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8205578
M e y e r , D o n n a Je a n n e
EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY UPON ANXIETY

AND SELF-ESTEEM OF LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN
EdJD. 1981
Andrew University
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Copyright 1981
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Meyer, Donna Jeanne
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Andrews University
School of Graduate Studies
EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY

UPON ANXIETY AND SELF-ESTEEM OF
LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN
A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fu lfillm en t
o f the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education
by
Donna J. Meyer
June 1981

UPON ANXIETY AMD SELF-ESTEEM OF
A d issertation presented
in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t of the requirements
fo r the degree
Doctor o f Education
by
Donna J. Meyer
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
Chairman:
Conrad A. Reichert
Dean, School of Graduate Studies
Connmittee Member:
RoyÊ. Hartbauer
Committee Member:
Wilfred W. lis k e
Datd* approved
er Blitchington
External Examinerc-^R. Edward Turner
ABSTRACT

UPON ANXIETY AND SELF-ESTEEM OF
by
Donna J. Meyer
Chairman:
Conrad Reichert
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH

Dissertation
Andrews University
Department of Education
T itle :
EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY UPON ANXIETY

AND SELF-ESTEEM OF LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN
Name o f researcher:
Donna J. Meyer
Name and t i t l e of fa c u lty adviser:

Date completed:
Conrad Reichert, Ph.D.
June 1981
Previous research has indicated the effectiveness of

rational-em otive education techniques in reducing anxiety and
building self-esteem with regular classroom children.
The purpose
o f this study was to investigate the effects of rational-em otive

group therapy on anxiety and self-esteem of learning-disabled
children.
One hundred ten learning-disabled children (ages 8-13)
were assigned to one of three experimental conditions:
ra tio n a l-
emotive therapy (N=32), recreational-educational programming (N=31),

or no-contact (N=47).
Within the two experimental treatments that
actually met, groups of seven to nine members, sim ilar in chrono

logical age, were formed.
The rational-em otive groups received
therapy based on rational-em otive theory.
The recreational -
educational programming groups engaged in such a c tiv itie s as arts

and c ra fts , table-top games, gym a c tiv itie s , sports, auditory
center, and hiking.
The no-contact group did not meet.
A total
o f nine sessions over a ten-week period were conducted with the

children who were in the rational-em otive and recreational-education
groups.
Pre- and posttest measures o f self-esteem (SEI) and
anxiety (TA3C) were obtained.

In th is quasi-experimental study, a non-equivalent controlgroup research design was employed.
The data were studied s ta tis
tic a lly by univariate and m ultivariate analysis o f covariance and

discriminant analysis.
Results indicated s ig n ific a n tly lower mean
anxiety scores fo r the rational-em otive therapy group (p < .0005)

a fte r treatment.
No s ig n ific a n t difference was obtained in mean
self-esteem estimates.
I t was concluded that rational-em otive group therapy shows
potential fo r use in reducing anxiety in learning disabled children.
This study supports the findings of e a rlie r research that ra tio n a lemotive therapy is highly e ffec tive in reducing anxiety.
I t is
suggested that self-esteem may be less susceptible to change over

re la tiv e ly short-term therapy periods.
Recommendations for further
research are offered.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................
V
v ii
Chapter
I.
II.
III.
IV.
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................
Background of the S t u d y ...................................................

Purpose of the S tu d y ...........................................................
Significance of the Study ................................................
Research Questions ...............................................................
Assumptions and Limitations ............................................
Delimitations .......................................................................
Definition of T e r m s ...........................................................
Outline o f the Study ...........................................................
1
3
4
5
6
7
7
9
REVIEW OF LITERATURE...............................................................
10
Learning D is a b ilitie s .......................................................

Emotional and Social Development-Self-Esteem . . .
A n x ie t y ...................................................................................
Learning D is a b ilitie s and Therapy ................................
Group T h e r a p y .......................................................................
Rational-Emotive Theory and Therapy ............................
Summary...................................................................................
10
11
13
14
15
17
21
METHODOLOGY...............................................................................
23
Type of Research...................................................................
Research Design ...................................................................
Selection of Subjects .......................................................
In s tru m e n ta tio n ...................................................................
T re a tm e n t...............................................................................
P ro c e d u re ...............................................................................
Hypotheses for the S tu d y ...................................................
Data Processing and A n a ly s is ............................................
23
23
23
24
26
27
30
31
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF D A T A ....................................
33
Data-Producing Sample .......................................................

Basic Data for A n a ly s is ...................................................
33
34
iii
Chapter
IV.
(Continued)
Analysis of D a ta ....................................................................
Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................
Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................
Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................
Summary....................................................................................
34
36
42
48
51
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ............................................................
53
Summary...........................
Purpose of the S tu d y ........................................................
S u b je c ts ................................................................................
T r e a tm e n t............................................................................
Procedure and M e th o d o lo g y ............................................
Summary of the F i n d in g s ................................................
Discussion o f the F in d in g s ............................................
C o n c lu s io n s ............................................................................
Implications fo r Further Research ................................
Implications fo r Practice ............................................
53
53
54
54
55
56
58
61
62
64
APPENDICES................................................................................................
67
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Self-Esteem In v e n t o r y .............................................................
Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) .............................
Format for Rational-Emotive Group Therapy Session . .
Registration Materials .............................................................
Correspondence.............................................................................
Raw S c o res.....................................................................................
68
73
77
98
101
105
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................
116
V IT A ...........................................................................................................
121
iv
LIST OF TABLES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Ages and Numbers of Participants in the

Three Treatment Groups .......................................................
Group Means on the SEI and TASC............................................
Pretest, Posttest, and Adjusted Posttest Means
of A ll Children on the SEI: Hypothesis 1 ......................
Univariate Analysis o f Covariance fo r a ll
Children on the SEI: Hypothesis 1 ................................
of Eight- and Nine-Year-Olds on the SEI:
Hypothesis l a ...........................................................................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Eight- and
Nine-Year-Olds on the SEI: Hypothesis l a ....................
Pretest, Posttest, and Adjusted Posttest Means of
Ten-Year-Olds on the SEI: Hypothesis l b ....................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Ten-Year-Olds
on the SEI: Hypothesis l b ................................................
Eleven-Year-Olds on the SEI: Hypothesis 1 c ................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Eleven-Year
Olds on the SEI: Hypothesis 1 c ........................................
Twelve- and Thirteen-Year-Olds on the SEI:
Hypothesis I d ...........................................................................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance for Twelve- and
Thirteen-Year-Olds on the SEI: Hypothesis Id . . . .
a ll Children on the TASC: Hypothesis 2 ........................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance for a ll Children
on the TASC: Hypothesis 2 ................................................
o f Eight- and Nine-Year-Olds on the TASC:
Hypothesis 2a . . ...................................................................
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Eight- and
Nine-Year-01^s on the TASC: Hypothesis 2a ................
of Ten-Year-Olds on the TASC: Hypothesis 2b . . . .
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r TenYear-Olds on the TASC: Hypothesis 2 b ............................
Pretest, Posttest, and Adjusted Posctest Means
o f Eleven-Year-Olds on the TASC: Hypothesis 2c . . .
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r ElevenYear-Olds on the TASC: Hypothesis 2 c ............................
Twelve- and Thirteen-Year-Olds on the TASC:
Hypothesis 2 d ...........................................................................
34
35
36
37
37
38
39
39
40
41
41
42
43
43
44
44
45
46
46
47
48
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Twelveand Thirteen-Year-Olds on the TASC:

Hypothesis 2 d ............................................................................
M ultivariate Analysis of Covariance Adjusted
Means...........................................................................................
Group Means:
Discriminant Function ....................................
Discriminant Analysis Function I .........................................
SEI Raw Scores:
Rational-Emotive
Therapy Group ............................................................................
SEI Raw Scores:
Recreational-Education Groups . . . .
SEI Raw Scores:
No-Contact Group........................................
TASC Raw Scores:
Rational-Emotive
Therapy Group ............................................................................
TASC Raw Scores:
Recreational-Educational Group . . .
TASC Raw Scores:
No-Contact G r o u p ....................................
vi
48
49
50
50
106
108
110
113
114
115
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was accomplished with the help of many in d i

viduals.
I would lik e to thank the members o f my coirmittee,
Dr. W. Peter B1itchington, Dr. Roy E. Hartbauer, and Dr. Wilfred W.

