Group climate development in cognitive and interpersonal group therapy for social phobia.

Abstract

This study was designed as a longitudinal study of 80 participants in cognitive group\ntherapy (RCT, n = 40) and interpersonal group therapy (RIPT, n = 40) for social\nphobia during 10 weeks of residential therapy. The aim was to investigate the patterns\nof group climate development and its impact on treatment outcome. Data were\ncollected using MacKenzie’s Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ) 4 times during\ntreatment, and a multilevel (mixed) model approach was used in the analyses. Engagement\nin RCT groups showed a linear increase during treatment in contrast to a linear\ndecline among patients in RIPT groups. This divergence might be explained by the\nfocus on extragroup and intragroup relationships in RCT and RIPT, respectively.\nNeither conflict nor avoidance followed the expected pattern, nor did their mean levels\ninfluence outcome. However, when 6 extreme values of conflict were removed, there\nwas support for a low–high–low pattern of conflict. In general, these results do not\nsupport MacKenzie’s generic model of group climate development but suggest that\nsample characteristics, treatment models, and setting can play major roles in determining\nthe group climate. Of the group climate variables, only the mean level of engagement\npredicted a change in social anxiety over the course of treatment.