DOCUMENTRESUMEED 022 225CC 002 774A Trauv rhArles BGROUP COUNSELING WI - PDF document

1 DOCUMENTRESUMEED 022 225CC 002 774A Trau
DOCUMENTRESUMEED 022 225CC 002 774A Trauv, rhArles B.GROUP COUNSELING WITHCOLLEGE UNDERACHIEVERS:COMPARISONS WITH ACONTROL GROUP ANDRELATIONSHIP TO EMPATHY, WARMTHAND GENUINENESS.Arkansas State RehabilitationResearch and Trainin9 Center,Fayetteville.Repor t No- ARR&TC -210Note- 12p.EDRS Price MF-$025 HC-$0.56Descriptors- *COLLEGE FRESWEN,CONTROL GROUPS,EXPERIMENTAL (;ROUPS,*GROUP COUNSELING,PSYCHOTFERAPY, *RESEARCH PROJECTS,*UNDERACHIEVERSSome of the controversy concerningthe efficacy of psychotherapy orcounselinghas been resolvedby recent evidencethat studies reporting noeffects hadindiscriminately lumped togetherthe high and lowtherapeutic conditionswhich areassociated with successfuland unsuccessful outcomes.The present studyextendsthese findings to a Groupof essentially neuroticunderachieving collegefreshmen. The24 experimental sublects(Ss) who received groupcounseling showed greaterimprovement in grade point averagethan 24 matched,no-counseling controlSs.Further, those counseledsublects who received thehighest therapeuticconditionstended to show the greatestimprovement. (Author) 4INNIIMpmrMIr(ARR&TC #210)GROUP COUNSELING WITH COLLEGE UNDERACHIEVERS:COMPARISONS WITK A CONTROL GROUP AND RELATIONSHIP TOEMPATHY, WARMTH AND GENUINENESSSome of the controversy concerning the efficacy of psycho-therapy or counseling has been resolved by recent evidence thatstudies reporting no effects had indiscriminately lumped to-gether the high and low therapeutic conditions which are as-sociated with successful and unsuccessful-outcomes.The presentstudy extends these

2 findings to a group of essentially neuro
findings to a group of essentially neuroticunderachieving college freshmen.The 24 experimental Ss whoreceived group counseling showed greater improvement in gradepoint average than 24 matched, uo-counseling control Ss,Further, these counseled subjects who received the highesttherapeutic conditions tended tb Show the greatest improvement.Arkansas State Rehabilitation Research and TrainingCenter, Fayettevillel, ArkansasU.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFAREOFFICE OF EDUCATIONTHIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THEr-r-PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS(NICDSTATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATIOHCDPOSITION OR POLICY.1 Group Counseling with College Underachievers:rnmpn,4cnn,z with 1 rryntrol Group and Relationship toEmpathy, Warmth, and GenuinenesslWalter A. DickensonUniversity of KentuckyCharles E. TruaxArkansas Rehabilitation Research anl Training CenterandUniversity of Arkansa.,The present study aims at evaluating the effects of timelimitedgroup counseling upon the collegeunderachiever by contrasting amatched group of underachieving college students receiving groupcounseling with a group receiving no counseling, using change inacademic performance as the criterion for evaluating outcome.A second aim of the present study is to relate thelevel oftherapist-offered accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth, andtherapist genuineness during group counseling to the degree ofimprovement in the counseled students.Eysenck (1952) stirred up considerable controversy by questioningthe