Liske for th e ir time, e ffo r t, and encouragement in assisting me in
completing this work.
Dr. Conrad A. Reichert, my committee
chairman, supported me from beginning to end offering suggestions

fo r improvement of this study and inspiration to complete i t .
Dr. W ilfred G. A. Futcher offered ideas for s ta tis tic a l
analysis and unceasing patience and humor.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lynch, Director of Special Education fo r the
South Bend Community School Corporation, made i t possible for me to
carry out this study in South Bend.
The learning-disabled children who participated in this
study deserve special thanks.
Their willingness and cooperation
were essential to the whole dissertation e f f o r t .

fly dear frien d , Shirani Christine de Alwis altern ately
cheered and badgered me every step of the way.
My husband Tom made so many contributions.
He designed
the rational-emotive therapy brochure and critiqued and even, a t

times, typed rough d rafts.
He cooked and cleaned and continually
expressed his love in many important ways.
v ii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
With the advent of P. L. 94-142 (Education for All Handi
capped Children A ct), attention to remediation o f learning dis
a b ilitie s has increased.
Special classes fo r learning-disabled
students; le a rn in g -d is a b ility support service; and one-to-one

tutoring with itin e ra n t le a rn in g -d is a b ility teachers are some of
the more common intervention approaches being provided for learning
disabled children (Sheldon, 1977).
In addition to observed academic d if f ic u lt ie s , children
with learning d is a b ilitie s have been described in various ways.
Most often some reference to "poor s e lf concept" and poor emotional
and social adjustment is implied (Sheldon, 1977).
School psy
chologist Gary Ledebur (1977) characterizes learning-disabled

children as generally having a long history of academic fa ilu re ,
peer rid ic u le , pressure to succeed, and low self-esteem" (p. 62).
School experience more often than not is competitive.
Learning-disabled children exhibit average in telligence and fre
quently th e ir d iffic u ltie s are not diagnosed e ith e r before or
immediately when they begin school.
They see th e ir classmates
progressing academically while they f a ll behind,
Thus learning-
disabled children may begin to feel d iffe re n t or incapable, and

1
even more complex problems may be propagated in th e ir attempts to

compensate for th e ir weaknesses (Golden, 1970).
Since learning-
disabled children exhibit more a b ilit y than they a c tu a lly demon

s tra te in achievement, parents and teachers may expect and even
demand academic progress that is prodigious and unreasonable.
Hence, learning-disabled children generally become anxious con
cerning th e ir school performance and th e ir adequacy.
They begin to
think poorly of themselves and th e ir self-esteem declines.

A variety of strategies and therapeutic procedures have
been suggested or described for use with learning-disabled children
to help improve social and emotional adjustment (Blom, 1967; Golden,
1970; Z ita n i, 1975; Schact, 1971; Knaus, 1977; Ledebur, 1977;
Shelton, 1977).
Much evidence for successful therapeutic use o f one theory
employed with children experiencing general social and emotional
adjustment problemsrational-em otive therapyis presented in
Handbook of Rational Emotive Therapy ( E llis , 1977).
Albert E llis '
rational-em otive therapy is based on the premise th a t thought

controls feelings and actions.
Human beings are unique in th e ir
a b ilit y to think and reason, and what a person thinks (or te lls
himself) about an event is what determines his or her feelings or
actions ( E llis , 1962).
Rational-emotive therapy endeavors to
change irra tio n a l thinking.

Rational-emotive education, based on E llis 's ra tio n a lemotive therapy, has been found to have beneficial effects in re
ducing anxiety and in building self-esteem of children in regular
f i f t h - and sixth-grade classrooms (Brody, 1974; Knaus & Bokor,
1975).
Rational-emotive education is a "preventative-interventionist
approach by which children can be taught sane mental health concepts

and the s k ills to use these concepts" (Knaus, 1974).
This type of
a ffe c tiv e education was designed to be used by regular classroom

teachers to present general principles of emotional health in the
course of regular schooling.
Its main goal is to help children at
an ea rly age to understand and consistently apply these principles

to and with s e lf and others.
Its use has been larg ely confined to
regular classroom children and not to disabled learners.

There appears to be a call fo r more than ju s t remediation
fo r learning-disabled children.
Psychologists frequently state
among th e ir recommendations fo r youngsters id e n tifie d as learning

disabled the suggestion th a t counseling be sought to re lie v e anxiety
and build self-esteem.
Various investigations have suggested
individual or group psychotherapy, a ffec tive education, play

therapy, rational-emotive therapy, and other strategies; but there
is c o n flictin g evidence fo r support, and no one technique seems to
have been widely employed or systematically investigated fo r use
with learning-disabled children s p e c ific a lly .
Studies (Brody, 1974; Knaus & Bokor, 1975) indicate the
effectiveness of rational-em otive education in reducing anxiety
and building self-esteem in regular classroom students.
Thus the
question arose, Would rational-em otive group therapy reduce anxiety

and build self-esteem in children id en tified as learning disabled?
Purpose of the Study
Since the studies o f Brody (1974) and Knaus and Bokor (1975)
demonstrated the effectiveness of rational-emotive education in
building self-esteem and reducing anxiety o f students in regular

f i f t h - and sixth-grade classrooms, i t was hypothesized that ra tio n a lemotive techniques would also have beneficial effects upon learningdisabled children.
The purpose of this study was to investigate
the effectiveness of rational-emotive group therapy conducted

with learning-disabled children.
I t attempted to expand and build
upon the previously mentioned studies but had the following modi
fic a tio n s :
(1) the sample size was increased; (2) the sample
was selected from the learning-disabled student population instead

of the student population of regular classrooms; (3) the sample was
extended to include ages eight through th irte e n ; and, (4) a thera
peutic approach was employed rather than classroom instruction.
Significance of the Study
Documentation supports the effectiveness of ra tio n a lemotive a ffe c tiv e education in lessening anxiety and building s e lf
esteem in f i f t h - and sixth-grade students (Brody, 1974; Knaus 4
Bokor, 1975).
The use of rational-emotive affective-education
techniques with learning-disabled children has been reported

(Knaus 4 McKeever, 1977), but no empirical evidence was included.
Thus, this study attempted to extend and carry -forward the work of
the above studies by using a rational-emotive therapeutic approach
with learning-disabled children.
I t also attempted to lend
empirical support to the Knaus and McKeever study.

I f the effectiveness of rational-em otive group therapy
with learning-disabled children can be demonstrated em pirically,
then support for its use with learning-disabled children can be
established.
S p e c ifica lly , i f learning-disabled children exposed
to rational-em otive therapy exhibit less anxiety, then:
(1)
Teachers, parents, counselors, and therapists may want to con

sider th is approach when dealing with learning-disabled children.
(2) Teacher and therapist trainin g in stitution s may want to in
clude rational-em otive principles and strategies in th e ir pre
paratory programs.
(3) Mental-health in stitution s may want to
use rational-em otive therapy when treating children with learning

d iffic u lt ie s .
I f learning-disabled children exposed to rational-em otive
therapy demonstrate higher self-esteem than learning-disabled
children not exposed to rational-em otive group therapy, then
teachers, parents, and clin icians may want to consider ra tio n a lemotive theory principles when working with children with poor
s e lf concepts.
School systems may want to in s titu te ra tio n a l-
emotive group-therapy programs along with th e ir le a rn in g -d is a b ility

academic support programs.
F in a lly , i f empirical support for rational-em otive therapy
with learning-disabled students can be established in this study,
i t is possible that
additional studies may be generated and in te r
est in the emotional and social adjustment of learning-disabled

children w ill be further stimulated.
Research Questions
This study was designed to explore the use of ra tio n a lemotive therapy techniques with groups of learning-disabled
children.
I t was intended to consider whether learning-disabled
children exposed to rational-emotive group therapy demonstrate less

te s t anxiety than learning-disabled children not exposed.
Further,
i t was aimed to investigate whether learning-disabled children ex

posed to rational-emotive group therapy demonstrate higher s e lf
esteem than learning-disabled children not exposed.
ment conditions were employed:
Three tr e a t
(1) rational-emotive therapy;
(2) recreational-educational programming; and, (3) no-contact.

The recreational-educational programming treatment was included
to serve as a control for the attention factors of willingness and
desire of parents to enroll children ir. outside-of-school assistance
programs and to transport children to such programs.
A dditionally,
the recreational-educational programming treatment was included to

serve as control for the actual attention children p a rticip atin g
in rational-emotive therapy groups would receive.
Assumptions and Limitations
1.
I t was assumed that low self-esteem and excessive
anxiety are often associated with and observed in learnin gdisabled children.
2.
I t was also assumed that evaluative attitudes towards
the s e lf in so cial, academic, fam ily, and personal areas of ex

perience are accessible to measurement by s e lf-re p o rt.
3.
I t was further assumed that test anxiety is measure-
able by s e lf-re p o rt.

