Establishing individualized goals in a supported education intervention: Program influences on goal-setting and attainment

Objectives: Support for goal-setting and attainment is a frequent component of social work interventions aimed at fostering client growth. This study investigated goal-setting and attainment in the Michigan Supported Educatio n Research Project, an intervention that provides support for adults with p sychiatric disabilities to engage in postsecondary education. Method, An ex perimental design with three conditions was used and data war collected at five time points. The sample included 397 adults. Results: Results indicate increased complexity of goal statements over rime. Goals became more speci fic for those in the treatment conditions and for those who were high parti cipants. Multivariate models found that selecting school as the most import ant goal was a significant factor in predicting later enrollment Conclusion s: Interventions can influence the goals that are set by individuals. Becau se of its importance to social work practice, researchers and practitioners should pay more explicit attention to goal-setting.