Masters Assessment Flashcards
7 cards from real ASWB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Masters Assessment flashcards as text
A social worker uses the PHQ-9 with a new client. A score of 15 indicates:
Answer: Moderately severe depression
On the PHQ-9, a score of 15–19 indicates moderately severe depression, prompting active treatment planning.
A client presents with impulsivity, unstable relationships, chronic feelings of emptiness, and fear of abandonment. These features are MOST consistent with which personality disorder?
Answer: Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is characterized by instability in relationships, self-image, and affect, along with marked impulsivity and fear of abandonment.
During an assessment, a client reports drinking alcohol to 'calm nerves.' This statement MOST likely indicates a need to assess for:
Answer: Co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorder
Using alcohol to manage anxiety suggests potential co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorders, which commonly present together.
A social worker is assessing a veteran who served in combat. The client reports nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of crowded spaces, and emotional numbing for the past two months. The MOST likely diagnosis to explore is:
Answer: Post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSD is characterized by intrusion, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition/mood, and hyperarousal lasting more than one month following trauma.
Which of the following assessment findings would MOST warrant an immediate safety intervention?
Answer: A client with a specific plan, means, and timeline to end their life
A specific plan, available means, and stated timeline represent imminent suicide risk requiring immediate intervention.
A social worker documents that a client is 'oriented x3.' This means the client correctly identified:
Answer: Person, place, and time
Being oriented x3 means the client accurately identifies person, place, and time during the mental status examination.
In social work assessment, 'presenting problem' refers to:
Answer: The client's primary reason for seeking services in their own words
The presenting problem is the client's own stated reason for seeking help, forming the starting point of the assessment.