Social Work Research: Measuring Group Success The 12-week psychoeducational support group for survivors of trauma I facilitated consisted of eight women (five of whom identified as Caucasian and three of whom were Hispanic in origin) who had a history of sexual abuse and/or incest. All of the women spoke English, were between 30 and 50 years old, and identified as heterosexual. One woman in the group was married, and the rest were either divorced or single. Five of the women had children. The majority were gainfully employed except for one group member who had multiple sclerosis and was on Social Security Disability Insurance. Members were recruited via internal agency referrals or referrals from other social workers. All members were required to meet individually with a social worker while they attended group. The majority of the group members were incest survivors; only two were molested by strangers. All of the members had struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms that included hypervigilance, nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety. The abuse had affected their interpersonal relationships, professional growth, self-esteem, and general quality of life. The majority of incest survivors in the group had estranged themselves from their families as a result of anger and resentment toward a parent who did not protect them from the abuser. My treatment goal was teaching group members how to accept and integrate their abuse into their life narratives so that the events did not define who they were as individuals. With the tools learned during the group process, members would then be able to manage their lives, utilizing learned mindfulness and relaxation techniques, positive affirmations, and coping skills that would assist them in making healthy life choices. During each of the 12 weeks, I covered a specific topic related to life issues affected by sexual abuse. All members were asked to sign confidentiality agreements and review group rules during the first meeting. Members’ feelings were validated and supported throughout the process. I gave a pretest to each member in the form of a Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The scale was administered in order to measure members’ current emotional baselines before being exposed to the therapeutic group process. The basic 42-item questionnaire was known to have high internal consistency and to yield meaningful discriminations in a variety of settings. Members were asked to use 4-point severity/frequency scales to rate the extent to which they had experienced each state. The Likert scale indicated a “0” for the least depressed/anxious/stressed choice and “3” for the most depressed/anxious/stressed choice per item. Total scores ranged from a minimum of 0 (no distress) to a maximum distress of 126. Scores for each symptom were summed, and the higher scores indicated more distress. The pretest scores summed by symptom for group members consisted of the following: depression 210, anxiet.

1. Social Work Research: Measuring Group Success
The 12-week psychoeducational support group for survivors of
trauma I facilitated consisted of eight women (five of whom
identified as Caucasian and three of whom were Hispanic in
origin) who had a history of sexual abuse and/or incest. All of
the women spoke English, were between 30 and 50 years old,
and identified as heterosexual. One woman in the group was
married, and the rest were either divorced or single. Five of the
women had children. The majority were gainfully employed
except for one group member who had multiple sclerosis and
was on Social Security Disability Insurance. Members were
recruited via internal agency referrals or referrals from other
social workers. All members were required to meet individually
with a social worker while they attended group.
The majority of the group members were incest survivors; only
two were molested by strangers. All of the members had
struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms
that included hypervigilance, nightmares, flashbacks, and
anxiety. The abuse had affected their interpersonal
relationships, professional growth, self-esteem, and general
quality of life. The majority of incest survivors in the group had
estranged themselves from their families as a result of anger
and resentment toward a parent who did not protect them from
the abuser.
My treatment goal was teaching group members how to accept
and integrate their abuse into their life narratives so that the
events did not define who they were as individuals. With the
tools learned during the group process, members would then be
able to manage their lives, utilizing learned mindfulness and
relaxation techniques, positive affirmations, and coping skills
that would assist them in making healthy life choices.
During each of the 12 weeks, I covered a specific topic related
to life issues affected by sexual abuse. All members were asked
to sign confidentiality agreements and review group rules

