R. Larkin et Ba. Thyer, Evaluating cognitive-behavioral group counseling to improve elementary school students' self-esteem, self-control, and classroom behavior, BEHAV INTER, 14(3), 1999, pp. 147-161
The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral gro
up counseling provided to behaviorally disruptive elementary school childre
n. Fifty-two referred children received protocol-based cognitive-behavioral
group counseling provided by the first author, a school social worker. Stu
dents were randomly assigned to receive either immediate (IT) group counsel
ing or delayed treatment (DT). The two-groups were roughly equivalent on mo
st demographic and outcome measures at the first assessment. Following grou
p counseling, the IT groups' self-esteem, perceived self-control, teacher,
and teacher aide grades of classroom comportment significantly improved, wh
ile similar measures of the DT children did not appreciably change. The DT
children then received the same group program the IT group was exposed to t
hree months earlier, and when group counseling was completed (third assessm
ent) the IT groups' gains had been maintained, and the DT group gained impr
ovements similar to those obtained by the IT group. In conclusion, cognitiv
e-behavioral group work can be an effective intervention with behaviorally
disruptive elementary school students. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons
, Ltd.