3 efficacy of psychotherapy and even quite
efficacy of psychotherapy and even quite recentlyBrayfield(1963) has noted that research indicating positive effects ofcounseling is largely absent.Recent evidence (Rogers; 1962;Truax, 1963; Truax and Carkhuff, 1964), however, suggest thatstudiesreporting no effects had obtained such negative results byindis-criminately lumping together psychotherapy involving high therapeu-tic conditions and psychotherapy involving low levels of accurateempathy, nonpossessive warmth, and genuineness on the part of thetherapist.The relevance of these high therapeutic conditionsfor successful psychotherapy and counseling is indicated byconsiderable theory and research cited elsewhere (Truax andCarkhuff, 1964; Truax and Wargo, 1965).The present research, then, is an attempt to providefurther evidencedealing with the question of the efficacy of psychotherapy and withthe effectiveness of three therapeutic conditions of accurateempathy, nonpossessive warmth, and therapist genuineness.Thepresent study extends previous research to a group ofunderachieverswhich nuuerous investigators have described in terms that appearessentially neurotic.These research studies were summarized inTaylor's (1964) excellent review in terms of the following majortraits:free-floating anxiety, negative self-value, hostilitytoward authority, high independance-clependence conflict;negativeinterpersonal relations, social rather than academic orientation,and unrealistic goal orientation.The underachiever thus represents2 a significantsocial and educationalproblem, and is apopulationwhere the goal ofpsyc

4 hotherapy is relativelyunambiguous andea
hotherapy is relativelyunambiguous andeasily measurable;improvement in grade pointaverage.Specifically, it washypothesized that:1)Underachievers receiving grcupcounseling would showsignificant improvement inGPA and level of under-achievement compared to amatched control group.2)Within the populationof underachieversreceivinggroup counseling,those receiving thehighest levelsof therapeutic conditionswould show the greatestimprovement in GPA orlevel of underachievement.ProcedureSelection of Underachievers:Underachieving collegefreshmen were defined asdnose who wereplaced on academicprobation at the endof their first semesterof course workdespite having shownby their scores ontheAmerican College Test(ACT) that they hadrequisite academicaptitude to have madepassing grades.A population of 109studentswas obtainedfrom the Registrar'soffice who had a GPAfor the onesemester of from1.49 to 2.0 (lettergrade of C = 2.0), whohlda predictedGPA from the ACT of2.2 or above, andwho wereregistered for the secondfreshman semester.From this population,a group of48 underachievers wasobtained in response to aformletter indicating theavailability of groupcounseling.The 48subjects were thendivided randomly into twoequal groups ofexperimentals and controls,with the experimental groupfurtherdivided into three equal groupsof eight subjectseach for groupcounseling, with thefollowing exceptions:1) all subjects were,of course, notfree at each of thethree times selectedfor eachof the threecounseling grOups to meetand 2) equal numbersofmales and females wereplaced in the pool ofsubjec

5 ts from whicheach experimental group vas
ts from whicheach experimental group vasdrawn in the exp-::tationthat ap-proximately equal numbersof males and femaleswould be assignedto each of thethree counseling groups.The therapy andcontrol groups werewell matched as groups,withaverage agesof 18.0 and 18.1, averagepredicted GPA of 2.37and2.34, averageprecounseliag actual GFAof 1.73 and 1.73,average courseloads for the firstsemester of 15.6 and15.1semester hours,and 13.5 and 13.1semester hours thesecondsemester,respectively.Treatment Procedure:The three groupsmet for groupcounseling twice eachweek over aperiod of 12 weeks,for a total of24 one-hour sessions.Allgroup sessionswere taperecorded and a singletherapist was3 used who had been trained in the offering of high levels ofconditions with an integrated didactic and experiential approadh(rruax, Carkhuff and Douds, 1964; Carkhuff and Truax, 1965).Since he had reached a moderately high level of performance inthe training provided, it was anticipated that the underachieversreceiving group counseling would receive moderately high to highlevels of therapeutic conditions.Measurement of Therapeutic Conditions:One four-minute excerpt fram each tape recorded session was takenat random from the middle one-third of each hour.These sampleswere coded and rated independently by two raters who had previauslybeen trained in the use of the scales.Measurements were thus ob-tained using the Accurate Empathy Scale (Truax, 1961), the Un-conditional Positive Regard Scale (Truax, 1962), and the TherapistGenulneness Scale (rruax and Dickenson, 1964).The ratings ofthe th

