Because of the high prevalence of childhood incest in therapy-seeking populations of women, it is important to determine the treatment approaches that are most effective in resolving the negative consequences of this traumatic event. Although there is a general consensus in the clinical literature that a group treatment approach offers unique therapeutic benefits for this population that are not available in individual therapy, there is little empirical evidence to support this contention. The purpose of the present study was to empirically assess the effectiveness of a group treatment program on intrapersonal symptomatology and interpersonal difficulties in a clinical population of women with a history of incest. Subjects for the study were drawn from participants in a group treatment program conducted by a community-based, mental health agency and developed specifically for women with a history of incest. Thirty-two women who participated in the 20-week group treatment program were compared to thirty-one women who were wait-listed for the program for a similar period of time on measures of intrapersonal symptomatology and interpersonal difficulties. In addition, the effects of the group treatment program across time were examined by assessing intrapersonal symptomatology and interpersonal difficulties in group participants six months following completion of the group treatment program. Results indicate that a time-limited group which focuses on the original trauma is effective in reducing intrapersonal symptomatology for women with a history of incest and that this improvement is stable over time. Although the women who received group treatment felt more support from friends following their experience in the group and appeared to see themselves in a more positive light in their relations with other women over time, interpersonal difficulties, in general, did not show as much improvement as intrapersonal symptomatology. Clinical implications of these findings as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/9696 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Saxe, Brenda. |
| Contributors | Johnson, Susan M., |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 330 p. |
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