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ERIC Number: ED211233
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1981-Aug
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Illness and Prevention: Self-Help Groups for Families Faced with Scoliosis.
Hinrichsen, Gregory A.; And Others
The purpose of this study was to determine what kinds of people are motivated to join a medical self-help group and whether and in what areas of psychological and social functioning such self-help groups have positive benefits for adolescents and their families. Extensive survey questionnaires were sent throughout the United States to all former and current members of nine scoliosis clubs which existed in the spring of 1980. The questionnaires contained measures of motivations and expectations for joining groups, relationships with the medical profession, psychosocial adjustment, family relationships, attitudes toward scoliosis, social support and coping styles, as well as questions related to demographic characteristics and medical histories. Completed questionnaires were returned by 199 adults (including 142 parents of children with scoliosis) and 140 young people. Another set of modified questionnaires was sent to a randomly selected sample of 1000 adults who had written to the Scoliosis Association in response to an article about the association in a nationally circulated Sunday magazine supplement. Three hundred and fifty-two adults (including 160 parents) and 143 children returned questionnaires. Results suggest that membership in a medical self-help group benefits scoliotic children and their parents in only a few areas. Problems of the cross-sectional comparison group design employed are discussed. (Author/RH)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A