ASWB Exam Guide 2026: Format, Passing Score, Study Plan
Video
A 32-year-old MSW-level client describes 'three months of pervasive low mood, anhedonia, hypersomnia, weight gain, and concentration problems' that worsen each winter and remit in spring. The MOST likely working impression is:
Human Development Environment
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
A toddler who successfully navigates potty training, walking, and making simple choices is developing which capacity, per Erikson's second psychosocial stage?
Erikson Stages
Flashcard
Bowen family systems theory describes a person who is highly emotionally reactive and easily fused with others as having a:
Federal statute whose Privacy Rule protects individually identifiable medical information held by covered plans, clearinghouses, and certain providers that bill electronically.
Ethical principles
Guess the Term
Chapter 1: Lifespan Development and Attachment
1.1 Biophysical and Cognitive Development
Study guide
Cheat sheet
Per DSM-5-TR, a manic episode requires a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood plus persistently increased energy/activity lasting at least:
Read the clue and guess the term in 6 tries.
Game
According to Erikson, what psychosocial task defines adolescence, and what virtue results from mastering it?
A 14-year-old client demonstrates abstract reasoning, considers hypothetical scenarios, and grapples with moral dilemmas. This is consistent with which Piaget stage and which Kohlberg level (typical)?
Act of accepting goods or services instead of money for professional help, which the ethics code allows only in very limited, client-initiated circumstances.
Ethical service delivery
A worker hypothesizes that a couple's repetitive argument cycle (one partner withdraws, the other pursues) functions to AVOID deeper relational fears. This conceptualization is MOST aligned with which model?
A 70-year-old client reviews her life with acceptance and few regrets. Which Erikson stage and outcome does this reflect?
A 7-year-old refugee child from Syria has nightmares, hypervigilance, irritability, and difficulty concentrating at school 6 months after resettlement. The MOST likely DSM-5-TR diagnosis is:
Kind of relationship in which a social worker also holds a second role with a client, such as friend or business partner, at the same time or afterward.
1.2 Attachment and Social-Emotional Development
According to attachment theory, a securely attached adult is MOST likely to demonstrate:
Question · Easy
Swap tiles to line up three of the same term.
Term Match
Which two of Erikson's eight stages fall in adulthood, and what does each resolve?
Which neurobiological structure is MOST associated with fear conditioning and trauma response?
Charge for professional services that the ethics code says must be fair, reasonable, and match the work performed.
Internalized homophobia in an LGBTQ+ client is BEST conceptualized as:
A 4-year-old insists that pouring the same juice into a taller, narrower glass means there is now more juice. Which Piaget stage and cognitive limitation does this show?
Piaget & Attachment
A 26-year-old presents with 7 months of excessive worry across multiple domains, muscle tension, restlessness, and sleep disturbance. The MOST consistent DSM-5-TR diagnosis is:
Verb used in state child abuse laws for what designated professionals must do when they suspect abuse or neglect.
1.3 Family Systems and Family Life Cycle
Identity formation in adolescents from immigrant or minority backgrounds is BEST supported by:
Flip two cards at a time to find matching terms.
Term Pairs
At what Piaget stage can a person reason about hypothetical, abstract situations they have never directly experienced?
Which is a hallmark difference between DELIRIUM and DEMENTIA?
Personal preference or prejudice that the ethics code says workers should uncover through critical self-reflection and self-correction.
Diversity and justice
A worker is consulting with a school about a 9-year-old student displaying defiance, frequent arguments with adults, anger outbursts, and spitefulness for over a year. Which DSM-5-TR diagnosis is MOST consistent?
An infant cries when the caregiver leaves but is easily soothed and greets the caregiver warmly upon return. What attachment style does this describe?
A worker explains the 'minority stress' model to a clinical team. Minority stress includes:
Client file that the ethics code says should be available to the client on request, though access may be limited only when there is compelling evidence of serious harm.
Chapter 2: DSM-5-TR Psychopathology
2.1 Depressive, Bipolar, and Anxiety Disorders
Eating disorders most commonly co-occur with which mental health condition?
Find five hidden terms in a grid of letters.
Term Search
A child alternates between clinging to and pushing away a caregiver who has been frightening or unpredictable. Which attachment style is this, and why does it matter clinically?
Adverse community experiences (ACEs at the community level — community violence, racism, poverty) compound individual ACEs by:
Condition that can follow a life-threatening event and requires all four symptom types, with problems lasting longer than a month.
Assessment concepts
Schizophrenia per DSM-5-TR requires symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behavior, or negative symptoms) for at least:
Question · Hard
A client has an expansive, elevated mood with grandiosity and decreased need for sleep for 5 straight days, with no hospitalization and no marked impairment. Does this meet criteria for a manic or a hypomanic episode?
DSM-5-TR Duration Thresholds
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