4.
The measurement of self-esteem and test anxiety was
lim ited to items included on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory

and the Test-Anxiety Scale for Children.
5.
I t was assumed that responses given tru ly reflected
the situation of each child a t that time.

6.
Participation in the study was lim ited to children
with signed parent permission.
Selection of students fo r p a r tic i
pation in ra t IonaI-emotive therapy groups and recreatio n aleducational program groups was not randomized.
Rather, a ll c h il
dren whose parents indicated a b ilit y to transport children to

outside-of-school sessions during the f a ll of 1979 were included
in rational-em otive and recreational-educational program groups.
7.
This research was lim ited to id e n tifie d elementary
learning-disabled children who attended South Bend Comnunity

School Corporation schools.
Delimitations
1.
Due to practical considerations, the population of
this study was confined to learning-disabled children, aged eight

through th irte e n , who attended public schools within the South
Bend Community School Corporation, South Bend, Indiana.
2.
Only children id en tifie d as learning disabled by
State of Indiana c e rtifie d school psychologists or psychometrists

were included.
D efinition o f Terms
Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling o f apprehensiveness and
fe a r together with increased physiological stim ulation.
Test
anxiety is anxiety in te s t-lik e situations such as re c itin g , per

forming a t the blackboard, attempting to understand teacher ex
planations, etc. (Sarason, 1960).
Group Therapy is a method of treating several individuals

simultaneously by a single therapist.
Learning-Disabled Children are those children who demon
stra te marked discrepancies in achievement and/or perceptual motor
development and in te llig e n c e .
Their I.Q . estimates indicate
average or above-average learning po ten tial.
D iffic u ltie s with
visual-perceptual motor tasks, mathematics, and/or reading may be

noted.
Rational-emotive Therapy is that psychotherapy based on
the premise that thoughts and beliefs produce feelings and actions.
Irra tio n a l thinking can be examined and refined to produce rational
thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Rational-emotive Education is a preventative affec tive
education program based on rational-emotive theory and designed to
be used by regular classroom teachers.
Recreationa1-educationa1 Prograiminq is a program conducted
by the Children's Dispensary of South Bend, Indiana, and designed
to aid learning-disabled children in developing positive s e lfconcepts and in strengthening perceptual-motor, language, conceptual,
visual, and auditory s k ills .
Self-Esteem is an individual's personal judgment of worthi
ness that is expressed in the attitudes the individual holds toward
him self/herself (Coopersmith, 1967).
South Bend Community School Corporation, in September of
1979, served 27,004 students in Center, Clay, Green, Liberty,
Portage, and Warren townships located in and around South Bend,
Indiana.
Outline of the Study

This chapter has included the
statement of the problem,
the purpose of the study, the significance of the study, the

questions raised, a defin itio n of terms, lim itatio n s of the study,
and basic assumptions of the study.
Chapter two contains a selected review of lite ra tu re and
research relevant to learning d is a b ilitie s , emotional and social
adjustment, group therapy, and rational-em otive therapy.
Chapter three outlines the methodology o f the study and
describes the procedure employed and instruments used.
The popu
latio n is defined and the method o f s ta tis tic a l analysis described.

Chapter four presents the findings o f the study.
Chapter fiv e summarizes the results o f the study, indicates
conclusions, and suggests recommendations for further research.
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Very l i t t l e research has been undertaken concerning the
effects of rational-emotive therapy in reducing anxiety and build
ing self-esteem s p e c ific a lly in learning-disabled children.
How
ever, lite ra tu re relevant to this topic was reviewed and is presented

in this chapter.
Major areas of discussion are organized under the
following headings:
(1) lite ra tu re related to the d efin itio n of
learning d is a b ilitie s ; (2) lite ra tu re related to social and emotional

adjustment of learning-disabled children with emphasis on s e lf
esteem; (3) lite ra tu re related to anxiety in children; (4) lit e r a
ture related to therapy for learning-disabled children; (5) lit e r a
ture related to group therapy; and, (6) lite r a tu r e related to
rational-emotive theory and therapy.
Learning D is a b ilitie s
Through many decades a variety o f terms have been used to
describe children with learning problems, but Egeland and Schrimpf
(1978, p. 188) report that Dr. Samuel Kirk f i r s t used the term
"learning d is a b ilitie s " in 1963 when addressing a group of parents
concerning problems of the perceptually handicapped ch ild .
Since
that time, the term "learning d is a b ilitie s " has become widely
accepted and has been used to encompass a ll sorts of learning
10
11
d iffic u lt ie s , fo r example, visual-motor problems, perceptual

problems, dyslexia, neurological handicaps, and minimal brain
dysfunction.
Much controversy remains over it s d e fin itio n .
Egeland
and Schrimpf (1978) suggest that much debate over devising a

le a rn in g -d is a b ilitie s d e fin itio n continues due to the fact that
agreement has not been forthcoming on what function the label and
d e fin itio n are to serve.
For instance, a d e fin itio n might be
formulated to provide an etiological explanation, relevant tre a t

ment characteristics, or a basis fo r a c la s s ific a tio n system.
Thus many d efin itio ns e x is t, and effo rts a t c la r ific a tio n and
revision continue.
For this study the State o f Indiana's d e fi
n itio n o f a learning-disabled child as stated in Rule S-l (1978)

w ill be u tiliz e d .
I t reads:
A learning-disabled child is a child with a disorder in one or

more of the basic psychological processes involved in under
standing or in using language, spoken or w ritte n , which may
manifest i t s e l f in an imperfect a b ilit y to lis te n , think,
speak, read, w rite , s p e ll, or to do mathematical calculations.
The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps,
brain in ju ry , minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and develop
mental aphasia. The term does not include children who have
learning problems which are prim arily the re su lt o f visual,
hearing, or motor handicaps, or mental retard atio n , or emotional
disturbance, or of environmental, c u ltu ra l, or economic dis
advantage.
A child who is learning-disabled shall e x h ib it, when f ir s t
Id e n tifie d , a severe discrepancy between normal or near normal
potential and academic achievement in a t least one of the
areas of basic reading s k ills , reading comprehension, written
expression, expressive language, mathematical reasoning or
calculations, or listening comprehension.
Emotional and Social Development
Self-Esteem
As learning is an ego function, Golden, C h irlin , and Shone
(1970) proclaim th at its breakdown can indicate other areas of
12
maladjustment" (p. 599).
Learning-disabled children exhibit not
only academic d e fic its but also generally display d eficien t social
and emotional development and are often described as having a poor
self-concept (Bush & Waugh, 1976; Lerner, 1976; Sheldon, 1977).
In a study designed to investigate the actual existence of any
difference in self-concept between learning-disabled children and
normally achieving students, Larsen, Parker, and Jorjorian (1973)
found that learning-disabled students do, in fa c t, demonstrate
s ig n ific a n tly greater discrepancies between actual and ideal s e lf,
supporting th e ir hypothesis that children with learning problems
have more negative self-concepts than normally achieving children.
In her study of dyslexic elementary-school children,
G riffith s (1975) found that only fiv e of 131 subjects indicated a
desirable self-concept.
There were three strongly negative tr a its
which the children in this group thought they had.
They f e l t that
they were not in te llig e n t, did poorly in school work, and were
especially poor readers.
In characterizing individuals with low self-esteem,
Coopersmith (1967) claims that they "have come to believe they are
powerless and without resource or recourse" (p. 250).
They feel
alone and unlovable and powerless in expressing and defending them

selves (Coopersmith, 1967).
This a ttitu d e has further im plications.
Eisenberg 0 9 64 ) explains:
How the child thinks about himself has a major influence
on his behavior. The child's image of himself has two main
sources: the way he sees others viewing him and what he sees
himself as able to doand hence to be. . . . Even with the
good fortune of having sympathetic parents and companions, he
must d a ily face the painful re a liz a tio n of his incompetence
at play and a t work. No 'reassurance' w ill satisfy him that he
is capable as a person when he sees that he is not. (p. 70)
13
Anxiety
Since children spend almost one-half of th e ir waking hours,
nine months a year, in school, i t does seem evident that those
children who experience problems with learning might also encounter
problems of emotional adjustment.
Lerner (1976) suggests that
learning-disabled children may be caught up in repeated fa ilu re

to learn and experience emotional reaction to the fa ilu re .
Lemer (1976, p. 336) explains, "In th is cycle the fa ilu re to
learn leads to adverse emotional responses feelings of s e lf
derision, poor ego perception, and anxiety, which augment the
fa ilu re to learn syndrome."
Anxiety may be experienced concerning
performance as compared to other students and concerning parent,

teacher, and self-expectations.
Sarason e t a l . (1960), admitting
influence o f psychoanalytic theory, conceptualize the anxious

response as:
. . . a danger signal associated not only with an ex
ternal danger but also with unconscious contents and moti
vations the conscious elaboration o f which is inhibited or
defended against because such elaboration would place the
individual in an even more dangerous re la tio n to the external
world, (p. 6)
Saudry and Spielberger (1971) report on research evidence
on behavioral correlates of anxious children.
Their review of
studies done by L ip p sitt (1958), Rosenberg (1953), and Suinn and

