A Within-Network Variability Approach to Understanding "Process" in Group-Based Interventions
Open Access
- Author:
- Molloy, Lauren Elizabeth
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 27, 2012
- Committee Members:
- Scott David Gest, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Nilam Ram, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Scott David Gest, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
J Douglas Coatsworth, Committee Member
D Wayne Osgood, Committee Member
Rachel Annette Smith, Committee Member - Keywords:
- social network analysis
intraindividual variability
group process
group therapy
psychoeducational groups - Abstract:
- Group-based approaches to delivering interventions are common, cost effective, and empirically-supported. Yet empirical evidence regarding the role of group process in facilitating participant outcomes remains limited, in large part by the analytic approaches most commonly used to assess it. In this dissertation, I propose and illustrate an innovative analytic paradigm for studying group process that integrates social network analysis (SNA) and methods sensitive to intra-individual change and variability over time (IIV) to overcome past limitations and advance understanding of group process. Tools from these two methods are applied to the collection of data from two settings: undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in group therapy at a university counseling center, and parents and youth participating in a parent and life skills training preventive intervention. Paper 1 is a conceptual paper describing the limitations of past approaches and elaborating an integrated SNA and IIV approach to studying group process; illustrative examples provide compelling evidence of the added value of this approach beyond traditional measures. Paper 2 focuses on data from the 18 therapy groups (121 participating clients); network-based indices of group structure and individual connectedness significantly predicted participants’ weekly reports of progress and perceptions of session value, within and across time. Additionally, average levels and linear and quadratic growth in individuals’ connectedness (as measured by SNA) significantly related to pre- to post-treatment improvement in mental health. Finally, Paper 3 focuses on data from 20 groups (106 parents, 86 youth) participating in the Strengthening Families Program (SFP). Results indicated that weekly participant reports of self-efficacy and perceptions of session value were significantly predicted by network-based measures of group structure and individuals’ positions within their groups within and across sessions. Moreover, improvement in mother-youth relationship quality and several indices of youths’ mental health, self-beliefs, and attitudes from pre- to post-intervention were significantly predicted by average levels of group density and individual connectedness across sessions (on both positive and negative relationships), and by linear growth in individuals’ connectedness across sessions, with several relations differing by age group (i.e., mother versus youth). Taken together, results of this dissertation provide support for the value of an integrated SNA and IIV approach to studying group process in preventive and treatment interventions. Findings of each paper are discussed in terms of the value of this approach for understanding how group process in psycho-educational and therapy groups develops across sessions and facilitates intervention effectiveness. The analytic approach tested here and resulting substantive findings will allow researchers, program developers, and clinicians to target and capitalize on specific social dynamics in evaluating, improving, and developing preventive and treatment programs.