Social Work Licensing Exam Review: Developmental Theories, Ethics, and Practice

Practice flashcards covering social work processes, developmental theories (Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, Freud, Mahler, Bowlby), defense mechanisms, substance abuse standards, and LGBTQ+ fundamentals.

ENGAGEMENT

The first stage of the 6 stages of the social work process.

ASSESSMENT

The second stage of the 6 stages of the social work process.

PLANNING

The third stage of the 6 stages of the social work process.

INTERVENTION

The fourth stage of the 6 stages of the social work process.

EVALUATION

The fifth stage of the 6 stages of the social work process.

TERMINATION

The sixth and final stage of the social work process.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's stage for infants (Birth – 18 months); if basic needs for safety and attachment are met, the baby trusts the caregiver; if unresolved, attachment issues and mistrust form.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Erikson's stage for toddlers (18 months – 3 years); involving a sense of independence and motor/communication skills; if unresolved, children feel shame and over-dependence.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's stage for preschoolers (3 – 6 years); focused on exploration and branching out from parents; failure results in being fearful, passive, or withdrawn.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's stage for grade-schoolers (7 – 11 years); navigating school and academic demands; failure leads to negative self-talk and feeling inferior to peers.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's stage for teenagers (12 – 18 years); forming a sense of self and values in relation to peers; failure leads to role confusion and withdrawal.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's stage for young adults (19 – 40 years); focused on forming loving, deep, and meaningful relationships; failure results in self-isolation.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's stage for middle-age adults (40 – 65 years); the need to nurture things and feel accomplished; failure leads to feeling stuck and unproductive.

Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's stage for older adults (65+ years); a reflection on life seeking fulfillment; failure results in sadness, grief, and regret.

Sensorimotor Period

Piaget's first stage (Birth to 2 years); where infants explore the world through senses and develop object permanence.

Object Permanence

The understanding developed in the Sensorimotor period that objects still exist even when they cannot be seen.

Preoperational Period

Piaget's second stage (2 – 7 years); characterized by egocentrism, animism, and magical thinking.

Animism

Giving non-human objects human characteristics, often seen during the preoperational stage.

Magical Thinking

The non-logical belief that one's thoughts cause reality (e.g., a child thinking their bad thoughts caused a sibling to get sick).

Concrete Operational Period

Piaget's third stage (7 – 11 years); marked by more concrete thinking, understanding number order, conservation, and irreversibility.

Conservation

The ability to understand that the same amount of liquid remains the same regardless of the container's size.

Formal Operational Period

Piaget's fourth stage (11 – 18+ years); involving moral reasoning, abstract analysis, and the ability to think through hypothetical situations.

Pre-Conventional Morality

Kohlberg's Level 1 (Stages 1 and 2); where behavior is driven by avoiding punishment or pursuing self-interest/rewards.

Conventional Morality

Kohlberg's Level 2 (Stages 3 and 4); where behavior is driven by social approval (people pleasing) and obeying laws or authority.

Post-Conventional Morality

Kohlberg's Level 3 (Stages 5 and 6); where behavior is driven by the common good, social contracts, and internal universal ethical principles.

Libido

According to Freud, the sex drive that serves as the driving force behind the thought process and personality development throughout developmental stages.

Oral Stage

Freud's first stage (0 – 1 year); libido focuses on the mouth; conflict involves weaning from the primary caregiver.

Anal Stage

Freud's second stage (1 – 3 years); libido focuses on the anus; conflict involves toilet training and control over body functions.

Phallic Phase

Freud's third stage (3 – 6 years); libido focuses on the genitals; involves awareness of physical differences and the Oedipus/Electra complexes.

Oedipus Complex

A boy's rivalry with his father for possession of the mother during the phallic stage, potentially leading to castration anxiety.

Latency Phase

Freud's fourth stage (7 – 13 years); libido is dormant and directed into social interactions, school, and hobbies.

Genital Stage

Freud's fifth stage (Puberty to Death); libido is active again, focusing on forming intimate sexual relationships and adult responsibilities.

