Cancer Support Groups: Client Outcome and the Context of Group Process

• Published in: Research on social work practice Vol. 9; no. 5; pp. 541 - 554
• Main Authors: Magen, Randy H., Glajchen, Myra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.09.1999; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Benefits; Cancer; Group Dynamics; Group processes; Group therapy; Health; New York City, New York; Patients; Relationship; Self Help Groups; Social Perception; Social Support; Social work; Support groups; Therapy; Treatment Outcomes; United States > US
• ISSN: 1049-7315; 1552-7581
• DOI: 10.1177/104973159900900502

Objective: This project had two questions: (a) To what extent did clients improve after participation in the cancer support groups? and (b) What was the relationship between outcome and clients’ perceptions of group process? Method: Clients participating in 12 cancer support groups were administered the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), a consumer satisfaction questionnaire, and a self-report version of Yalom’s Curative Factors Questionnaire. Results: BSI results pointed to statistically significant reductions in emotional distress. About one third of the clients moved into the normative distribution of the BSI from the distressed distribution. The group processes with the highest mean scores were cohesion, existential factors, instillation of hope, altruism, and universality. There were no significant correlations between BSI scores and group processes. Conclusion: These results are discussed in terms of the need to identify both the outcome and process of support group participation as well as establish an empirical link between the two.