An Examination of Individual and Group Outcomes of Male and Female Community Treatment Clients

Abstract

Aim: To examine outcome differences between men and women matched to either individual or group community-based treatment.

Design: A pre-post design that began with 173 participants, 115 male and 58 female. Of 90 males matched to individual counseling only 16 attended while 12 of 13 matched to group counseling attended. Of 45 female participants matched to individual counseling one-third attended while six of seven women referred to group counseling attended. The BASIS-32 was used to examine outcome differences.

Findings: All participants who completed counseling had significantly better post-treatment scores than pre-treatment scores. Significantly more men than women dropped out after the assessment process was completed, prior to commencing treatment. Dropout was more likely to occur if a person was assigned to individual than to group counseling. Despite clinically matching clients to either individual or group counseling there were no statistical significant differences in pre-test scores between either counseling modality for men or for women. However, six-month post-treatment scores for both men and women who had participated in group counseling were significantly lower than for those who had received individual counseling.

Conclusion: The most important attribute in achieving a positive outcome was attending counseling, something more women than men did, though more positive sustained change was also observed in those assigned to group rather than to individual counseling.

Key Words:

• Group counseling
• individual counseling
• program outcomes
• sex differences