Factors affecting the birth and death of mutual‐help groups: The role of national affiliation, professional involvement, and member focal problem

Abstract

Examined the predictive relationship of three variables to the birth and death of mutual-help groups for a statewide New Jersey sample of 3,152 groups over a 2-year period. The three variables studied were group affiliation with a national mutual-help organization, local professional involvement in group activities, and group members' type of focal problem. Log-linear logit analysis revealed that the best-fitting model included Affiliation Status x Professional Involvement, and Affiliation Status x Focal Problem interactions. Among unaffiliated groups, professional involvement was related to lower group mortality, while among affiliated groups it was related to higher group mortality. Unaffiliated behavior control groups had higher odds for mortality and for birth than either unaffiliated life stress groups or unaffiliated medical groups. Among main effect findings, unaffiliated groups had consistently higher odds for birth than affiliated groups. The implications for research and action are discussed.

Continuum of professional involvement in self-help groups

“…The authors concluded that group members and professionals should work together to provide appropriate help in the current climate of declining public resources for professional health services. In a similar vein, Maton, Leventhal, Madara, & Julien (1989) found that there was an optimal level of external support for self-help groups. Too little or too much external support in the form of professional, local, and/or affiliated support through a national self-help organization was predictive of a group disbanding.…”

“…Most researchers suggest that professional leadership results in a negative impact for the group and its members (Kurtz, 1990;Maton et al, 1989;Schubert & Borkman, 1991;Toro et al, 1988). Kurtz (1990) stated that overinvolvement of the professional, including leadership or facilitation, risks professionalizing the group-reducing the opportunities for members to help each other.…”

“…Wintersteen and Young (1988) found group members to be positive about professionals playing the role of an advisor, but were critical of professionals who tried to dominate their group. Membercontrolled self-help groups vary widely in the extent to which there is professional involvement in the group (Emerick, 1990;Maton et al, 1989;Wintersteen & Young, 1988), ranging from a role as an occasional speaker to that of a facilitator for group meetings (Yoak & Chesler, 1985).…”

Failure and success in self-help groups for victims of professional sexual exploitation

“…They are not usually part of a larger network of groups with a central organization that provides support and guidance, which is one of the measures associated with survival in the ecological literature (Maton, Leventhal, Madara, & Julien, 1989). To the contrary, some leaders express a preference not to be a branch of a wider organization.…”

Étude comparative des caractéristiques internes et de l’environnement externe des communautés d’entraide francophone et anglophone de Sudbury-Manitoulin

“…1, n o 2, automne 1995 que la littérature et les recherches décrivent généralement bien les mérites particuliers et les caractéristiques générales des GE (Romeder, 1982), le contexte dans lequel ils évoluent et l'influence du milieu ambiant sur les groupes n'ont pas encore été suffisamment étudiés (Levy, 1984;Leventhal, Maton et Madara, 1988). Des recherches, en nombre limité, ont tenté d'étudier le rapport entre les GE et leur environnement externe; c'est-à-dire l'évo-lution des groupes, leurs caractéristiques, leurs besoins, leurs fonctions et leur efficacité par rapport aux communautés particulières dont ils émanent (Maton, Leventhal, Madara et Julien, 1989;Maton, 1989). Selon Levy (1984), les GE constituent des systèmes sociaux miniatures dont les caractéristiques varient en fonction des systèmes sociaux plus larges dont ils font partie.…”