AN ANALYSIS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MATURATION AND THE COMMUNICATION AND GROUP LEADERSHIP SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS IN A PEER COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAM
Abstract
Following the Deliberate Psychological Education (DPE) model the main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a peer counselor training program, fieldwork and supervision experiences in facilitating the psychological and communication skill development of adolescents. Effectiveness was measured by the subjects' improvement in level of ego development as measured by Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test (SCT), level of moral development as measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), ability to discriminate effective communications as measured by Carkhuff's Discrimination Index of Interpersonal Functioning (DIIF). A secondary objective of this study was to assess the relationship between leadership performance as measured by Kaltenbach and Gazda's Leadership Performance Scale (LPS) and the ability to communicate empathy as measured by Carkhuff's Communication Index of Interpersonal Functioning (CIIF) and between leadership performance and the ability to discriminate effective communications. The subjects in this study consisted of 77 twelfth grade students who volunteered to participate in their secondary school's Peer Counseling Program. Thirty-nine volunteers were assigned to the Experimental group (E), which included a practicum-seminar experience and communication and group leadership skill training. Seventeen volunteers were assigned to an active control group (C2), which included a peer tutor training program and fieldwork experience. The 21 remaining volunteers were assigned to an inactive control group (C1). The results of this study were improvement in ego development that was significant at the .01 level and statistically non-significant changes in moral judgment and communication skills. No significant relationship was found between LPS scores and either DIIF or CIIF pretest scores. It was concluded that the findings of this investigation partially confirmed those of the related literature of DPE. The results of a questionnaire administered to 15 subjects randomly selected from group E supported the findings in the area of ego development but raised some questions about the results in moral judgment and communication skills.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling
Recommended Citation
MCCANN, ARTHUR GABRIEL, "AN ANALYSIS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MATURATION AND THE COMMUNICATION AND GROUP LEADERSHIP SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS IN A PEER COUNSELOR TRAINING PROGRAM" (1983). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8409263.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8409263