H ill (1964) generally indicates highly s ig n ific a n t negative corre
lations between anxiety and self-concept (self-esteem , s e lf
acceptance).
Thus i t appears that higher levels of anxiety may
be accompanied by self-demeaning thoughts or lower levels of

self-esteem.
Sarason et a l . (1960, p. 166) found that children who
score high on anxiety scales manifest greater interference in
14
problem solving than peers who score low.
The factor o f i n t e l l i
gence was controlled in the study with a ll subjects involved

scoring within the same range on an in tellig en ce te s t.
Sarason
et a l . (1960, p. 167) report further support fo r the hypothesis

that in te s t-lik e situations
. . . the HA (high anxiety) child experiences most d iffic u lty
in the evaluation problem solving situatio n in which his
strong dependency needs w ill apparently not be g ra tifie d . In
such a child the evaluative factor acts as an in it ia l cue for
the arousal of anxiety, and the knowledge that he cannot de
pend on the evaluator for the g ra tific a tio n o f his needs has
the e ffe c t o f increasing the strength of anxiety, (p. 167)
Learning D is a b ilitie s and Therapy
In investigating treatment modalities fo r learning-disabled
children, Gilmore (1971), in his review o f an unpublished disser
tation by Dr. Bruce E. Baker, suggests that as an adjunct to
le a rn in g -d is a b ility class placement or one-to-one learningd is a b ility support tu torin g, counseling therapy with the child
proves to be a valuable treatment.
Special class placement, one-
to-one tutoring, or therapy alone did not indicate sign ificant

differences in the c h ild 's improvement, but when used in combination
special class placement and therapy or one-to-one tutoring and
therapygains were noted in cognitive, a ffe c tiv e , environmental,
and psychomotor dimensions.
Lerner (1976) proposes counseling
therapy for learning-disabled children to re d ire c t the fa ilu re to

learn and the resulting em otional-reaction-to-failure cycle.
She
suggests u tiliz in g techniques of Dreikurs (1971), E llis (1972), or

Ohlsen (1973) in working with children in groups to develop
healthier emotional attitu d es.
Abrams and Belmont (1969) report
15
s ig n ific a n tly greater improvements on a ll evaluations o f reading

instruction for children who received specialized instruction and
individual or group psychotherapy as compared to children who
received individual or group therapy alone.
Gordon (1970), in his plea for self-concept enhancement and
social-adjustment emphasis in the education of exceptional children,
claims that the loss of in te lle c tu a l development during the forma
tiv e years may never be recovered.
He fu rth er states:
But more important for optimal functioning in adulthood

than any combination o f academic s k ills is the enhancement o f
self-concept and the a b ility to adjust s o c ia lly . These factors
must receive p r io rity in the education o f a ll handicapped in
dividuals. (p. 253)
Group Therapy
Treating several children simultaneously has several bene
fits .
Fried!and (1974) in a study of group counseling with the
mentally retarded cites several advantages of the group-counseling

approach:
(1) Economical considerations, such as time and money,
make group counseling more practical.
One counselor can work with
several clients in a session in place o f a single in dividual.
Thus
the group technique makes more e ffic ie n t use of both funds and
trained personnel.
(2) The group approach is advantageous in
improving the c lie n t's social adaptation fo r a social m ilieu is

provided by the group it s e lf .
Social adjustment is often a
problem for exceptional children.
Often they feel alienated and
"different" and have d iffic u ltie s in th e ir relationships with others

(Kronick, 1974).
social situations.
The group setting can provide experience in

(3) Peer-group acceptance is more effec tive
16
than being accepted by an individual counselor.
Problems of others
may be otserved and s im ila r feelings, needs, and problems are

usually revealed.
Some self-esteem may be gained by associating
with peers who have s im ilar problems and to whom the child can
re la te .
The individual ego strength derived from such interpersonal
sharing and support may provide the individual with a basis for
further growth.
(4) The group furnishes a setting where feelings
about labels may be aired and options for managing problems may be
explored.
Friedland (1974) states, "In the process, the group
members learn how to give and receive emotional support" (p. 2).
(5) Observations of the in divid ual's group behavior provide re a ll i f e information concerning social-situation conduct.
From this
information recommendations to parents and teachers may be formu

lated concerning e ffe c tiv e ways of dealing with the individual.
Levine (1979, p. 3) indicates three major considerations
when organizing therapy groups:
(1) group purpose, (2) group
structure, and (3) group membership.
In general, short-term
therapy groups require a d e fin itiv e purpose while long-term therapy

groups may pursue several divergent purposes.
In structuring
therapy groups, Levine (1979) proposes considering the following

aspects:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
number of meetings the group w ill have

how often the group w ill meet
how long each meeting w ill la s t
where the group w ill meet
whether the group w ill be open ended or closed
what degree o f p o litic a l control w ill be retained by
the therapist
(7) format meetings w ill havepredetermined or
spontaneous, (p. 6)
Selection of group participants can have much bearing on
17
group progress.
Levine (1979, p. 12) states, "In general, groups
aimed a t short term and/or supportive treatment should consist o f

people who share sign ificant s im ila r itie s ; groups aimed at in t e r
personal or genetic insight should have a balance of people who
are sim ilar and d iffe re n t."
Thus in selecting group p articipan ts, group purposes should
be considered.
Common fate or common problems can serve as a
viable basis fo r grouping in e ith e r long- or short-term groups

(Levine, 1979).
sidered.
Age and sex of group members should also be con
During adolescence, sex of group members can create
d iffic u ltie s (Sugar, 1975).
However, age s im ila rity is noted as
very s ig n ific a n t by Levine (1975).
He reports that age s im ila rity
was found to be the one factor most related to interpersonal

attraction and freedom of expression in a study conducted with
members of twenty-four outpatient adult psycho-therapy groups.
Depending on group purpose, personality and behavioral factors may
also be taken into account in group membership selection.
Rational-emotive Theory and Therapy
Rational-emotive theory and therapy were formulated by
Albert E llis in 1955 ( E llis , 1977).
E llis had been trained in
psychoanalytic techniques but, with c lin ic a l experience, he began

eliminating and revising his techniques searching for more
effective and lasting methods of dealing with emotionally disturbed
individuals.
As E llis explains:
. . . I realized more c le a rly that although people have

remarkable differences and uniquenesses in th eir tastes,
characteristics, goals, and enjoyments, they also have re
markable sameness in the ways in which they disturb them
selves 'em otionally', (p. 4)
18
Rational-emotive theory suggests that behavior is influenced
by the interpretation the person places on a p a rtic u la r event.
Thus,
the message a person gives him self/herself about an event, not the
event i t s e lf , determines his/her behavior.
In explaining the per
sonality in action, what must be considered is the cognitive pro

cess:
how the individual interprets r e a lity .
feelings which often produce actions.
Thoughts produce
Thus, Young (1974) states,
"The objective of Rational Counseling is to teach people to recog

nize inaccuracies in th e ir thinking and a rriv e a t a more r e a lis tic
view of themselves and th e ir surroundings" (p. 14).
Corsini (1977)
has extracted several theoretical statements from E llis ' writings

on rational-em otive therapy:
1.
(p. 418).
"Humans have the potential to be rational or irra tio n a l"

E llis believes that people are equally susceptible to
thinking that is reasonable or unreasonable.

2.
"People largely create th e ir emotional d if fic u lt ie s ,
but with sign ificant help from th e ir environment" (p. 418).
From
infancy to adulthood, individuals must begin to take more and more

responsibility fo r th e ir actions.
Granted, the individual is
affected by family and friends, but ultimate resp onsib ility for
thoughts, feelings, and acts rests with th at individual.
3.
"The to ta l individual functions h o lis tic a lly in the
areas of cognition, a ffe c tio n , and action" (p. 418).
E llis sug
gests that e ffective therapy w ill take into account thinking,

fe e lin g , and acting in changing the to ta l person.
4.
"Because humans are singularly cognitive creatures,
they have the capacity to understand th e ir irra tio n a l thinking"
19
(p. 418).
E llis (1977) describes an A-B-C framework.
At point A
something happens (activating event or experience); a t point B,

b e lie fs , ideas, thoughts, or evaluations about A, the activating
event or experience, are considered; and at point C, the in d i
vidual reacts emotionally and/or behaviorally.
event, does not cause C, the reaction.
However, A, the
Rather, B, the in divid u al's
b e lie fs , ideas, thoughts, or evaluations actu ally lead to C, the

emotional reaction.
The following example is presented for
illu s tra tio n :

A.
Activating eventA student makes a mistake while
working an arithm etic problem on the blackboard.

B.
mistake.
Beliefs or th o u g h ts--"It's horrible that I made a

I shouldn't have done that.
C.
I'm so stupid."
Emotional reactionThe student experiences feelings
o f in fe r io r ity , anxiety, and frustratio n.

Examining irra tio n a l thinking by adding D and E to the
format can aid individuals in self-understanding and lead to over
coming emotional and/or behavioral d iffic u ltie s .
At point D the
individual can question point B, beliefs and thoughts by debating,

disputing, and challenging them.
At point E, a new e ffe c t or
philosophy is acquired based on rational considerations.
Thus,
in the above example:

D.
Dispute, question, and challenge "Why is i t horrible
that I made a mistake?
Why shouldn't I have made a mistake?
Why
does making a mistake make me stupid?"

E.
New e ffe c t or philosophy--"Why is i t horrible that I
made a mistake?
I t is n 't h o rrib le.
It 's unfortunate.
No one
20
r e a lly likes to make mistakes, but i t ' s no big deal.
I t ' s too bad
but there is no sense stretching i t to horrible."

"Why shouldn't I have made a mistake?
Requiring myself
to be perfect is s illy .
I would rather
not make mistakes, butno
where is i t written that
I absolutely, positively must not make
a mistake."
Why does making
a mistake make me stupid?

a mistake does
I t doesn't
unless I say so.
Making
not make me stupid.
not my behavior.
Just lik e a broken window does not make a whole
house worthless, a mistake does not make me a stupid id io t.
I am
b etter get on with correcting my mistakes instead of wasting a ll

th is time and energy putting myself down.
As long as I liv e and
breathe, I ' l l be making mistakes from time to time, so I better

get used to i t and quit exaggerating and making such a big deal
over th is one."
5.
"When people change dysfunctional thinking, behavior,
and emoting, they frequently retu rn , a t least temporarily, to th e ir

former patterns" (p. 418).
E llis proposes that a ll individuals
have a tendency to think, a c t, and feel irra tio n a lly ; that this
"has a strong biological as well as sign ificant learned element"
(p. 32); and that constant vigilance is called for to re fra in from
self-d efeatin g emotion and behavior.
6.
(p. 418).
"People get habituated to self-defeating patterns"

Individuals become accustomed to fe e lin g , thinking, and
acting in various ways, and E llis believes that they often struggle
to maintain these practices even with the realizatio n that th e ir
perceptions are fau lty.
21
7.
"To achieve optimal liv in g , people should not evaluate
themselves but only change th e ir behavior" (p. 418).
E llis sug
gests that self-evaluation and s e lf-ra tin g cannot be done l e g i t i

mately; th at i t is done on the basis of various acts or behaviors;
and thus, does not take the to ta l uniqueness and separateness of
the individual into account.
E llis suggests inner direction and
authenticity fo r each individual (C orsini, 1977).
Thinking about
s e lf, others, and the world in a rational manner and then acting
sensibly leads to less self-defeating behaviors.
Summary
Learning disabled children do not achieve academically as
expected when estimates of potential are considered.
Not only do
they e x h ib it academic d e fic its but also d e ficien t social and

emotional adjustment.
Learning-disabled children may get caught
up in a cycle of repeated fa ilu re to learn and emotional reaction

to the fa ilu r e .
Negative self-evaluations and anxiety may re s u lt.
Research indicates that learning-disabled children who receive

le a rn in g -d is a b ility support services and counseling are able to
adjust more po sitively and progress fa rth e r academically than
learning-disabled children who receive only le a rn in g -d is a b ility
support service or only counseling.
Rational-emotive therapy aims a t teaching individuals to
id en tify and examine irra tio n a l thinking and then to change or
modify such thinking.
I t is based on the premise that thoughts
produce feelings which often produce actions.
By changing dys
functional thinking and feeling , self-defeating emotion and behavior
22
may be reduced.
I t is suggested th at the fa ilu re to learn and
corresponding emotional reaction cycle may be halted in learning

disabled children who receive rational-em otive therapy.
CHAPTER I I I
METHODOLOGY
Type of Research
This study was quasi-experimental in nature as fu ll ex
perimental control was not possible.
Its in ten t was to test the
effectiveness of rational-emotive group therapy in influencing

learning-disabled children to develop more positive self-concepts
and to reduce te s t anxiety.
Research Design
A non-equivalent control-group research design was used
(Campbell & Stanley, 1966).
This design was employed because
children p a rticip atin g in the study were not randomly selected.

Pretests were required to ensure i n it ia l equivalence of groups.
Three experimental treatments were employed:
(1) ra tio n a l-
emotive therapy, (2) recreational-educational programming, and,

(3) no-contact.
The independent variable was the treatment re
ceived by the learning-disabled children and dependent variables

were scores on measures of anxiety and self-concept.
Selection of Subjects
The population fo r this study consisted of a ll elementary
children (128 in number) in grades one through six receiving
le a rn in g -d is a b ility support services in the South Bend Community
23
24
School Corporation a t the beginning of the f a l l semester, 1979.

Learning-disability support-service programs were housed in eight
d iffe re n t school buildings.
Learning-disability support service
consisted of prescribed instructional strategies developed to meet

needs id en tifie d in an individualized educational plan designed
s p e c ific a lly for the child.
One-to-one or small-group remediation
techniques along with regular classroom instruction with appropri

ate modification were employed.
The children's previous educa
tional evaluation indicated average or near average in te lle c tu a l

capacity.
Achievement and/or perceptual motor measures showed
a two-year or more discrepancy between the expected (considering

the intelligence estimate) and actual level of achievement or
between age and level of perceptual motor development.
The sample fo r this study consisted of a ll learningdisabled children fo r whom parent permission was obtained for in
clusion in the study.
Instrumentation
Two instruments were used in this study, the Self-Esteem
Inventory (Coopersmith, 1967) and the Test-Anxiety Scale for
Children (Sarason, 1960).
The Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI see appendix A) was f i r s t
published in 1967 and was designed to measure evaluative attitudes
towards the s e lf in social, academic, fa m ily , and personal areas of
experience.
Children are asked to mark such items as I'm pretty
sure of myself," or "Most people are better liked than I am, as

"Like me" or "Unlike me."
Form A, which contains fif t y - e ig h t items
and fiv e subscales, was used in this study.
I t can be s e lf-
25
administered and completed in ten to fifte e n minutes.

A scoring key is provided and scores are reported as the
to ta l number o f responses indicating a positive self-evaluation
on a ll scales excluding Lie items.
Scores on each of the fiv e
subscales, General s e lf, Social self-peers, Home-parents, Lie

scale, and School-academic may also be computed.
Evidence for convergent v a lid ity has been reported by
several investigators.
Correlations of .45 between the CPI S e lf-
Acceptance Scale and the SEI; .63 between Soares scale and SEI;
.60 with Rosenburg Scale; and .60 with a derived picture te s t have
been reported (Coopersmith, 1975}.
S p lit-h a lf r e lia b ilit y fo r Form A has been reported a t
87 (F u llerto n , 1972) and .90 (Taylor & R eitz, 1968).
The Test-Anxiety Scale fo r Children (TASCsee appendix B)
was f i r s t published in 1960.
The TASC was designed to measure te s t
anxiety or anxiety in " te s t-lik e " situatio ns.
I t consists of
th ir ty items such as "When the teacher says that she is going to

find out how much you havelearned, does your heart beat faster?"
or "Do you think you worry more about school than other children?"
The scale is read to the group with children instructed to answer
by c irc lin g "yes" or "no," and can be completed in fifte e n minutes.
Scores are reported as the total number of "yes" answers, a higher
score indicating greater anxiety.
A te s t-re te s t r e lia b ilit y c o e ffic ie n t of .78 was obtained
with a group o f forty sixth graders a fte r a four-month in terval
(Sarason, 1960).
Much of Sarason's 1960 book is devoted to
v a lid ity , and overall evidence fo r v a lid ity is considerable.
26
number o f findings from the use o f the scale have been in the ex
pected d ire c tio n , suggesting construct v a lid ity .
Negative corre
lations between TASC scores and IQ and achievement test scores have
been demonstrated when tests contained evaluative cues (Sarason,
1960).
When evaluative cues are minimal (appears game-like),
performance of test-anxious children shows l i t t l e or no in te r

ference a t a ll (Sarason, 1960).
Positive correlations o f .47 to
.67 have been demonstrated between TASC and GASC (Sarason, 1960)
scores supporting the hypothesis th at "the greater the degree of
anxiety experienced in test and t e s t- lik e situations the greater
the number o f non-test situations in which anxiety w ill be ex
perienced" (Sarason, 1960, p. 158).
Treatment
Three experimental treatment conditions were employed in
this study:
(1) rational-emotive therapy, (2) recreational-
educational programming, and (3) no contact.