2. during the first meeting. Members’ feelings were validated and
supported throughout the process. I gave a pretest to each
member in the form of a Depression Anxiety Stress Scale
(DASS). The scale was administered in order to measure
members’ current emotional baselines before being exposed to
the therapeutic group process. The basic 42-item questionnaire
was known to have high internal consistency and to yield
meaningful discriminations in a variety of settings. Members
were asked to use 4-point severity/frequency scales to rate the
extent to which they had experienced each state. The Likert
scale indicated a “0” for the least depressed/anxious/stressed
choice and “3” for the most depressed/anxious/stressed choice
per item. Total scores ranged from a minimum of 0 (no distress)
to a maximum distress of 126. Scores for each symptom were
summed, and the higher scores indicated more distress. The
pretest scores summed by symptom for group members
consisted of the following: depression 210, anxiety 138, and
stress 190.
I utilized a feminist empowerment model and strengths
perspective framework during the group process. The model
focused on strengthening women in such areas as assertiveness,
communication, relationships, and self-esteem. Members were
then able to develop the tools needed to reach their potential as
unique and valuable individuals.
Group cohesion had formed by the third session as members felt
more comfortable sharing their personal stories, feelings, and
experiences with sexual abuse. The psychoeducational format
enabled members to increase their knowledge over the course of
the sessions in such topics as dealing with crisis, survival skills,
anger, challenging negative schemas, healthy support systems,
self-esteem, building healthy relationships, healing sexually,
and, finally, mourning losses and moving on.
I administered the DASS posttest in week 12 to measure any
emotional changes. With “0” being the least
depressed/anxious/stressed and “3” being the most
depressed/anxious/stressed choices, the summed scores for all

3. symptoms dropped 72% and reflected those of the eight
members who remained in the group through the last session
when the posttest was administered. Posttest summed scores
resulted in depression 45 (vs. 210 pretest), anxiety 45 (vs. 138
pretest), and stress 61 (vs. 190 pretest), attesting to the validity
of the current group format. In addition, the members were
given an agency evaluation qualitative measurement form to fill
out in order to rate member satisfaction with the agency’s group
format. The evaluation form consisted of some questions in
yes/no format and others as fill-ins. Answers were positive for
all members. Finally, members were given “diplomas”
consisting of an inspirational affirmation based on the
principles of dignity and self-worth.
SOCW 6301 Week 9
Discussion 1: Relationship Between Purpose of Study and Data
Analysis Techniques
In order to make decisions about the value of any research study
for practice, it is important to understand the general processes
involved in analyzing research data. By now, you have
examined enough research studies to be aware that there are
some common ways that data are reported and summarized in
research studies. For example, the sample is often described by
numbers of participants and by certain characteristics of those
participants that help us determine how representative the
sample is of a population. The information about the sample is
commonly reported in tables and graphs, making use of
frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and
dispersion. Information about the variables (or concepts) of
interest when quantified are also reported in similar manner.
Although the actual data analysis takes place after data have
been collected, from the initial planning of a research study, the
researcher needs to have an awareness of the types of questions
that can be answered by particular data analysis techniques.

4. For this Discussion, review the case study titled "Social Work
Research: Measuring Group Success." Consider the data
analysis described in that case. Recall the information presented
in the earlier chapters of your text about formulating research
questions to inform a hypotheses or open-ended exploration of
an issue.
· Post an explanation of the types of descriptive and/or
inferential statistics you might use to analyze the data gathered
in the case study
· explain how the statistics you identify can guide you in
evaluating the applicability of the study's findings for your own
practice as a social worker. Define validity in 2-3 sentences and
give one example of how you would establish validity for the
questions you created.
· Include at least 3 references and citations.
Yegidis, B. L., Weinbach, R. W., & Myers, L. L. (2018).
Research methods for social workers (8th ed.). New York, NY:
Pearson.
· Chapter 13, “Analyzing Data” (pp. 295–297, “The Data in
Perspective”)
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014).
Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore, MD:
Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-
reader].
· Social Work Research: Measuring Group Success
Bauer, S., Lambert, M. J., & Nielsen, S. L. (2004). Clinical
significance methods: A comparison of statistical techniques.
Journal of Personality Assessment, 82(1), 60–70.

5. Gibson, F. H. (2003). Indigent client perceptions of barriers to
marriage and family therapy (Dissertation, University of
Louisiana at Monroe).