This study explored the extent to which self-help group leaders endorsed beliefs that group members should primarily take care of themselves (a need-based norm) and that group members have an obligation to help others (an equity-based nonn). Leadersfrom 63 different groups were asked to respond to a fictional vignette describing "Betty," who had been attending a cancer survivors group for 4 months. Leaders 'endorsements of both norms were interpreted as evidence that leaders experienced pressures to respond to both individual members 'needs and the group 's survival needs. Group-level variables, rather than dispositional variables, were most strongly associated with their endorsements of needand equity-based norms. Leaders were less likely to endorse the need-based norm and more likely to endorse the equity-based norm when (a) there was more diversified leadership in their own group, (b) their group was affiliated with other groups rather than stand-alone groups, and (c) the leader was a successor rather than a founder.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Antze, P. (1976). The role of ideologies in peer psychotherapy organizations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 12, 323-346.
2.
Borkman, T. J. (1973). Ingredients for survival: A profile of stutterers'self-help organizations. Unpublished manuscript, George Mason University.
3.
Borkman, T. J. (1991). Introduction to special issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 651-666.
4.
Chesler, M. A. , & Chesney, B. K. (1995). Cancerand self-help: Bridging the troubled waters of childhood illness. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.
5.
Clark, M. S. (1983). Some implications of close social bonds for help-seeking. In B. P. DePaulo, A. A. Nadler, & J. Fisher (Eds.), New directions in helping (Vol. 2, 205-229). New York: Academic Press.
6.
Clark, M. S. , & Mills, J. (1993). The difference between communal and exchange relationships: What it is and is not. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 684-691.
7.
Clark, M. S. , Ouellette, R., Powell, M., & Milberg, S. (1987). Relationship type, recipient mood and helping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 94-103.
8.
Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 37-46.
9.
Duck, S. (1988). Relating to others. Milton Keynes, England: Open University Press.
10.
Eisenberg, D. M. , Kessler, R. C., Foster, C., Norlock, F. E., Calkins, D. R., & Belbanco, T. L. (1993). Unconventional medicine in the United States: Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. The New England Journal of Medicine, 328, 246-284.
11.
Gartner, R. , & Riessman, F. (1984). The self-help revolution. New York: Human Sciences Press.
12.
Gouldner, A. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: Apreliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25,161-178.
13.
Hays, W. L. (1963). Statistics for psychologists. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
14.
Jacobs, M. K. , & Goodman, G. (1989). Psychology and self-help groups: Predictions on a partnership. American Psychologist, 44, 536-545.
15.
Jurik, N. C. (1987). Persuasion in a self-help group: Processes and consequences. Small Group Behavior, 18, 368-397.
16.
Kaufman, C. L. , Schulberg, H. C., & Schooler, N. R. (1994). Self-help group participation among people with severe mental illness. In F Lavoie, T. Borkman, & B. Gidron (Eds.), Self-help and mutual aid groups: International and multicultural perspectives (pp. 315-332). New York: Haworth.
17.
Klass, D. (1984-1985). Bereaved parents and The Compassionate Friends: Affiliation and healing. Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying, 15, 353-373.
18.
Levy, L. H. , & Derby, J. F. (1992). Bereavement support groups: Who joins; who does not and why. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 649-662.
19.
Luke, D. A. , Roberts, L., & Rappaport, J. (1993). Individual, group context, and individualgroup fit predictors of self-help group attendance. The Joumal of Applied Behavioral Science, 29, 216-238.
20.
Maton, K. I. , Leventhal, G. S., Madara, E. L., & Julien, M. (1989). Factors affecting thebirth and death of mutual-help groups: The role of national affiliation, professional involvement, and member focal problem. American Journal of Community Psychology, 17, 643-671.
21.
Medvene, L. J. (1984). Self-help and professional collaboration. Social Policy, 14, 15-18.
22.
Medvene, L. J. (1985). Organizational theory of self-help groups. Social Policy, 15, 35-37.
23.
Medvene, L. J. , Mendoza, R., Lin, K.-M., Harris, N., & Miller, M. (1995). Increasing Mexican American attendance of support groups for parents of the mentally ill: Organizational and psychological factors. Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 307-325.
24.
Medvene, L. J. , Volk, F., & Meissen, G. (1997). Communal orientation and burnout among self-help group leaders. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 262-278.
25.
Meissen, G. , Gleason, D. F., & Embree, M. G. (1991). An assessment of the needs of mutual help groups. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19,427-442.
26.
Murstein, B. I. , Wadlin, R., & Bond, C. F. (1987). The revised exchange orientation scale. Small Group Behavior, 18,212-223.
27.
O'Connell, L. (1984). An exploration of exchange in three social relationships: Kinship, friendship and the marketplace. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 1, 333-345.
28.
Raiff, N. R. (1982). Self-helpparticipation and quality of life: Astudy of the staff of Recovery, Inc. Prevention in Human Services, 1, 79-90.
29.
Revenson, T. A. , & Cassel, J. B. (1991). An exploration of leadership in a medical mutual help organization. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 683-698.
30.
Rudy, D. R. (1986). Becoming alcoholic: Alcoholics Anonymous and the reality of alcoholism. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
31.
Sahlins, M. (1972). Stone age economics. New York: Aldine.
32.
Schubert, M. A. , & Borkman, T. J. (1991). An organizational typology for self-help groups. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19, 769-788.
33.
Seligman, M.E.P. (1995). The effectiveness of psychotherapy: The Consumer Reports study. American Psychologist, 50, 965-974.
34.
Shinn, M. (1990). Mixing and matching: Levels of conceptualization, measurement, and statistical analysis in community research. In P. Tolan, C. Keys, F. Chertok, & L. Jason (Eds.), Researching communitypsychology: Issues of theory and methods (pp. 111-126). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
35.
Smith, A. R. (1993). The social construction of group dependency inAlcoholics Anonymous. The Journal of Drug Issues, 23, 689-704.
36.
Stewart, M. J. (1989). Social support: Diverse theoretical perspectives. Social Science and Medicine, 28, 1275-1282.
37.
Uehara, E. S. (1995). Reciprocity reconsidered: Gouldner's "moral norm of reciprocity" and social support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 483-502.
38.
Volk, F. (1994). Communal orientation and burnout among self-help group leaders. Unpublished master's thesis, Wichita State University.
39.
Walster, E. , Walster, G. W., & Berscheid, E. (1978). Equity: Theory and research. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
40.
Wituk, S. (1996). Exploring the routes to leadership in self-help groups. Unpublished honors thesis, Wichita State University.
