A single mothers' group for mothers of children attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic: preliminary results.
OBJECTIVE
To provide a preliminary report of data from 2 support groups for single mothers, all of whom were mothers of children attending a child outpatient psychiatric clinic. The groups' 2 purposes were: 1. to assess the feasibility of adding structured evaluation to a common clinical intervention; 2. to improve single mothers' parenting skills through raised levels of self-esteem, increased capacity for family functioning and reduced levels of depression.


METHODS
Three structured evaluation instruments were used to measure the domains of self-esteem, family functioning and depression. These instruments were given to both groups of women on 3 occasions: 1. before the group; 2. after the group; 3. at a follow-up session 4 months after group termination. Open-ended questions were also asked at group termination.


RESULTS
The questionnaire response rate was 100%; overall response rate for the 3 open-ended questions was 89%. Comparisons of pre-group and post-group scores showed that there was a significant increase in self-esteem (p < 0.01) and significant improvements in family functioning (p < 0.05) and depression (p < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
It is possible to introduce a structured evaluation component into a common clinical intervention, and this support group seemed to assist single mothers' parenting skills. Methodologic concerns and future directions are discussed.
Chedoke Child and Family Centre, Hamilton, Ontario.
J E
JE
McNamee
E L
EL
Lipman
F
F
Hicks
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005196:Family Therapy; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D012649:Self Concept; D015406:Single Parent / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome