Group cohesion and working alliance: prediction of treatment outcome in cardiac patients receiving cognitive behavioral group psychotherapy.
BACKGROUND
Various definitions of both group cohesion and working alliance are used in theories on group psychotherapy, making the study of their relative contribution to the treatment outcome difficult. In this study, two different, nonoverlapping questionnaires were used to explore the relationship between group cohesion, working alliance and treatment outcome in a time-limited, structured cognitive behavioral group psychotherapy aiming at the reduction of coronary risk factors.


METHODS
After having undergone percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, 42 patients were treated with the aim to reduce exhaustion, anxiety, hostility and depression. The newly developed Group Cohesion Questionnaire (GCQ) and the Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ-II, measuring the bond between individual patients and the group psychotherapist) were administered after the fifth and tenth treatment session. Exhaustion, quality of life, anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate were measured before and after treatment. To test the relationship between the GCQ, the HAQ-II and outcome variables, Pearson Product-Moment correlations and hierarchical regression was applied.


RESULTS
Principal Component Analysis of the GCQ yielded two dimensions, the bond with the group as a whole and the bond with other group members. Hierarchical regression showed that both the bond with other group members and working alliance contributed significantly and independently to the prediction of posttreatment systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as posttreatment quality of life (confidence).


CONCLUSIONS
Conceptually and empirically, group cohesion and the working alliance may be considered to represent different relationships in a psychotherapy group, contributing in different ways to the treatment outcome in cardiac patients receiving cognitive behavioral group psychotherapy.
van Andel
Peter
P
Department of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, and the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Erdman
Rudolph A M
RA
Karsdorp
Petra A
PA
Appels
Ad
A
Trijsburg
Rutger W
RW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome