Associated Diagnoses
This topic presents the opportunity to do a quick (non-comprehensive) DSM review. Let's take a wide-angle view of the diagnoses associated with various types of behavioral dysfunction. Remember, criteria for just about all diagnoses includes impaired functioning. Someone can be behaving in all sorts of ways that seem like a problem--unless they're actually a problem to that person, it's not appropriate to apply a diagnostic label.
Mental Health Disorders
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
- Symptoms: Inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity.
- Conduct Disorder:
- Symptoms: Aggressive behavior, deceitfulness, violation of rules.
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD):
- Symptoms: Angry outbursts, defiant behavior, vindictiveness.
- Anxiety Disorders:
- Symptoms: Excessive worry, fear, avoidance behaviors.
- Depressive Disorders:
- Symptoms: Persistent sadness, loss of interest, changes in appetite or sleep.
- Bipolar Disorder:
- Symptoms: Extreme mood swings, manic and depressive episodes.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
- Symptoms: Recurrent intrusive thoughts, repetitive behaviors.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
- Symptoms: Flashbacks, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, hyperarousal.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):
- Symptoms: Social communication challenges, repetitive behaviors.
- Personality Disorders:
- Symptoms: Persistent patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience that deviate from cultural expectations (e.g., Borderline Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder).
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Intellectual Disabilities:
- Symptoms: Below-average intellectual functioning, adaptive behavior deficits.
- Specific Learning Disorders:
- Symptoms: Difficulties in academic skills, such as reading, writing, or mathematics.
Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders
- Substance Use Disorders:
- Symptoms: Uncontrolled use of substances, significant impairment.
- Gambling Disorder:
- Symptoms: Persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior.
Psychotic Disorders
- Schizophrenia:
- Symptoms: Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking.
- Schizoaffective Disorder:
- Symptoms: Symptoms of both schizophrenia and mood disorder.
Eating Disorders
- Anorexia Nervosa:
- Symptoms: Restriction of food intake, fear of gaining weight, distorted body image.
- Bulimia Nervosa:
- Symptoms: Binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors like vomiting.
- Binge-Eating Disorder:
- Symptoms: Recurrent episodes of binge eating without compensatory behaviors.
Impulse-Control Disorders
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder:
- Symptoms: Recurrent aggressive outbursts.
- Kleptomania:
- Symptoms: Recurrent failure to resist stealing.
- Pyromania:
- Symptoms: Deliberate fire setting.
Neurocognitive Disorders
- Delirium:
- Symptoms: Rapid onset of confusion, altered awareness.
- Major and Mild Neurocognitive Disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease):
- Symptoms: Cognitive decline, memory impairment.
On the Exam
Questions on this topic are most likely to be diagnostic ones. Like these:
- A social worker is assessing a 10-year-old child who has been repeatedly aggressive towards peers and defiant towards authority figures. Which of the following conditions is most likely being exhibited by the child?
- A client reports engaging in repetitive hand washing, intrusive thoughts about contamination, and significant distress if unable to perform the ritual. Which diagnosis fits these symptoms?
- What are common indicators of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents?
Get questions like these--plus answers, rationales, and suggested study links!--when you sign up for Social Work Test Prep's full-length practice tests.
Continuing our voyage through the ASWB content exam outline, we arrive here: The indicators of behavioral dysfunction. Let's review the indicators, the associated diagnoses, and how all of that may appear on the social work licensing exam.