Deck 8: Assessment: Exploring and Understanding Problems and Strengths

Question 1

In the context of priorities in assessments, which of the following is one of the factors that should be assessed initially by social workers in all social work situations?

A)​A client's strengths and resources
B)​A client's interaction with his or her environment
C)​A client's potential health or safety concerns
D)​A client's developmental needs and life transitions

Answer 1

C

Question 2

When a client is referred or coerced into seeking services of a social worker, it is important that:

A)interactions of the client with others are restricted.​
B)​the client is encouraged to describe his or her problems or concerns in generalities.
C)​the client is threatened with the consequences of not following the remedial measures suggested.
D)​a common ground is established on the needs that the social worker might help address.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

_____ involves asking clients, who work with social workers, to estimate the degree to which they feel hopeful about resolution, or perhaps the degree to which they have given up hope.

A)​Seeking exceptions
B)​Scaling a problem
C)​Scaling motivation
D)​The miracle question

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Events that precede problematic behavior in clients who consult social workers are referred to as _____.

A)​consequences
B)​negative reactions
C)​antecedents
D)​assessments

Question 5

​In the context of stresses associated with life transitions, which of the following is a major common role and developmental transition encountered in adulthood?

A)​Low grades
B)​The birth of a sibling
C)​Geographic moves and migration
D)​Addition of a new stepparent to a divorced family

Question 6

In the context of stresses associated with life transitions, which of the following is a major common role and developmental transition that affects children or adolescents?

A)​Loss of a friendship through argument
B)​Work and career choices
C)​The stigma associated with single parenthood
D)​Institutionalization

Question 7

Which of the following sources of information available to social workers for client assessments is usually the primary source?

A)​Information obtained from client interviews
B)​Direct observation of clients' nonverbal behavior
C)​Collateral information from relatives and friends
D)​Personal experiences of the social worker based on indirect interaction with clients

Question 8

Which of the following is one of Cowger's suggestions to emphasize strengths and empowerment in the assessment process?

A)​Give preeminence to the client's understanding of the facts of the case.
B)​List the resources you have to help the client.
C)​Focus on personal strengths and avoid assessing environmental strengths.
D)​Encourage the client to discuss his or her assets rather than deficits.

Question 9

_____ are labels or terms that may be applied to an individual or his or her situation.

A)​Assessments
B)​Diagnoses
C)​Symptoms
D)​Analyses

Question 10

A father criticizes his son for being "a weakling." In fear of his father's condemnation, the child becomes even more timid, which leads to more criticism from the father. The son's behavior is an example of:

A)​extrovert traits.
B)​reciprocal interactions.
C)​passive-aggressive traits.
D)​symbolic interactions.

Question 11

In the context of sources of information for assessments, which of the following statements is true of a social worker's personal experience?

A)​The desire to make a good impression does not skew a client's presentations of themselves.
B)​Initial impressions can be misleading and must be confirmed by additional contact with the client.
C)​Social workers' reactions to their clients are not influenced by their own life experiences.
D)​Family members of clients always prove to be an unreliable collateral source.

Question 12

When obtaining assessment data from collateral sources, social workers should:

A)​exercise discretion.
B)​avoid consulting collateral contacts suggested by clients.
C)​avoid consulting family members of clients.
D)​operate anonymously.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is true of formal assessments?

A)​They are complex working hypotheses based on the most current data available.
B)​They are always completed during the first session between the client and the social worker.
C)​They only provide a comprehensive overview of the client for termination of counselling sessions between the client and the social worker.
D)​They do not vary according to the social worker's task or mission.

Question 14

The difference between diagnoses and assessments is that:

A)​diagnoses are used to understand a client's history, while assessments are labels applied to a client's individual situation.
B)​diagnoses provide a short-hand categorization of a client based on specifically defined criteria, while assessments describe the symptoms that support a particular diagnosis.
C)​diagnoses involve gathering information to be analyzed and synthesized, while assessments provide a language through which professionals can communicate their analyses to patients.
D)​diagnoses are the joint effort of professionals from different fields, while assessments are always conducted by a psychologist.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true of the miracle question?

A)​It involves asking clients to estimate the degree to which they feel hopeful about solving their problems.
B)​It helps a practitioner determine a client's priorities and operationalize the areas for change.
C)​It involves asking clients to estimate the severity of their problems.
D)​It helps a practitioner determine whether a client has a problem or is faking it.

Question 16

In the context of client assessments conducted by social workers, _____ involves the use of symbolic interactions.

A)​enactment
B)​client self-monitoring
C)​cognitive restructuring
D)​circular questioning

Question 17

Which of the following guidelines would help social workers conduct culturally competent assessments?

A)​Use the same parameters to understand the problems of different cultural groups instead of customizing your approach.
B)​Generalize knowledge about the cultural characteristics of a particular group to understand individual clients.
C)​Differentiate between culturally mediated behavior and individual personality.
D)​Use the norms of your culture to evaluate the practices of other cultures.

Question 18

The Drug Abuse Screening Test is a tool:

A)​used by social workers to assess alcohol use.
B)​used by social workers to identify drug peddlers.
C)​that uses mnemonic devices to assess drug use.
D)​that helps drug abusers in rehabilitation centers gain self-confidence.

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true of the assessment process?

A)​It is completed during the first meeting between the client and the social worker.
B)​It will vary according to a social worker's task or mission.
C)​It is initiated by the social worker just before the termination of the relationship with a client.
D)​It provides a short-hand categorization of a client based on specifically defined criteria.

Question 20

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is an important tool that enables professionals to:

A)​categorize physical disabilities in clients.
B)​determine empirically-supported treatments for psychiatric disorders.
C)​understand and formulate mental and emotional disorders.
D)​measure the degree of impairment caused by alcohol or drugs.

Question 21

Which of the following exploratory questions can help elicit a client's meaning attributions?

A)​Are you sure you want to quit?
B)​What do you make of his behavior toward you?
C)​How have you tried to address this problem?
D)​What helps you most when you feel afraid?

Question 22

Explain the role of knowledge and theory in assessments.

Question 23

Which of the following statements is true of sites of problematic behaviors for a client and identifying them?

A)​Determining where problematic behavior occurs most accurately identifies situations in which the client experiences relief from difficulties.
B)​Identifying where problematic behavior does not occur provides clues about what might help alleviate the problem.
C)​Determining where problematic behavior occurs will help assess the way the client is likely to handle difficult situations.
D)​Identifying where problematic behavior does not occur is the only way to unravel psychosocial factors associated with the problem and plan appropriate intervention.

Question 24

Discuss client self-monitoring as one of the sources of information that social workers use for assessments.

Question 25

Discuss observation as a source of information that social workers use for assessments.

Question 26

What is a culturally competent assessment? Discuss its importance.

Question 27

By asking "When do Teddy's tantrums occur?" while analyzing the problematic behavior of a client, the social worker is addressing the:

A)​temporal context of problematic behaviors.
B)​severity of problematic behaviors.
C)​duration of problematic behaviors.
D)​motivation of problematic behaviors.

Question 28

An assessment that explores a client's birth, infancy, achievement of milestones, family atmosphere, interests, and significant life transitions is called:

A)​a functional assessment.
B)​a developmental assessment.
C)​the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale.
D)​the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Screen.

Question 29

Describe the issues that arise when a social worker uses his or her personal experience as a source of information for assessments.

Question 30

_____ are the support structures, such as family and friends, with which clients interact.

A)​System lifelines
B)​Informal systems
C)​Key informants
D)​Target systems

Question 31

Describe the relevance of culture and social class in social work assessments.

Question 32

What purposes do diagnostic labels used by social workers during client assessments serve? Discuss the negative aspects associated with them.