Rational-emotive therapy groups received counseling therapy
based on rational-em otive therapy theory.
problem-solving s k ills were emphasized.
Self-help and human

The a r t of id en tify in g
rational and irra tio n a l beliefs and challenging irra tio n a l s e lf

ta lk was stressed.
The groups met once a week for sixty-minute
sessions fo r a total of nine sessions over a ten-week period.

predetermined format for each session was used.
At the outset o f
therapy, very l i t t l e "talking time" (unstructured) was included.

In la te r sessions, increased time was a llo tte d for unstructured
discussion.
Strategies used were combinations of approaches
27
employed in e a rlie r studies of Brody (1974) and Knaus (1974) and

other m aterials found in the process of study and training prepar
ation.
A complete description of procedures fo r each session are
included in appendix C.
This program was given the name "I Like
Being Me!"
Recreational-educational progranniinq groups met once a
week over the same ten-week period.
The children were engaged in
such a c tiv itie s as arts and c ra fts , table-top games, gym a c t iv it ie s ,

sports, auditory center, and hiking.
The major goal of the program
was to develop in each child a positive self-concept through

success-oriented a c tiv itie s .
In addition, perceptual-motor, ex
pressive and receptive language, conceptual, and visual and auditory

s k ills were emphasized in special a c tiv ity groups.
did not develop or provide input in the program.
The researcher
This program was
e n title d "Fun and Learn."

Procedure
The following procedure was employed in completing the
study.
1.
Parental permission was obtained fo r inclusion in the
2.
Children were assigned to treatment groups in the
study.
following manner:
A ll children whose parents indicated a b ilit y
to transport them, i f need be, to outside-of-school sessions

during the f a l l of 1979 were assigned to the rational-emotive
therapy groups, provided they were not also planning to enroll in
28
the recreational-educational program.
Children enrolled or planning
to enroll ( f a ll of 1979) in the recreational-educational program

were assigned to that treatment group.
A ll other children were
assigned to the "no-contact" treatment group.
(Samples of re g is
tra tio n and program information m aterials are included in

appendix 0 .)
3.
A to ta l of 111 students with parental permission were
included in the study.
Th irty-three children were enrolled in the
rational-em otive treatment condition, thirty-one in the re cre a tio n a leducational program, and forty-seven in the no-contact treatment
group.
Age s im ila rity was a goal in forming groups within the
treatment conditions that would actually meet.

equal in the number of members were sought.
Also groups f a ir ly
Grouping children by
age (1) eig h t- and nine-year-olds, (2) ten-year-olds, (3) elevenyear-olds, and (4) twelve- and thirteen-year-oldsafforded groups
of approximately equal size (seven to nine members each) fo r those
who actually met for treatment.
4.
The parents of children comprising the groups that
actually met were given times, dates, and location fo r sessions

(appendix E).
5.
A ll children participating in the study were pretested
with the SEI and the TASC prior to in itia tio n of treatment in
October 1979.
Tests were administered by South Bend Community
School Corporation guidance counselors.
As learning-disabled
children frequently demonstrate d if fic u lt y with reading, both in

struments were read to the children as they completed them.
29
6.
The experimenter who conducted the rational-em otive
therapy groups had been employed as a school counselor (K through 8)

for seven years, had been using rational-emotive techniques for
the la s t four of those years, but had had no formal tra in in g in
rational-em otive therapy practice.
Thus in August 1979 she
obtained individual instruction from Ken Peiser, Ph.D., a t the

Chicago In s titu te for Rational Living, Ltd., concerning techniques
and practice of rational psychotherapy and rational therapy for
couples, fam ilies, and children.
In September 1979 she attended a
Rational-Emotive Therapy and Counseling" workshop conducted by

Albert E llis , Ph.D., a t the In s titu te for Rational-Emotive Therapy
in New York City.
The In s titu te fo r Rational-Emotive Therapy is a
non-profit organization chartered by the Regents of the University

of the State of New York and a f f ilia t e d with the World Federation
o f Mental Health.
Area special-education teachers trained in the
fie ld of learning d is a b ilitie s and related areas conducted the

recreational-educational program.
7.
I t was determined that no child attending less than
eight sessions would be included in the results of the study.
The
following of Brody's (1974) suggestions for future use of tech

niques were heeded in encouraging attendance.
Portions o f sessions
were stopped when a high point in enthusiasm was reached.

were made to end sessions on an enjoyable note.
Attempts
Treats were served
a t a ll sessions.
8.
In January 1380, three weeks a fte r a ll treatment
sessions had been concluded, the SEI and the TASC were again ad
ministered by the same school guidance counselors who conducted
30
pretesting.
A fter the measures were completed, they were checked
to determine that they had been completely f ille d out.
Any found
lacking answers were returned to the child for completion.

Hypotheses fo r the Study
The following hypotheses were stated in the null form:
1.
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means o f
the three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores o f s e lf

esteem as measured by the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
la .
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means of
the eigh t- and nine-year-old children in the three treatment groups

with respect to posttest scores of self-esteem as measured by the
SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
lb.
There is no sig n ific a n t difference among the means o f
ten-year-old children in the three treatment groups with respect

to posttest scores of self-esteem as measured by the SEI when pre
test scores are used as covariates.
1c.
There is no sig n ifican t difference among the means
of eleven-year-old children in each o f the three treatment groups

with respect to posttest scores of self-esteem as measured by the
SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
Id.
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means o f
twelve- and thirteen-year-olds in the three treatment groups with

respect to posttest scores of self-esteem as measured by the SEI
when pretest scores are used as covariates.
2.
31
the three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of

anxiety as measured by the TASC when pretest scores are used as
covariates.
2a.
e ig h t- and nine-year-old children in the three treatment groups

with respect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured by the TASC
2b.
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means
of ten-year-old children in the three treatment groups with

respect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured by the TASC
2c.
eleven-year-old children in the three treatment groups with

respect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured by the TASC when
pretest scores are used as covariates.
2d.
of twelve- and thirteen -year-o ld children in the three treatment

groups with respect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured by
the TASC when pretest scores are used as covariates.
3.
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the centroids
o f the three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of

self-esteem and anxiety when pretest scores on these variables are
used as covariates.
Data Processing and Analysis
Completed pretests and posttests were coded for id e n t if i
cation and group p a rtic ip a tio n .
They were delivered to the Andrews
32
University Computer Center for key punching and scoring.
Uni
va riate analysis of covariance and m ultivariate analysis o f covariance were u tiliz e d in data analysis.
Analysis of covariance
was used to test Hypotheses 1 and 2 (and th e ir subhypotheses).