6 ree therapeutic conditions present in ea
ree therapeutic conditions present in each group were pooledacross raters, scales, and sessions yielding the following meanvalues:Group I=13.2Group II=13.4Group III =12.6.Thus, Group I and Group II had essentially identical levels ofconditions while Group III received lower conditions (t = 1.71,It)Intraclass correlations using Ebel's (1951) formulafor reliability of ratings across judges were r = .83 for accurateempathy, r = .75 for unconditional positive regard, and r = .25for therapist genuineness.In terms of absolute values, Group's Iand II received relatively high levels while Group III receivedmoderate levels.The quite law reliability of the therapistgenuineness ratings were unexpected but the rank ordering ofhigh and moderate levels was the same for all three measures oftherapeutic conditions.Counseling Outcome Measures:Five specific measures of improvement in academic performancewere used as measures of counseling outcome:1) a number ofunderachievers in the counseling and control populations receivedpassing grades during the semester posttherapy; 2) the numberof underachievers whose poststatement showed a higher grade pointaverage than they had pretreatment; 3) a grade point average inthe underachievers obtained during the semester following treatment;4) an underachievement score obtained by taking the differcnceper subject between his predictcd grade point averagebased onthe ACT and the obtained GPA during the semester posttherapy; and5) a change underachievement score obtained by subtracting under-achievement score obtained pretreatment fram t

7 hat obtained duringthe semester posttrea
hat obtained duringthe semester posttreatment.4 AINMIANNE"-ResultsThe nhtaihed findingc hearing nrnn the nriPinal hypnthPsispredicting greater improvement for the counseled than the controlstudents, and among the counseled greater improvement for thosereceiving the highest levels of accurate empathy, nonpossessivewarmth, and genuineness, are presented in Table I.As can beseen, the findings tend to support the original hypothesis on allfive measures of counseling outcome.-he counseled underachieversas a total group tend to show a greater number postcounselingwith passing grades, a greater number postcounseling with gradeshigher than precounseling, a higher average grade point averagepostcounseling, greater change from pre to post in underachieve-ment scores and less absolute level of underachievement post-therapy in camparison to a matched control population.Further,it can be seen that improvement in academic performance for thecounseled underachievers occurs primarily among those who havereceived relatively high levels of accurate empathy, unconditionalpositive regard, and genuineness.Thus, those underachieverswho received only moderate levels of therapeutic conditions duringcounseling, tended to show only a slight improvement in academicperformance and were essentially equivalent to the matched controlpopulation receiving no counseling.In terms of absolute v4lues,the underachievers receiving high therapeutic conditions duringgroup counseling obtained grade point averages posttreatment thatwere slightly above predicted GPAs based on the ACT, so thatas

8 a group it could no longer be classified
a group it could no longer be classified as underachievers.Table II presents the results of the analysis and the differencesbetween the counseled and control populations in the furthercomparisons between the counseled students receiving high conditions,the counseled students receiving moderate levels of therapeuticconditions, and the control population.The findings tend tostrongly support the original hypothesis an all five measures ofoutcome.That is, the underachievers receiving group counselingshow greater positive change in academic perfermance than dostudents in the matched control group, and, counseled studentsreceiving high conditions show improvement greater than either thecontrol students or those receiving moderate levels of conditionsduring group counseling.Those receiving only moderate levels ofaccurate empathy, unconditional positive regard, and counselorgenuineness during group counseling did not differ an any of theoutcome measnres friim the control group.DiscussionAt present data offers support for fhe effectivenessof groupcounseling in the treatment of underachieving college students.5 Students receiving group counseling, as a group, showed signif-icantly greater improvement in academic achievement than didmatched underachieving students receiving no group counseling.In fact, the underachievers who received group counseling were,as a group, changed from underachievers to nonunderachieversfrom pre to postcounseling.By contrast, the underachieversserving as control subjects showed no such change.The signif-icantly greater improvement for

