Inpatient adolescent and latency-age children's perspectives on the curative factors in group psychotherapy

Thirty-three adolescent and 11 child psychiatric inpatients were administered a downward revision of Yalom's (1970) 60-item Q-sort, which sets forth 12 putative curative factors of group, to assess patient perceptions of which factors in group therapy are most curative. The impact that age, patient level of functioning, and time in treatment had on which factors were most valued was assessed. Patient perceptions of the value of group compared to other treatment modalities were also assessed. Both child and adolescent subjects highly valued the factors of Hope, Cohesiveness, and Universality. Patients' level of functioning had limited effects on adolescents' perceptions, but did effect children's perceptions of what was most valued in group. The modest effect of time in treatment was attributed to the short duration of inpatient treatment. Implications for inpatient adolescent and child group therapy and future research are explored.Appreciation is extended to Mary Kelly, Elly Cobb, and Anna Csaky-Chase for their conceptual and editorial assistance.