Analysis of covariance compares the c rite rio n (posttest) means with
the e ffe c t of the covariate (pretest) removed.
That is , the analysis
compares the posttest means as i t is predicted (by regression

analysis) that they would be i f the pretest means of the three
groups were equal.
M ultivariate analysis of covariance was used
to te s t Hypothesis 3 to study the differences among the groups

taking account o f the in ter-c o rrelatio n s of the dependent variables.
Discriminant analysis was undertaken to id en tify the direction and
strength of differences found.
Discriminant analysis seeks a lin e a r
combination of variables that maximally discriminates among tr e a t

ment groups.
An alpha level of .05 was used to test a ll hypotheses.
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
This chapter presents information concerning the dataproducing sample.
The te s t data yielded by the three treatment
groups are reported, and the hypotheses are tested fo r s ta tis tic a l
significance.
Data-Producinq Sample
Of the 128 id e n tifie d learning-disabled children receiving
le a rn in g -d is a b ility support service in the South Bend Community
School Corporation's elementary le a rn in g -d is a b ilitie s program,
parental permission was obtained fo r 111 (89 boys and 22 g irls ) to
participate in the study.
One child was dropped from the rational
emotive treatment as the minimum attendance c rite rio n was not met
due to illn e s s .
Table 1 presents data fo r participants in each
o f the three treatment conditions.
Participants were classified
into age-level groupings using the following delineations:
The
eig h t- and nine-year-old c la s s ific a tio n included children between

the ages of seven years and ten months to nine years and nine
months.
The ten-year-old c la s s ific a tio n included children between
the ages of nine years and ten months to ten years and nine months
The eleven-year-old c la s s ific a tio n included children between the
ages of ten years and ten months to eleven years and nine months.
33
34
Vie twelve- and thirteen-year-old c la s s ific a tio n included children

between the ages of eleven years and ten months to thirteen years
and nine months.
Interpretations of results should take into account the
re la tiv e ly small cell sizes a t each age level grouping.
TABLE 1
AGES AND NUMBERS OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE
THREE TREATMENT GROUPS
Treatment
Condition
Age 8-9
Age 10
Age 11
Age 12-13
Total
RationalEmoti ve
32
RecreationalEducation
31
No Contact
10
22
47
23
27
22
38
110
Total
Basic Data fo r Analysis

Table 2 presents the means on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem
Inventory and the Test Anxiety Scale for Children for the sample as
a whole and for each of the treatment conditions.
Henceforth, the
Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory is referred to as the SEI, and

the Test Anxiety Scale for Children is referred to as the TASC.
Raw scores on each of the measures are included in appendix F.
Analysis o f Data
In this section analysis of data is presented hypothesis by
hypothesis.
TABLE 2
GROUP MEANS ON THE SEI AND TASC
Treatment
General S e lf
(SET)
S ocial S e lf
(SEI)
Home
(SEI)
School
(SEI)
T otal
S e lf Esteem
(SEI)
T otal
A n x ie ty
(TASC)
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
Post
R a tio n a lEmotive
32
14.6562
15.6562
4.3750
4.2188
4.6250
4.2812
4.5625
4.9688
28.2187
29.1250
17.6250
9.4688
R e cre a tlo n a lEducatlon
31
14.5484
15.3226
5.2258
4.6129
4.9032
4.6129
4.4194
4.1290
29.0968
28.6774
13.6774
12.5161
No Contact
47
14.7234
15.5532
4.4255
4.5745
4.4894
4.8298
4.3191
4.2979
27.9574
29.2553
15.4255
13.7660
110
14.655
4.636
4.482
4.645
4.609
4.418
4.445
15.5727
12.1636
T otal
15.518
36
Hypothesis 1
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means of the
three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of self-esteem
as measured by the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
Table 3 presents the pretest means, the posttest means, and
the adjusted posttest means fo r each o f the three treatment groups.
Adjusted means were computed by regression analysis to predict what
posttest means would be i f a ll groups had had equal pretest means.
TABLE 3
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS
OF ALL CHILDREN ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS 1
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmoti ve
28.2187
29.1250
29.1926
RecreationalEducati on
29.0968
28.6774
28.3077
No Contact
27.9574
29.2553
29.4531
Treatment
Conditions
Table 4 gives the results o f univariate analysis o f covariance fo r a ll subjects on the SEI.
The obtained F -ra tio with
2 and 106 degrees of freedom is 1.047 with a probability level of

.356.
Therefore, Hypothesis 1 is retained.
There is no s ig n if i
cant difference in mean self-esteem scores of the three treatment

groups.
Hypothesis 1 is fu rth e r subdivided Into four sub-hypotheses,
one for each age-level grouping.
37
TABLE 4
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR ALL CHILDREN
ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS 1
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
25.0063
12.5032
1.047
.356
106
1266.1499
11.9448
108
1291.1562
Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Treatment
Error
Total
Hypothesis la :
Adjusted Sums
of Squares
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the
means o f the eig h t- and nine-year-old children in the three

treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of self-esteem
as measured by the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
Table 5 gives the pretest means, posttest means, and the ad
justed posttest means for eight- and nine-year-olds in the three
treatment groups.
TABLE 5
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS
OF EIGHT- AND NINE-YEAR-OLDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS la
Treatment
Conditions
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
25.4286
26.1429
26.8346
29.1250
30.0000
29.3890
No Contact
27.3750
28.3750
28.3807
38
Table 6 gives the results o f univariate analysis of covariance

fo r e ig h t- and nine-year-olds on the SEI.
2 and 19 degrees of freedom is .754 with a probability level of .487.

Thus, the null hypothesis is retained.
There is no s ig n ific a n t
difference in mean self-esteem scores o f e ig h t- and nine-year-olds

in the three treatment groups.
TABLE 6
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR EIGHT- AND
NINE-YEAR-OLDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS la
Source of
V ariation
Treatment
Error
Total
Degrees of
Freedom
Adjusted Sums
of Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
21.5525
10.7762
.754
.487
19
271.4646
14.2876
21
293.0171
Hypothesis lb :
means of ten-year-old children in the three treatment groups

with respect to posttest scores o f self-esteem as measured by
the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
justed posttest means on the SEI fo r ten-year-olds in the three
treatment groups.
Table 8 gives the results o f univariate analysis of covariance fo r ten-year-olds on the SEI.
The obtained F -ratio with
2 and 24 degrees of freedom is .959 with a probability level o f

.399.
The null hypothesis is retained.
39
difference in self-esteem means of ten-year-olds in the three

treatment groups.
TABLE 7
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS OF
TEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS lb
Treatment
Conditions
Posttest Means
Pretest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
27.5555
30.2222
30.2691
28.2500
29.5000
29.1737
No Contact
27.2727
27.7273
27.9262
TABLE 8
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR TEN-YEAR-OLDS
ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS lb
Source o f
Variation
Treatment
Error
Total
Degrees of
Freedom
Adjusted Sums
of Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
27.3381
13.6691
.959
.399
24
341.9568
14.2481
26
369.2930
Hypothesis 1c:
means o f eleven-year-old children in each of the three tr e a t

ment groups with respect to posttest scores of self-esteem as
measured by the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
40

justed posttest means for eleven-year-olds on the SEI in the three
treatment groups.
TABLE 9
ELEVEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS 1c
Treatment
Conditions
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
29.7500
29.3750
29.2724
30.4286
29.0000
28.5571
No Contact
28.4286
28.5714
29.1315
Table 10 gives the results of univariate analysis of covariance for eleven-year-olds on the SEI.
The obtained F -ratio
with 2 and 18 degrees of freedom is .166 with a probability level

o f .849.
difference in self-esteem means of eleven-year-olds in the three

treatment groups.
Hypothesis Id :
There is no sig n ific a n t difference among the
means of twelve- and thirteen-year-olds in the three treatment

groups with respect to posttest scores o f self-esteem as
measured by the SEI when pretest scores are used as covariates.
Table 11 gives the pretest means, posttest means, and the
adjusted posttest means on the SEI for twelve- and thirteen-yearolds in the three treatment groups.
41
TABLE 1 0
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR ELEVEN-YEAR-OLDS

ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS 1c
Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Treatment
Error
Total
Adjusted Sums
Adjusted
o f Squares
Mean Square
2.0631
1.0315
18
111.7824
6.2101
20
113.8455
Calculated
F-Ratio
.166
.399
TABLE 11
TWELVE- AND THIRTEEN-YEAR-ulDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS Id
Treatment
Condi t i ons
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmoti ve
29.8750
30.2500
29.7020
28.7500
26.2500
26.2670
No Contact
28.3810
30.6190
30.8213
Table 12 gives the results of univariate analysis of covariance fo r twelve- and thirteen-year-olds on the SEI.
The ob
tained F -ra tio with 2 and 33 degrees of freedom is 5.301 with a

probability level of < .0 1 .
The null hypothesis is rejected.
There
1s a s ig n ific a n t difference in self-esteem means of twelve- and

thirteen-year-olds in the three groups.
Campari son o f group means
by the Newman-Kuhls method indicated s ig n ific a n tly higher mean

self-esteem scores fo r both the rational-em otive and no-contact
42
groups.
These two group means did not d iffe r s ig n ific a n tly from
each other.
TABLE 12
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR TWELVE- AND
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE SEI: HYPOTHESIS Id
Source of
Variation
Degrees o f
Freedom
Treatment
120.1492
60.0746
33
373.9817
11.3328
35
494.1309
Error
Total
Adjusted Sums
o f Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
5.301
P < .01
Hypothesis 2
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the means of the
three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of anxiety
as measured by the TASC when pretest scores are used as covariates.
adjusted posttest means fo r a ll children on the TASC in the three
treatment groups.
Table 14 gives the results of univariate analysis o f covariance fo r a ll children on the TASC.
2 and 106 degrees o f freedom is 12.554 with a p ro b a b ility level of

