support him financially, they have withdrawn emotional support, saying he is not welcome to remain at home after graduation. They are not interested in participating in therapy with their son. Rather, they are anxious for him to finish school, join the army, and leave home. To help the boy best, the social worker should:

Answer 5

Help the boy develop some insight into his feelings and behavior with the goal of preparing him for independent living.

The family retains a marginal connection with the youth and plainly wants him to be independent. The stem states they would like to be free of him and the problems he presents. At 17, it is likely he is moving towards independence. The social worker’s role in this case is to focus on the boy’s needs. He is not in crisis and family therapy is not indicated, since the family has largely rejected him and retains a formalistic relationship. Exhorting the family to remain involved is unlikely to have any effect. It might help the boy to understand the feelings behind his behaviors and to help him adapt to a new environment.

Question 6

Prolixin is a medication used for:

Answer 6

psychosis

Question 7

Of the following, the most characteristic trait of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is

1. Ambivalence
2. Intelligence
3. Dependency
4. Veracity

Answer 7

Ambivalence

Question 8

The factor that is the least necessary to assess ego functioning is:

Answer 8

education

Question 9

A factor that is the least indicative of suicidal risk in a young man is that

1. He is doing well in school
2. His depression has lifted
3. He has returned to the community after hospitalization
4. It is almost one year since his suicidal gesture

Answer 9

The correct answer is 1.

The question is asked in the negative. Children who are doing well in school are less likely to exhibit suicidal tendencies than those with a history of depression or hospitalization.

Question 10

When one individual in a family markedly improves and another simultaneously deteriorates, this would be recognized as an example of:

Answer 10

Family homeostasis

Question 11

Paranoid personalities use the defenses of:

Answer 11

Projection and denial

Question 12

a defense mechanism in which the individual screens out painful feelings by recalling a traumatic or painful event without experiencing the emotion associated with it is called:

Answer 12

isolation of affect

Question 13

Asceticism, a defense mechanism characterized by a flat prohibition of instinctual activity particularly regarding sexuality, is usually associated with what age group?

Answer 13

adolescents

Question 14

A response to unconscious conflicts stemming from childhood experiences that produce painful emotional symptoms, but protect the person from anxiety, is described in classical psychoanalytic theory and known as:

Answer 14

neurosis

Question 15

Commonly prescribed medication for mania or bipolar disorder is:

Answer 15

Lithium or Haldol

Question 16

The belief that unconscious factors influence thoughts, behaviors, and mood is a central belief in:

Answer 16

Psychodynamic theory

Question 17

Milieu therapy would most likely be used in:

Answer 17

Residential treatment

Question 18

An adolescent is referred to a treatment group that has met for four weeks. The group has started to develop some cohesion and is beginning to work on significant issues. The most probable difficulty for the social worker in helping the group adapt to a new member will be:

Answer 18

Maintaining the focus on issues of concern to the entire group while remaining sensitive to the child’s individual needs

Question 19

John is 21-years-old. John and a lifelong friend, AI, attend the same college. AI has been dating Julie, a woman with whom he has a stormy relationship. After each date he becomes angry, impulsive, volatile, and threatens to end the relationship. John usually calms AI down and convinces him to speak to Julie about the issues bothering him. In the middle of the school year, AI is killed in a skiing accident. Some weeks after AI’s death John tells Julie she is in great danger. He begins to distrust her and accuses her of gossiping about him to mutual friends. He tells her he is hearing unusual sounds in his head. Yet he is possessive of Julie and takes her arm whenever they go out together. A social worker might encourage John to consider:

Answer 19

A treatment group focused on mourning

Question 20

The two primary principles of awareness and the here-and-now are emphasized in:

Answer 20

Gestalt therapy

Question 21

If psychotic symptoms occur suddenly in the third decade of life, the client probably will:

Answer 21

recover

Question 22

The tendency in a family system for members to have different reciprocal roles refers to:

Answer 22

Role complementarity

Question 23

A social worker employed in a community mental health agency notices a neighbor in the waiting room. The worker would:

Answer 23

Greet the neighbor without starting a conversation

Question 24

After working with a 15-year-old teenage girl with a substance abuse problem for several weeks, the child welfare social worker learns that the client is pregnant. The client is unable to control her drug use, has left a rehabilitation program, and seems unconcerned with potential serious health effects on her unborn child. The social workers’s best strategy is to:

Answer 24

Seek to place her in a residential setting for the duration of her pregnancy

Question 25

A 13-year-old boy reassures his distressed father after the latter lost a bowling tournament. This is an example of:

Answer 25

**Diminishing generational boundaries** There is nothing pathological about a child expressing empathy with the parent. As children mature, this emotionally sensitive behavior is to be expected and welcomed as an expression of normal development.

