Although group psychotherapy for women with incest histories has a long tradition as an intervention, the research base on which it rests is in an early stage of development. This integrated literature review demonstrates the wide range of adequacy of current studies. Because the studies differed considerably in methodology and reporting, they were categorized and assessed by 6 criteria (Haynes, Taylor, & Sackett, 1979): design, sample, inclusion criteria, replicability, analysis, and outcome. Twenty-one studies met the criteria and could be rated. Most of these studies (n = 14) were descriptive or a case study in nature. Implications for both researchers and practitioners are addressed.
METHODStudies for this integrated review of the literature were drawn from several sources. An electronic search of several data bases was conducted (PsycLit, SocAbsII, Medline, ERIC, PSYJ, PSYB) on articles published from 1977 through 1996. Studies were drawn from the counseling, psychology, psychiatry, social work, and nursing literature. Key words including group psychotherapy, group counseling, group psychology, incest, childhood sexual abuse, and child sexual abuse were combined using the Boolean logical operators AND, OR, and NOT to form sets of Electronic Journal: To print this article select pages 67-75. TOC