A pilot study using the group environment scale to evaluate first-year resident support groups.

Background And Objectives: Resident support groups are not universally accepted nor without controversy. Existing descriptive studies suggest the need for better evaluation methods. This study tests a quantitative method for assessing resident support groups using a standardized questionnaire to evaluate changes occurring during support group participation.

Methods: The Group Environment Scale (GES) was used to quantitatively assess premeasures and postmeasures of group functioning for two combined support groups.

Results: After analyzing the combined group's premeasures and postmeasures on 10 GES subscales, paired t tests revealed "expressiveness," "self discovery," and "anger and aggression " significantly increased, while "order and organization " decreased. The GES profile suggests that these intern support groups significantly promoted expression of feelings, self disclosure, and self-reflection about personal and professional problems and tolerance of anger in an environment that becomes significantly less formal and structured with strong leader support but low leader control.

Conclusions: The GES is a useful tool for assessing intern support groups. This pilot study provides a quantitative baseline assessment of intern support groups for future comparisons.