ASWB Bachelors flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Trust vs. mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage, spanning birth to roughly 18 months, in which consistent and responsive caregiving builds a sense of predictability and safety that supports later relationships.

Conservation (Piaget)

The understanding that quantity, mass, and volume remain the same despite changes in physical appearance; it is typically acquired during the concrete operational stage, ages 7 to 11.

Microsystem (Bronfenbrenner)

The immediate settings in which the person directly participates, such as family, school, peer group, religious setting, or workplace, and where most face-to-face interaction occurs.

Exosystem (Bronfenbrenner)

Settings the person does not directly participate in but which still shape their life, such as a parent's workplace, a school board, or local health and social service agencies.

Secure attachment

Ainsworth classification in which the child uses the caregiver as a safe base for exploration, seeks comfort under stress, and is readily soothed upon reunion.

Disorganized attachment

A pattern of contradictory, frozen, or apprehensive behavior toward the caregiver, most often associated with maltreatment or with caregiving that is itself frightening.

SUD severity thresholds

DSM-5-TR rule for substance use disorder: two or three criteria met in twelve months is mild, four or five is moderate, and six or more is severe.

Cultural humility

A lifelong stance of self-reflection, openness to correction, and acknowledgment of power differences, rather than a fixed claim of expertise about another person's culture.

Projection

An immature defense mechanism in which a person attributes their own unacceptable impulses, feelings, or traits to someone else, thereby reducing internal anxiety.

Acculturation vs. assimilation

Acculturation is the broader process of adopting aspects of a new culture; assimilation is a fuller absorption in which the original cultural identity is largely replaced.

Maslow's hierarchy

A five-tier ordering of needs: physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem, and self-actualization, with lower needs generally drawing attention before higher ones.

Mental status examination

Structured observation covering appearance, behavior, speech, mood and affect, thought process and content, perception, cognition, and insight or judgment, used to describe current functioning.

Reliability vs. validity

Reliability refers to consistent, reproducible results across time or raters; validity refers to whether an instrument actually measures the construct it claims to measure.

PHQ-9 cut points

A nine-item depression measure scored from 0 to 27, with cut points of 5, 10, 15, and 20 marking mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression.

CAGE screening

Four alcohol questions: Cut down, Annoyed by criticism, Guilty about drinking, and Eye-opener in the morning; two or more positive answers indicate a positive screen.

Stages of change

Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and relapse; interventions are matched to the client's current stage rather than assuming readiness to act.

OARS skills

Core motivational interviewing microskills: asking open-ended questions, offering affirmations, using reflective listening, and summarizing what the client has said.

SMART goals

Treatment goals stated so they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, expressed in observable behavioral terms rather than vague aspirations.

WHODAS 2.0

The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, which replaced the Global Assessment of Functioning in DSM-5 and rates disability across six functional domains.

Safety planning

A written, stepwise crisis plan developed collaboratively with the client that lists warning signs, coping strategies, support contacts, and steps to restrict lethal means.

Sensitivity vs. specificity

Sensitivity is the proportion of people with the condition correctly identified as positive; specificity is the proportion without the condition correctly identified as negative.

Least restrictive setting

The principle of selecting the least intrusive intervention, placement, or level of care that still meets the client's safety and treatment needs.

NASW core values

Six foundational values of the profession: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.

Informed consent elements

Client capacity, voluntariness without coercion, disclosure of the nature of services plus risks, benefits, and alternatives including the right to refuse, and documentation in the record.

Tarasoff duty to protect

When a client poses a serious threat of violence to an identifiable person, the clinician must act protectively through warning, notifying authorities, or increasing treatment.

Mandated reporting

A legal duty to report suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse or neglect to designated authorities, which overrides confidentiality and does not require client permission.

Minimum necessary standard

A HIPAA rule requiring that each disclosure of protected health information be limited to the least amount needed to accomplish the intended purpose.

Planned termination

Ending services through a deliberate process with advance notice, review of progress and gains, and referral or transfer where needed, in order to avoid client abandonment.

Tuckman group stages

A predictable sequence of group development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning, in which conflict during storming is expected rather than a sign of failure.

Rothman community models

Three approaches to community organizing: locality development emphasizing broad participation, social planning emphasizing expert problem solving, and social action emphasizing shifts in power.

Case vs. cause advocacy

Case advocacy secures services or rights for an individual client, while cause advocacy targets policies, institutions, or systems to benefit a larger affected population.

Evidence-based practice steps

Formulate an answerable question, search the literature, appraise the evidence critically, apply it alongside client values and circumstances, and evaluate the outcome.