9 the counseled students heldwhether the a
the counseled students heldwhether the analyses were based upon level of underachievement,change in underachievement, GPA postcounseling, number of studentswith passing grades postcounseling, or number of students showingimprovement pre to post GPA.When the counseled group was divided into those receiving highlevels of accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth and therapistgenuineness from their counselor and those receiving only moderatelevels of these therapeutic conditions, the findings indicatedthat positive changes occur almost exclusively within thosecounseled students who received the highest levels of ther-apeutic conditions.These findings then, tend to support theoriginal hypothesis and the prior findings suggesting that empathy,warmth and genuineness are of central importance for counselingoutcomes.Findings also thus support the theoretical position ofRogers (1962) and indeed the majority of other theorists.In considering the analyses relevant to the level of therapeuticconditions it should be remembered that the levels of accurateempathy, nonpossessive warmth, and therapist genuineness offeredthroughout the group counseling experience were relativelyhigh2compared to the average level of these conditions offered in areported sample of experienced therapists working with schizophrenicand neurotic patients (Rogers, 1962; Truax, 1963) or in comparisonto a group of fourtb year postinternship graduate students inclinical psychology (Bergin and Solomon, 1963).Further, the present obtained findings that students receivingrelatively moderate conditions

10 showed no difference from thecontrol gro
showed no difference from thecontrol group was not consistent with prior findings (in that theactual conditions were higher than the reported "low conditions"in prior studies reporting deterioration compared to controlpopulations).The implication, of course, is that only therapistsand counselors wbo provide relatively high levels of accurateempathy; warmth, and genuineness are helpful.The average therapistprobgbly has no effect and the below average counselor, a harmfuleffect.The findings3,then, seem consistent with the prior reportedresearch and with the original hypotheses.It should be notedthat no attempt was made to evaluate the level of "therapeutirconditions" received by students in the control group from"informal helping relationships".As Bergin has noted (1963),6 it seems likely that many students in the control group made useof other informal helping relationships in the absence cf theavailability of formal counspling.Finally, it is perhaps of importance to note that 25 percentmore of the underachievers receiving group counseling showedpassing GPAs after three months of group counseling than didthose not receiving group counseling.If this finding shouldhold in general, then it would have considerable significance forhigher education.The implication is that with adequate groupcounseling of even brief duration that the attrition rate incollege could be cut by one-half at relatively low cost and withoutany lowering of academic standards.If relatively high thera-peutic conditions were uniformly provided in group counseling(via better training of c

11 ounselors or a better selection ofcounse
ounselors or a better selection ofcounselors), then the attrition rate in colleges could be reducedeven more.7 Table IOutcome for UnderachieversReceiving Control or CounselingTreatmentsMean ChangeMeanPre to Postin Under-Under-achieve-NumberNumber PostNumber PostMeanMeanachieve-mentofwithwithGPAGPAmentScoreSubjectsPassing GradesHigher GradesPrePostScorePostControl Under-achievers2411(46%)11(46%)1.731.95+ .22- .39Counseled Under-achievers2417(71%)19(79%)1.732.29+ .37- .08High Conditions1613(81%)15(94%)1.722.45+ .74+ .04ModerateConditions84(50%)4(50%)1.751.92+ .19- .37 Table IITests of Significance on Outcome Between Control,All Counseling Combined and High and Moderate Levels ofTherapeutic Conditions SeparatelyX2X2Number PostNumber Postt Test_t Test Meant Test MeanwithwithMean GPAChant,e in Under-Uilder-Passing GradesHigher GradesPostachievementachievement%.0All Counseling vs.Control4.20*7.20 **1.98 *2.78 **1.71 1-High vs. ModerateConditions4.26 *9.13 **1.71 1-1.90 *1.40 1-High vs. Control6.60 *11.91 ***2.17 *4.33 ***1.96Moderate vs. Control0.380.380.100.730.07***4:.001**E.01*4:.05+ Footnotes1The present research was carried out at the Counseling Serviceof the University of Kentucky during the spring of 1964 and wassupported, in part, by Research Grant No. 906-P from theVocational Rehabilitation Admit. itration, U. S. Department ofHealth, Education, and Welfare.Appreciation is extended toEdward P. Williams for assistance in data analysis, to ShelbyHollingsworth and Emy Lou Redman for their rating skills, and toHarriett Rose and Charles Elton for their he

