| Summary: | Confidentiality as a group norm and how it affected self-disclosures
in personal growth groups were compared between control and
treated groups. The sample consisted of 53 students enrolled in a
graduate level group counseling course. The students were randomly
assigned to six groups: three control and three experimental groups.
Each group had two facilitators. The groups all met in the same
place, at the same time and observed the same protocols. The process
group model was followed.
This study had four hypotheses and three main objectives: first,
to determine what effect establishing confidentiality as a norm had
on a participant's self-disclosures, second, to determine if the
group members believed that the norm of confidentiality would be
breached by either the group facilitators or the group members; and,
finally, to examine the attitudes and opinions of control and treated
group members towards the belief that confidentiality as a group norm
would promote more self-disclosures in personal growth groups.
The qualitative and quantative data revealed that confidentiality
as a norm did not produce significantly greater self-disclosures.
Group members generally believed that confidentiality among members
would be observed and members had a high belief that their group
facilitators would not violate their stated ethical standards. There
was no significant difference between control and treated groups in
their belief that confidentiality as a norm was important for self-disclosures
to occur. === Graduation date: 1986
|
|---|
