Individual, Group Context, and Individual-Group Fit Predictors of Self-Help Group Attendance

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Three different conceptualizations of person-group fit are proposed for predicting self-help group attendance. Measures were calculated in three domains: individual characteristics, group characteristics, and individual-group dissimilarity. Survival analysis was used to relate the measures to patterns of attendance over time in a self-help group for persons with a history of serious mental illness. Variables in each domain were significantly related to attendance duration. Persons who were older, not married, educated, and low functioning were likely to attend for longer periods of time. Persons who attended first meetings that were predominately female were more likely to drop out of the group earlier Persons who had a different marital status and different psychiatric hospitalization history also had a shorter attendance duration. The results are discussed in light of the importance of multiple definitions of person-group fit, the mechanisms for group entrance, and practical and policy implications for self-help organizations.