Question 26

A 16-year-old boy worries about undressing in the locker room. The boy has no genital or underarm hair and believes his genitals are underdeveloped. The adolescent is referred to the school social worker. As a first step the worker would:

Answer 26

Suggest that he might see a physician specializing in this problem.

Question 27

A hearing impaired child was being taught to speak in a residential treatment center. Each time the child made a sound he was given a chocolate candy and a smile. When no sound emerged, nothing was given or said. This is an example of:

Answer 27

shaping

Question 28

A wife and husband are in an initial intake session with a social worker. The husband is significantly depressed and asks for individual treatment. As the interview progresses, the wife defines mental issues, describes her husband's feelings and behaviors, and smiles when he says something with which she agrees. When the latter occurs, the husband smiles in return. A major issue for this couple will probably involve:

Answer 28

enmeshment

Question 29

Minuchin defines this as a family in which boundaries between members are blurred, and there is a tendency toward overprotection and fusion of individual boundaries:

Answer 29

enmeshment

Question 30

The preferred form of group treatment for individuals suffering from a variety of phobias is:

Answer 30

Behavioral group treatment

Question 31

A client at a mental health clinic who has been diagnosed HIV-positive and now has AIDS has stopped working. As the illness progresses, he is uncharacteristically depressed and apathetic. He has memory lapses and has difficulty concentrating, appears confused, and withdraws socially from friends and family. At the most recent interview the social worker noticed that he walks with a slight shuffle. The social worker might attribute these changes to:

Answer 31

Physical and mental symptoms associated with the physiological effects of HIV

Question 32

The developmental stage during which children are extremely concerned with absolutes is:

Answer 32

early latency (ages 6-8)

Question 33

A client shows a tendency to exaggerate her achievements and talents, and presents with a preoccupatIon with fantasies of unlimited success and power. She requires constant attention and admiration. She seems coolly indifferent to the worker. In relating to others she seems quick to take advantage of them and to expect special favor, without assuming reciprocal responsibilities. The most appropriate diagnosis for this client is:

Answer 33

Narcissistic personality disorder

Question 34

This defense mechanism occurs when unacceptable thoughts or impulses are expressed by their opposites. It is an immature defense and usually causes problems for the individual since the underlying aggression is never addressed.

Answer 34

Reaction-formation

Question 35

Whose work focused attention on sexual issues and problems, and developed specific time limited procedures that were effective in removing impediments to satisfying sexual functioning?

Answer 35

Masters and Johnson

Question 36

The focus for selecting a specific group of clients to receive service, the methods used to help them, and the formulation of goals, is usually the prerogatives of the:

Answer 36

agency

Question 37

The least likely symptom of simple severe depression is 1. Sadness and hopelessness 2. Disturbances in orientation and thinking 3. Disturbances in food intake and elimination 4. Insomnia

Answer 37

The correct answer is 2. The best answer acknowledges that depression symptoms usually will not include cognitive functions such as thinking or orientation, but will affect the person’s mood and may have some somatic consequences.

Question 38

A foster mother cares for two mentally disabled preschool children and becomes abnormally tired. She receives a special foster care board rate for the extra services she provides. Her doctor has told her that she needs a vacation, and she informs the social worker. However, the mother does not wish to give up caring for the children. The best approach for the worker to take is to:

Answer 38

Recognize the foster mother’s need for a vacation and make temporary arrangements for the care of the children

Question 39

Elavil is generally prescribed for:

Answer 39

depression

Question 40

This is a secondary defense mechanism that surfaces when unacceptable or frightening thoughts or actions break free into consciousness. This defense mechanism is performed to reverse the consequences that flow from the action.

Answer 40

undoing