Purpose: This study examined whether an existentially oriented group intervention reduces existential anxiety and enhances unconditional self-acceptance among men under probation. Method: A controlled quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was used with 20 male probationers (30–50 years), allocated to an intervention (n = 10) or control group (n = 10). The intervention consisted of eight biweekly 90-min group sessions structured around existential themes of freedom, responsibility, meaning, and authenticity. Outcomes were assessed using the Existential Concerns Questionnaire and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire, and data were analyzed with a 2 (group) × 2 (time) mixed-design analysis of variance. Results: The intervention group showed significant reductions in existential anxiety and significant increases in unconditional self-acceptance, with medium-to-large effect sizes, while no significant changes were observed in the control group. Conclusion: Existentially oriented group work appears to support meaning-making and self-acceptance among individuals under probation, offering a theoretically grounded complement to behavior-focused rehabilitation practices.
Acun KapıkıranN.KapıkıranŞ (2010). Unconditional Self-Acceptance Scale: The validity and reliability for Turkish university students. Kriz Dergisi, 18(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1501/Kriz_0000000309
2.
BarryM. (2013). Desistance by design: Offenders’ reflections on criminal justice theory, policy and practice. European Journal of Probation, 5(2), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/206622031300500204
CastroC.LabraO.GrenierS.DunoyerA. (2024). Group social intervention by social workers: Challenges and issues. Social Work with Groups, 47(3), 219–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2022.2083744
5.
ChamberlainJ. M.HaagaD. A. (2001). Unconditional self-acceptance and psychological health. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 19(3), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011189416600
6.
ChigangaidzeR. K. (2021). An exposition of humanistic-existential social work in light of ubuntu philosophy: Towards theorizing ubuntu in social work practice. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 40(2), 146–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/15426432.2020.1859431
7.
CooperM. (2008). Existential psychotherapy. In LebowJ. L. (Ed.), Twenty-first century psychotherapies: Contemporary approaches to theory and practice (pp. 237–276). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
8.
DianaL. (1960). What is probation. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 51(2), 189–208. https://doi.org/10.2307/1141190
EllisA. (1986). Rational-emotive therapy applied to relationship therapy. Journal of Rational Emotive Therapy, 4(1), 4–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01073477
11.
EriksonE. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. W. W. Norton & Company Inc.
12.
FarrallS.MarunaS. (2004). Desistance-focused criminal justice policy research: Introduction to a special issue on desistance from crime and public policy. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(4), 358–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2311.2004.00335.x
13.
FranklV. E. (2024). Man’s search for meaning. (YılmazÖ., Trans.) Okuyan Us Publications. (Original work published 1963)
14.
FraternaliK. (1998). Sartre's existentialism and social work. Journal of International & Comparative Social Welfare, 14(1), 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486839808412604
15.
Gamsız TunçÖ (2024). Türkiye’de Lisansüstü Tezlerde Ele Alınan Ceza İnfaz Kurumları ve Denetimli Serbestliklerde Yürütülmüş Deneysel Müdahalelerin İncelenmesi. The Journal of Academic Social Science, 147(147), 280–298. https://doi.org/10.29228/ASOS.73602
HeideggerM. (2015). Being and time (ÇüçenA. K., Trans.). Sentez Publications. (Original work published 1927)
18.
KarakoçF. Y.DönmezL. (2014). Ölçek geliştirme çalışmalarında temel ilkeler. Tıp Eğitimi Dünyası, 13(40), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.25282/ted.228738
19.
KominkiewiczF. B. (2006). Heideggerian existentialism and social work practice with death and survivor bereavement. The Social Science Journal, 43(1), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2005.12.004
KrillD. F. (1995). My spiritual sojourn into existential social work. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 1(4), 57–64.
22.
KrillD. F. (2017). Existential social work. In TurnerF. J. (Ed.), Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches (6th ed, pp. 166–190). Oxford University Press. Original work published 1974.
23.
MarunaS. (1998). Redeeming one's self: How reformed ex-offenders make sense of their lives. (Publication No. 9913841) [Doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University]. Northwestern University ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, UMI Co.
24.
McNeillF. (2004). Desistance, rehabilitation and correctionalism: Developments and prospects in Scotland. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(4), 420–436. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2311.2004.00339.x
25.
NilssonH. (2018). Existential social work and the quest for existential meaning and well-being: A conceptual framework. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 37(1), 64–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/15426432.2017.1382428
26.
PetersC. M. (2011). Social work and juvenile probation: Historical tensions and contemporary convergences. Social Work, 56(4), 355–365. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/56.4.355
27.
RasoolS.RossE. (2017). The power and promise of group work: Consumer evaluation of group work services in Gauteng, South Africa. Research on Social Work Practice, 27(2), 206–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731516653185
28.
RaynorP.UgwudikeP.VanstoneM. (2014). The impact of skills in probation work: A reconviction study. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 14(2), 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895813494869
29.
RaynorP.VanstoneM. (2016). Moving away from social work and half way back again: New research on skills in probation. British Journal of Social Work, 46(4), 1131–1147. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv008
30.
RobinsonG.McNeillF. (2008). Exploring the dynamics of compliance with community penalties. Theoretical Criminology, 12(4), 431–449. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480608097151
31.
SartreJ. P. (2025). Being and nothingness: An essay in phenomenological ontology. (Çankaya EksenG., Trans.). İthaki Publications. (Original work published 1943)
32.
ShadishW. R.CookT. D.CampbellD. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin Company.
StretchJ. J. (1967). Existentialism: A proposed philosophical orientation for social work. Social Work, 12(4), 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/12.4.97
35.
TaxmanF. S. (2014). Second generation of RNR: The importance of systemic responsivity in expanding core principles of responsivity. Federal Probation, 78(2), 32–40.
36.
TemizR. (2024). Varoluşçu Sosyal Hizmet: Tarihçesi ve Temel Kavramları Üzerine Bir Derleme. Toplum ve Sosyal Hizmet, 35(4), 733–755. https://doi.org/10.33417/tsh.1393113
37.
ThompsonN. (2017). Existentialism and social work. Routledge. (Original work published 1992).
38.
ToselandR. W.RivasR. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Pearson.
39.
ÜmmetD.EkşiH.ÖzkapuY.EkşiF. (2018). The Existential Concerns Questionnaire (ECQ): A study of validity and reliability. In R.YılmazM. A.İçbayH.Arslan (Eds.), Research and development on social sciences (pp. 423–429). International Association of Social Science Research Press.
40.
van BruggenV.Ten KloosterP.WesterhofG.VosJ.de KleineE.BohlmeijerE.GlasG. (2017). The Existential Concerns Questionnaire (ECQ)–development and initial validation of a new existential anxiety scale in a nonclinical and clinical sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(12), 1692–1703. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22474
41.
VosJ. (2023). Existential psychological therapies: An overview of empirical research. Pratiques Psychologiques, 29(4), 211–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prps.2023.06.001
42.
YalomI. D. (2018). Existential psychotherapy (BabayiğitZ., Trans.) Pegasus. (Original work published 1980)
43.
YalomI. D.LeszczM. (2018). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (TangörA.KaraçamÖ., Trans.). Pegasus. (Original work published 2005)