12 lpful suggestions andadministrative supp
lpful suggestions andadministrative support.2In terms of absolute levels of accurate empathy, the clientsreceiving high levils of group counseling received an averagevalue on the accurate empathy scale of 4.9, which compared withan average value of 4.7 for low conditions.In prior researchon individual counseling succes' ul cases had an average of5.46while unsucessful cases had an average value of 4.52.For un-conditional positive regard, the present group counseling studentsreceived an average value throughcut therapy of 4.1 for highconditions, and 3.7 for low conditions.This compares with indi-vidual counseling unconditional positive regard values of 3.71 forsuccessful cases and 3.21 for unsucce sful cases.3These analyses were computed without eliminating two subjectswho dropped out of school and thus out of group counseling withintwo weeks after the beginning of the second semester so that theyactually received fewer than five group counseling sessions.Further, one of the control subjects sought and Obtained individualcounseling on her own.When these two "treated" and the one"control" are eliminated, the differences are even larger in favorof the predicted positive effects of group counseling over thatobserved in the controls.10b yRrafrarcnar.casBergin, AE.The effects of psychotherapy:negative resultsrevisited.J. Counsel. Psychol., 10, 3, 1963, 244-250.Bergin, A. E. and Solamon, Sandra.Personality and performancecorrelates of empathic understandingin psychotherapy.Paper read at American PsychologicalAssociation,Philadelphia, September, 1963.Brayfield,

13 A. H.Counseling psychology.Annu. Rev. P
A. H.Counseling psychology.Annu. Rev. Psychol.,1963, 14, 319-350.Carkhuff, R. R. and Truax, C.B.Training in counseling andpsychotherapy:an evaluation of an integrated didacticand experiential approach.J. Consult. Psychol., 1965a,in press.Ebel, R. L.Estimation of the reliability of ratings.Psychometrika, 1951, 16, 407-424.Eysenck, H. J.The effects of psychotherapy:an evaluation.J. Consult. Psychol., 1952, 16, 319-324.Rogers, C. B.The interpersonal relationship:the core ofguidance.Harvard Educ. Rev., 1962, 32, 416-429.Taylor, R. C.Personality traits and discrepant achievement:a review.J. Counsel. Psychol., 1964, 11, 76-82.Truax, C. B.A scale for the measurement ofaccurate empathy,Discussion Papers, Wisconsin PsychiatricInstitute,University of Wisconsin, 1961, 20.Truax, C. B.A tentative scale for the measurement ofun-conditional positive regard.Psychiatric InstituteBulletin, University of Wisconsin, 1962, 2,1.Truax, C. B.Effective ingredients in psychotherapy:an approachto unraveling the patient-therapist interaction.J. Counsel. Psychol., 10, 3, 1963, 256-263.Truax, C. B. and Carkhuff, R. R.The .old and the new:thechanging scene in theory and research in counselingandpsychotherapy.Personnel Guid. J., 1964, 42, 9,860-866.11 ItTruax, C. B., Carkhuff, R. R. and Douds,J.Toward anintegration of the didactic and experientialapproachesto training in counseling and psychotherapy.J. Counsel.Psychol., 11, 3, 1964, 240-247.Truax, C. B. and Dickensan, W. A.A tentative scale for themeasurement of therapist geauineness.Unpublishedrevision, University of Kentucky, 1964