ASWB Exam Guide 2026: Format, Passing Score, Study Plan
Video
An LCSW evaluates a 28-year-old woman with a current major depressive episode. Last year, she had 5 days of markedly irritable mood and increased energy, with decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, racing thoughts, grandiosity, and hospitalization. The MOST consistent diagnosis is:
Assessment And Planning
Question · Medium
Complete ASWB exam guide for 2026 covering the live 122-question format, the 66-78 passing range, blueprint weights by exam level, fees, registration, retake rules, and an 8-week study plan.
Blog
Whose interests are primary under the NASW Code of Ethics, and what can override that duty?
Ethical Principles and Responsibilities
Flashcard
Erikson's psychosocial stage of 'generativity versus stagnation' typically corresponds to:
Question · Easy
Set of six core beliefs of the profession—including service, social justice, and the dignity and worth of the person—that ground its ethical principles.
Ethical principles and responsibilities
Guess the Term
Introduction & Exam Overview
1.1 Current Exam Facts & the 2026 Blueprint Change
Study guide
Cheat sheet
A 42-year-old veteran reports re-experiencing combat events through nightmares and intrusive memories, hyperarousal, avoidance of crowds, and negative beliefs ('the world is unsafe') for 18 months. DSM-5-TR diagnosis is:
Read the clue and guess the term in 6 tries.
Game
What does the NASW Code require before you practice in a new area or use an unfamiliar intervention?
A 16-year-old client describes recurrent unexpected panic attacks with palpitations, fear of dying, and chest pain, followed by 1 month of worry about another attack and avoidance. The MOST consistent diagnosis is:
Kind of determination that lets clients identify and clarify their own goals, though it may be limited when their actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk.
Ethical service delivery
An adult client presents with chronic pattern of detachment, restricted emotional expression, indifference to praise/criticism, and few close relationships. The MOST consistent personality disorder is:
What must informed consent cover in clinical social work?
The cluster A personality disorders include:
Kind of relationship created when a practitioner holds a second role with the same client, such as a business or social one.
1.2 The Three 2026 Content Areas
Among the listed medication classes, which is commonly used as first-line pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder?
Swap tiles to line up three of the same term.
Term Match
Distinguish burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma.
Lithium is associated with which classic adverse effect that requires monitoring?
Question · Hard
Arrangement in which a client pays for professional help with goods or services instead of money.
Adult attachment styles include secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful-avoidant. The 'preoccupied' style is MOST closely associated in childhood with:
How does an ethical dilemma differ from an ethical violation?
Which is the BEST screen for harmful or hazardous alcohol use in adults?
Broad term for a client's written or electronic file, which must be stored securely and kept from people who are not authorized to see it.
1.3 How to Use This Guide & Build Your Study Plan
An older adult client demonstrates progressive decline in memory, naming, and executive functioning that interferes with independent daily functioning, with preserved alertness. The MOST likely diagnosis (per DSM-5-TR) is:
Flip two cards at a time to find matching terms.
Term Pairs
When confidential information must be released, how much may you disclose?
Ethical Service Delivery
A 7-year-old has restricted, repetitive behaviors, language delays, and difficulties in social communication present from early childhood. DSM-5-TR diagnosis is:
Kind of confidentiality incident that requires a policy for notifying clients in a timely manner.
Substance-induced versus primary mood disorder is BEST clarified by:
What is the duty to protect, and where does it come from?
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia include:
Form of oppression that social workers must act against, along with discrimination and inequities, while acknowledging personal privilege.
Diversity and social justice
Values & Ethics: Ethical Principles and Responsibilities
2.1 Confidentiality, HIPAA, and Protected Health Information
A clinical worker is interpreting the cultural meaning of 'spiritual emergency' in a client's experience. Per DSM-5-TR cultural formulation, the worker should:
Find five hidden terms in a grid of letters.
Term Search
What evidentiary standard triggers a mandated report of abuse or neglect?
Which is consistent with DSM-5-TR criteria for binge-eating disorder?
Potentially traumatic event occurring from birth through age 17, such as abuse or growing up with a household member who has a substance use problem.
Assessment concepts
Which neuroanatomic system is MOST implicated in addiction reward and craving?
When may a social worker limit a client's right to self-determination?
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