Free SCFHS Social Service Specialist mock test

Social Service Specialist sample questions with answers

10 more original exam-style Social Service Specialist questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the mock above or on the bank page, so sit the mock first if you have not.

1. Question 1 · Family Violence

   A 6-year-old has belt-shaped bruises and gives an evasive account. What is the correct action for a hospital social worker?

   1. AAsk the parents to agree first, before making a report
   2. BWait for a second injury before taking action
   3. CReport to the child protection team and document the findings
   4. DConfront the parents first and wait for them to admit the cause of the injuries
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Report to the child protection team and document the findings

   Practitioners who suspect child abuse must report it under the Child Protection System, and parental consent is not required. Waiting for a repeat injury or an admission leaves the child at risk.

   Reference: Child Protection System (Royal Decree M/14, 1436H); NASW Code of Ethics (2021 revision), Standard 1.07

2. Question 2 · Human Development, Diversity and Behaviour in the Environment

   A terminally ill 78-year-old man spends sessions reviewing his life and voices regret about a lost bond with his son. Which Erikson crisis does this reflect?

   1. AInitiative versus guilt, the task of early childhood
   2. BIntegrity versus despair
   3. CIntimacy versus isolation, the task of young adults
   4. DGenerativity versus stagnation, the task of middle age
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Integrity versus despair

   Late life brings a review of one's life, and regret can lead to despair rather than a sense of integrity. Generativity versus stagnation is the task of middle age, intimacy versus isolation of young adulthood, and initiative versus guilt of early childhood.

   Reference: Zastrow CH, Kirst-Ashman KK, Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment, 10th ed. (2016)

3. Question 3 · Marital and Family Therapy

   A therapist asks a couple, 'If a miracle happened tonight and the problem was gone, what would be different tomorrow?' Which approach is this?

   1. ASolution-focused brief therapy
   2. BBowen family systems therapy, which raises differentiation
   3. CStructural family therapy, which restructures boundaries
   4. DNarrative therapy, which externalises the problem
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Solution-focused brief therapy

   The miracle question is a defining technique of solution-focused therapy, which builds on goals rather than analysing problems. Narrative therapy externalises the problem, structural therapy changes boundaries, and Bowen therapy works on differentiation.

   Reference: de Shazer S, Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy (1985)

4. Question 4 · Marital and Family Therapy

   A mother is intensely involved in her son's life while the father stays distant. In structural family therapy, what is the main problem?

   1. AEnmeshed mother-son boundaries and a weak parental subsystem
   2. BA rigid boundary between the mother and her son
   3. CA lack of communication about the family's money
   4. DTriangulation of the grandparents into the family
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Enmeshed mother-son boundaries and a weak parental subsystem

   Minuchin described enmeshment as diffuse boundaries and over-involvement, treated by restructuring boundaries. A rigid boundary is the opposite, and the other options are not described.

   Reference: Minuchin S, Families and Family Therapy (1974)

5. Question 5 · Human Development, Diversity and Behaviour in the Environment

   A 14-year-old with epilepsy can think through what might happen if he stops his medication. Which Piaget stage does this show?

   1. AConcrete operational
   2. BPreoperational
   3. CFormal operational
   4. DSensorimotor
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Formal operational

   Hypothetical and abstract reasoning about future consequences marks the formal operational stage. Concrete operational thought is tied to real objects, and the other stages belong to younger children.

   Reference: Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment, 10th ed. (2016)

6. Question 6 · Patient and Family Problems

   The family of a dying man wants to take him home. What is the best role for the social worker?

   1. AAdvise against it, because a hospital gives better comfort and symptom control than a home
   2. BLeave the arrangements to the family and close the case at discharge
   3. CRefer to a funeral service and make no further contact
   4. DArrange home palliative care, equipment, family training and bereavement support
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. Arrange home palliative care, equipment, family training and bereavement support

   Social workers support the patient's wishes with practical planning and support for carers before and after death. Discouraging home care or withdrawing leaves the family unsupported.

   Reference: WHO, Palliative Care Fact Sheet (2020)

7. Question 7 · Patient and Family Problems

   A patient with a low income cannot pay for medicines and transport to follow-up visits. Which role fits the social worker best?

   1. ABroker, by checking eligibility and linking him to charities and state support
   2. BTherapist, by treating the anxiety that he feels about money and the cost of his illness
   3. CResearcher, by surveying other patients who have a low income too
   4. DEducator, by teaching him how to budget his income more carefully
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Broker, by checking eligibility and linking him to charities and state support

   The broker role links people to resources they need and cannot reach alone. Therapy, research and budgeting classes do not solve the immediate lack of money.

   Reference: Hepworth et al., Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills, 10th ed. (2017)

8. Question 8 · Mental Health and Addiction

   A smoker has booked a place at the clinic and has chosen to quit next week. At which stage of change is he?

   1. AContemplation
   2. BPreparation
   3. CAction
   4. DMaintenance
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Preparation

   Setting a date and taking first steps marks preparation. Contemplation is thinking about change, action is the behaviour itself and maintenance is keeping it going.

   Reference: Prochaska and DiClemente, Stages and processes of self-change of smoking, J Consult Clin Psychol (1983)

9. Question 9 · Social Work Skills

   A social worker feels irritated by an elderly male patient who reminds her of her critical father. What is this called?

   1. ATransference
   2. BProjection by the patient
   3. CCountertransference
   4. DEmpathy
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Countertransference

   Countertransference is the worker's emotional reaction to a client, based on her own history, and is explored in supervision. Transference is the client's feeling towards the worker.

   Reference: Hepworth et al., Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills, 10th ed. (2017)

10. Question 10 · Marital and Family Therapy

    In structural family therapy, a therapist temporarily sides with a weaker family member to shift the balance of power. Which technique is this?

    1. AUnbalancing, by backing one member's position
    2. BJoining, by accommodating to the family style
    3. CEnactment, by asking members to act out the problem
    4. DTracking, by following the family's own words and themes
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. Unbalancing, by backing one member's position

    Unbalancing deliberately supports one member to change a rigid pattern. Joining builds the alliance, enactment has the family act out the problem, and tracking follows the family's own communications.

    Reference: Minuchin, Families and Family Therapy (1974)