Suchergebnisse

In this article we describe the development and field testing of a telephone support group project for persons with HIV disease using the Thomas and Rothman integrative framework for intervention research. We report results from the evaluation of the field test examining data from the 18 participants' pre- and postquestionnaires related to five outcomes: (a) self-efficacy, (b) social isolation, (c) social support, (d) coping with living with HIV disease, and (e) evaluation of the group experience. Field test results in accomplishing these aims were mixed. We found significant positive changes in some aspects of self-efficacy and in social isolation, but not in social support and coping. Results from the posttest indicated that participants rated the group experience as beneficial and that they were very satisfied with their participation in the groups.

"In this book we portray what we see as the critical dimensions of social work with groups and we take a broad view of this domain of social work. We see it as encompassing any and all of the types of groups in which social workers participate as part of their professional activities, either as members or facilitators. This view of group work consequently incorporates groups that individuals of different age groups join to solve problems and attain their individual, administrative, and organizational goals, enrich their lives, ameliorate problems experienced by organizations and communities, produce social change, and promote social justice"--

Treatment manuals are increasingly being used to guide interventions with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. However, little is known about best practices in designing manuals. We describe a process that provides for the development of manuals and specifies the means by which manuals can be adapted for practice conditions and constraints. Manual development is conceptualized as comprising four systematic and recursive stages: (a) formulation, (b) revision, (c) differentiation, and (d) translation. We discuss issues and challenges in developing manuals that are responsive to a range of factors that influence social work practice, including advances in knowledge, the influence of evidence-based practice, the needs of individual clients, and contingencies linked to organizational policies, procedures, and leadership.

This pilot study examined the impact of a prototype problem-solving skills-training program, Making Choices, on proximal outcomes in 70 6th-grade students. Method: Students received three components of Making Choices and completed pretest and posttest measures of skills on each component. Paired-sample t tests were used to assess proximal effects. Baseline measures were used to identify four subgroups of children, and differences in skill acquisition across subgroups were assessed. Results: Students displayed significantly higher scores at posttest on measures of two of three proximal skills. Nonaggressive-accepted and aggressive-accepted students displayed stronger skills at posttest, and aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-rejected students failed to show significant gains. Conclusions: Results provided preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of Making Choices and guided refinement of the prototype program.

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a social group work intervention for families of psychiatric inpatients, with the goal of enhancing coping, social support, and information. The sample consisted of 55 clients who participated in the groups during a 3-month period and completed pre- and posttest measures designed for this project. Outcome measures focused on family members' perceptions in three different domains: the amount of information they had regarding their family member's illness and selected aspects of treatment, their ability to cope with their family member's illness and hospitalization, and the amount of support both from the group and outside the hospital setting. Student t tests were used to examine the change in scores from respondents' initial response before the group session to their scores immediately following the intervention. Results indicate that the groups were effective overall in these three areas.

Objective: The study had two objectives (a) to adapt for Chinese children an intervention designed to strengthen the social information–processing (SIP) skills of children in the United States, and (b) to pilot test the adapted intervention in China. Methods: Adaptation of the Making Choices program involved reviewing Chinese literature on child development, translating and back-translating a treatment manual, modifying intervention content, and engaging experts to review program materials. Children ( n = 91), ages 8–10, in five after-school child care centers in Tianjin, China, received the program. After propensity score adjustments, the skills of children who received the program were compared to the skills of children ( n = 123) recruited from neighborhood primary schools. Results: The adapted program appears to have strengthened encoding skills. Patterns for other information-processing skills were promising but mixed. Conclusion: The program has the potential to strengthen the SIP skills of children in China.