Background We report a clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of education-based and peer discussion–based group interventions on adjustment to breast cancer. Methods Women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer (n=312) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 group conditions: control, education, peer discussion, or education plus peer discussion (combination). Seven groups (each comprising 8-12 women) were conducted in each of the 4 conditions (28 groups total). Adjustment was measured before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 6 months after the intervention. Results Consistently positive effects on adjustment were seen in the education groups both immediately following and 6 months after the intervention. There were no benefits of participation in peer discussion groups, and some indications of adverse effects on adjustment at both follow-up examinations. The effects could be explained by changes in self-esteem, body image, and intrusive thoughts about the illness. Conclusions Education-based group interventions facilitated the initial adjustment of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. There was no evidence of benefits from peer discussion group interventions.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/articlepdf/1152701/yoa7183.pdf

Education and Peer Discussion Group Interventions and Adjustment to Breast Cancer

In electronic support groups, people use Internet-based electronic text communication to discuss personal problems or disorders with others who share common circumstances. Although their discussions exist only in the electronic medium, these groups can be viewed usefully as discourse communities. The authors draw on what is known about two other popular sources of help—face-to-face self-help groups and self-help books—to frame the rhetorical challenges faced by members of electronic support groups. The authors then compare the discourse of electronic support groups with that of electronic hobby groups to demonstrate that the two sets differ in terms of the rhetorical behavior of their participants. The authors analyze messages to determine how members establish legitimacy and authority in their texts and how message exchange gives rise to group identity and a sense of community. Our observations indicate that although some discourse characteristics and some rhetorical features are common to all the electr...

Legitimacy, Authority, and Community in Electronic Support Groups:

More than half of people with severe mental illness are lonely, the subjective state associated with social isolation and lack of desired relationships. Their loneliness is related to impaired abil...

Combating loneliness among persons with severe mental illness: social network interventions' characteristics, effectiveness, and applicability

For the past 10 years, we have been conducting a systematic program of research on the relative impact of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning experiences on such variables as achievement and relationships among students. One major focus of our research program has been to illuminate the internal processes within cooperative learning groups that mediate or moderate the relationship between cooperation and (1) productivity and (2) interpersonal attraction among students.

The Internal Dynamics of Cooperative Learning Groups

Within the last few years numerous support groups have emerged on the Internet, presenting new opportunities for patients to communicate with health care professionals and other patients. The present study examines discourse within online cancer support groups, increasing our understanding of sex differences in cybersupport. Two reproductive cancer groups were chosen for this investigation, the Ovarian Problems Mailing List (OPML) and the Prostate Problems Mailing List (PPML), making sex of the patient recognizable. Phenomenological thematic analysis was employed to describe and interpret messages sent and received. Analyses for the two groups were compared. Generally, it was found that the two online listservs provided opportunities for cancer patients to receive support, within western society's accepted forms of gendered communication.

Gendered cybersupport: a thematic analysis of two online cancer support groups.

In differentiating modalities of group technique, this article presents an explicit definition of and systematic criteria for characterizing the support group A theoretical base for the support gro...

Support Groups: A Special Therapeutic Entity

A new programme in sex education and counselling for spinal cord injured adults and health care professionals has been described. The format of the 2-day desensitising-resensitising programme included exposure to a programmed assortment of explicit slides and films of sexual activity. Periodic small group discussions led by trained group leaders constituted the most important part. The results suggest that continued sexual interest, activity and satisfaction can be anticipated for many paraplegics and quadriplegics. An accepting, experimental attitude toward sexual activity promotes satisfaction with an interested and caring partner. However, many health professionals deliver inadequate sexual counselling to patients with spinal cord injury. This may add to the sum of the disabilities carried by the paraplegic and quadriplegic adult.

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A new programme of sex education and counselling for spinal cord injured adults and health care professionals.

(1973). Sex Education Discussion Groups in a Medical Setting. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy: Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 23-41.

Sex education discussion groups in a medical setting.

This paper describes a unique, 2-day experiential program in sex education for adolescents and their families. The program is adapted from a similar teaching program for medical students and is a highly focused, intense emotional experience wherein participants are presented, via a multimedia approach, with a planned sequence of explicit sexual material on all areas of human sexuality. During the program, six small group sessions with family members in separate groups enable participants to share impressions and examine anxieties aroused by the presentations. The entire process is monitored by evaluative instruments and questionnaires. Results of the data support the hypothesis that communication is possible between generations, and assists rather than inhibits the development of an adult identity.

Sex education for adolescents and their families.

https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/0307-4412%2883%2990006-7

Pearl P. Rosenberg

Papers

Support Groups: A Special Therapeutic Entity

A new programme of sex education and counselling for spinal cord injured adults and health care professionals.

Sex education discussion groups in a medical setting.

Sex education for adolescents and their families.

The experimental use of cooperative learning groups in a biochemistry laboratory course for first-year medical students