Gender Consideration Effects of Group Counselling on Communication Apprehension among University Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of group counselling intervention among students of higher institution in reducing communication apprehension based on genders. A total of 30 students, 15 females and 15 males, were selected from one of the universities located in the northern part of Malaysia. The approach used is group counselling, in combination with solution-focused brief therapy and cognitive-behavioral theory. Personal Report Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) was used to measure the changes of communication apprehension before and after the intervention between the male and female subjects. Meanwhile, Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance was used to compare the mean values of communication apprehension (group discussion, meeting, interpersonal communication, and public speaking) and gender, before and after the intervention. Results showed that, there was a significant difference between time test and gender for communication apprehension, group discussion, and interpersonal communication. Nonetheless, the results showed no significant difference between the male and female subjects in meeting and public speaking. In summary, it can be inferred that the incorporation of group counselling sessions holds promise in effectively alleviating the levels of communication apprehension encountered by university students.