Normal Autism

Mahler's Phase 1 (0 – 1 month); the infant is only aware of themselves and sleeps frequently (later discontinued from her findings).

Normal Symbiotic

Mahler's Phase 2 (1 – 5 months); the infant understands the mother is a source of need satisfaction but believes they are one with her.

Separation/Individuation

Mahler's Phase 3 (5 – 38 months); includes Differentiation/Hating, Practicing, Rapprochement, and Object Constancy subphases.

Rapprochement

Mahler's subphase (15 – 24 months); the child realizes the mother is separate and may become tentative, wanting her to be in sight due to fear of abandonment.

Object Constancy

Mahler's subphase (24 – 38 months); the child understands they and the mother are separate individuals with stable internal identities.

Pre-Attachment

Bowlby's stage (Birth – 6 weeks); infant uses signals like crying to draw in caregivers but has no strong preference for one caregiver yet.

Attachment in the Making

Bowlby's stage (6 weeks – 6/8 months); infant develops a preference for familiar caregivers and trust begins to form.

Clear Cut Attachment

Bowlby's stage (6/8 months – 2 years); strong attachment forms, and separation anxiety begins to appear.

Internal Working Model

A mental map of relationships formed during the reciprocal relationship stage based on the availability and reliability of the caregiver.

Insecure-Avoidant

Attachment style where the child shows little distress at separation and avoids the caregiver on return, often caused by a rejecting caregiver.

Insecure-Ambivalent/Resistant

Attachment style where the child is extremely distressed by separation and difficult to soothe on return, often due to inconsistent caregiving.

Disorganized Attachment

Attachment style characterized by contradictory behaviors and fear of the caregiver, often resulting from abusive or highly inconsistent care.

5150 hold

Involuntary hospitalization used when a client is in immediate danger but unwilling to go to the hospital; the client can refuse treatment but cannot leave the facility.

Compensation

Defense mechanism involving making up for a real or perceived weakness by excelling in another area.

Conversion

Defense mechanism where the repression of feelings is expressed as a physical bodily symptom, such as nausea before a test.

Dissociation

Defense mechanism involving a momentary loss of connection to reality or feelings of being separated from oneself.

Displacement

Transferring negative emotions from the actual source to an unrelated person or thing.

Projection

Attributing one's own unwanted thoughts or feelings onto someone else.

Identification with Aggressor

Defense mechanism where a victim adopts the behaviors and characteristics of their aggressor.

Introjection

Accepting and internalizing another person's attitudes, beliefs, or values as one's own.

Isolation of Affect

Recalling a traumatic event without experiencing the emotion associated with it; separating thoughts from feelings.

Reaction Formation

Behaving or reacting in a way that is the opposite of one's true inner feelings (e.g., being overly nice to someone you despise).

Sublimation

Redirecting strong, unacceptable emotions into activities that are safe and productive (e.g., boxing for aggression).

Undoing

Trying to 'take back' an unacceptable behavior by showering the person with praise or opposite actions.

Substance Dependence

Characterized by tolerance and withdrawal; it significantly interferes with overall life functioning.

Antabuse

A medication used in recovery programs that creates an unpleasant reaction to alcohol to treat problem drinking.

Early Full Remission

A state where a client has not met substance use disorder criteria (except cravings) for at least 3 months but less than 12 months.

Sustained Full Remission

A state where a client has not met substance use disorder criteria (except cravings) for 12 months or longer.

Motivational Interviewing

A treatment modality used for clients who are ambivalent or resistant to change, leveraging their strengths and values to elicit change.

Abrosexual

A concept emphasizing the fluidity of sexual attraction where orientation does not fit into fixed categories.

Cisgender

A person whose gender identity remains the same as their sex and/or gender assigned at birth.

Deadnaming

Using the former name of a transgender or non-binary person who has chosen a new name, which can be distressing or harmful.

Demisexual

A person who only experiences sexual attraction to someone after forming a strong emotional bond.

Gender Identity

An individual's personal sense of their own gender, which identifies at about ages 2–4 years old.