< .0005.
There is a s ig n ific a n t
difference in the mean anxiety scores among the three treatment

groups.
Comparison o f group means by the Newman-Kuhls method in
dicated s ig n ific a n tly lower mean anxiety scores fo r the ra tio n a lemotive treatment groups.
43
TABLE 13
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS OF ALL

CHILDREN ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2
' test
P o s ^ s tZ n s
RationalEmotive
17.6250
9.4688
8.0816
13.6774
12.5161
13.7971
No Contact
15.4255
13.7660
13.8654
TABLE 14
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR ALL CHILDREN
ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2
Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Adjusted Sums
o f Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
Treatment
731.7705
365.8853
2.554
106
3089.2773
29.1441
108
3821.0479
Error
Total
P <.0005
Hypothesis 2 is fu rth e r subdivided into four sub-hypotheses,

one fo r each age-level grouping.
Hypothesis 2a:
There is no sig n ifican t difference among the
means of e ig h t- and nine-year-old children in the three tr e a t

ment groups with respect to posttest scores of anxiety as
measured by the TASC when pretest scores are used as covariates.
44
adjusted posttest means for e ig h t- and nine-year-olds on the TASC

in the three treatment groups.
TABLE 15
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS OF EIGHTAND NINE-YEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2a
Treatment
Conditions
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
16.0000
8.5714
5.5311
10.1250
11.6250
12.9091
No Contact
10.0000
9.6250
11.0012
Table 16 gives the results of univariate analysis of covariance fo r e ig h t- and nine-year-olds on the TASC.
The obtained
F -ra tio with 2 and 19 degrees o f freedom is 3.188 with a prob ab ility
level o f .063.
There is no sig
n ific a n t difference in the mean anxiety scores among e ig h t- and

nine-year-olds in the three treatment groups.
TABLE 16
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR EIGHT- AND NINEYEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2a
Source o f
Variation
Treatment
Error
Total
Adjusted Sums
of Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
198.3526
99.1761
3.188
.063
19
591.0425
31.1075
21
789.3948
Degrees of
Freedom
45
Hypothesis 2b:
of ten-year-old children in the three treatment groups with re

spect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured by the TASC when
pretest scores are used as covariates.
Table 17 gives the pretest means, posttest means, andthe
adjusted posttest means for ten-year-olds on the TASC in the three
treatment groups.
TABLE 17
TEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2b
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
15.7778
7.6667
8.1135
Recreational Education
16.5000
14.2500
14.8293
No Contact
19.3636
14.4545
13.6676
Treatment
Conditions
Table 18 gives the results of univariate analysis of covariance fo r ten-year-olds on the TASC.
2 and 24 degrees of freedom is 2.893 with a probability level of

.073.
difference in mean anxiety scores o f ten-year-olds in the three

treatment groups.
Hypothesis 2c:
means of eleven-year-old children in the three treatment

groups with respect to posttest scores of anxiety as measured
by the TASC when pretest scores are used as covariates.
46
TABLE 18
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR TENYEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2b

Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Adjusted Sums
of Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
Treatment
228.1172
114.0586
2.893
.073
24
946.2024
39.4251
26
1174.3196
Error
Total

adjusted posttest means for eleven-year-olds on the TASC in the
three treatment groups.
TABLE 19
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS OF ELEVENYEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2c
Pretest Means
Posttest Means
Adjusted
Posttest Means
RationalEmotive
19.8750
13.1250
10.7650
13.2857
13.2857
15.4721
No Contact
15.7143
15.4286
15.9393
Treatment
Conditions
Table 20 gives the results o f univariate analysis o f covariance fo r eleven-year-olds on the TASC.
The obtained F -ratio
with 2 and IS degrees of freedom is 2.255 with a prob ab ility level

o f .132.
47
difference in mean anxiety scores for eleven-year-olds in the three

treatment groups.
TABLE 20
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR ELEVENYEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2c
Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Adjusted Sums
o f Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
Treatment
108.8794
54.5397
2.255
.132
18
434.6396
24.1466
20
543.5190
Error
Total
Hypothesis 2d:
means of twelve- and thirteen-year-old children in the three

treatment groups with respect to posttest scores of anxiety as
measured by the TASC when pretest scores are used as covariates.
adjusted posttest means fo r twelve- and thirteen-year-olds on the
TASC in the three treatment groups.
Table 22 gives the results of univariate analysis of covariance for twelve- and thirteen-year-olds on the TASC.
The ob
tained F-ratio with 2 and 33 degrees of freedom is 6.432 with a

prob ab ility level of .005.
There
is a significant difference in mean anxiety scores of twelve- and

thirteen-year-olds.
Comparison of group means by the Newman-Kuhls
method indicated s ig n ific a n tly lower mean anxiety scores fo r the

rational-emotive treatment groups.
48
TABLE 21
PRETEST, POSTTEST, AND ADJUSTED POSTTEST MEANS OF TWELVEAND THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2d
Pretest Heans
Posttast Heans
Posttes^Heans
RationalEmotive
17.7500
8.6250
7.1120
14.7500
11.0000
11.7337
No Contact
15.3333
14.4286
14.7254
TABLE 22
UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOR TWELVE- AND
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLDS ON THE TASC: HYPOTHESIS 2d
Source of
Variation
Degrees of
Freedom
Treatment
Error
Total
Adjusted Sums
o f Squares
Adjusted
Mean Square
Calculated
F-Ratio
p
K
336.5913
168.2957
6.432
.005
33
863.4556
26.1653
35
1200.0469
Hypothesis 3
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference among the centroids of
the three treatment groups with respect to posttest scores o f s e lf
esteem and anxiety when pretest scores on these variables are used
as covariates.
M u lti-v a ria te analysis of covariance was used to study the
in te r-re la tio n s of anxiety and the four subscale scores o f s e lf
esteem in looking for possible group differences.
Table 23 gives
49
the adjusted posttest means o f each o f the fiv e covariates for the
three treatment groups.
TABLE 23
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE ADJUSTED MEANS
Treatment
Condition
General
Self-SEI
Social
Self-Peers
SEI
HomeParents
SEI
School
Academic
SEI
Anxi ety
TASC
RationalEmotive
15.7918
4.3029
4.2841
4.9036
8.2046
15.2743
4.4281
4.5654
4.1633
13.5256
No Contact
15.4927
4.6391
4.8592
4.3196
13.9609
M ultivariate analysis of covariance with fiv e c rite rio n

variables and fiv e covariates yields an F = 3.3417 with 10 and 195
degrees of freedom, and a prob ab ility o f .0007.
The null hypothesis
is therefore rej'ected.
There is a s ig n ific a n t difference among the centroids of
the three treatment groups.
To understand the nature of these d if
ferences, discriminant analysis was undertaken in constructing a

lin e a r combination of variables to maximally discriminate among the
three groups.
The f i r s t discriminant function was found to be sig
n ific a n t with an approximate
= 19.9402, with 10 degrees of fre e
dom and P = .0298.

Table 24 presents the group means on this f i r s t discriminant
function.
For ease o f understanding, a ll means are made positive
by adding a constant 10 to each.
50
TABLE 24
GROUP MEANS:
DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION
Treatment Condition
Mean
Rational-emotive
6.108
Recreational education
4.831
No contact
4.636
The standard coefficients fo r discriminant function I are

shown in table 25.
I t is evident that variables that contributed
the most in discriminating among the three groups are anxiety scores
and school-academic (SEI) scores.
TABLE 25
DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS FUNCTION I
Variable
Standard Discriminant
Function Coefficient
General Self
- 3.2777
Social Self
- 5.0098
Home Parents
- 6.4001
School-Academi c
+ 9.6523
Anxiety
-10.2464
I t is common practice to consider as making a meaningful

contribution those variables with discriminant function coefficients
which are a t least h a lf o f the highest (absolute) c o e ffic ie n t.
The
rational-emotive groups are d iffe re n tia te d from the other two

groups in that anxiety scores are lower, school-academic scores
51
higher, and home-parent scores lower.

Sunmary
Three hypotheses were tested in this study.
results is presented here.
chapter V.
A summary of
A discussion o f results follows in
The f i r s t and second hypotheses dealt with the effects
of rational-em otive group therapy on learning-disabled children.

The f i r s t hypothesis looked at self-esteem scores as measured by the
Coopersmith S elf Esteem Inventory.
Univariate analysis of co-
variance o f self-esteem scores of children eight through thirteen

showed that there was no sign ificant difference in self-esteem
scores among the three treatment groups.
When analysis was under
taken by age-level grouping, a s ig n ific a n t difference was indicated

fo r twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.
Comparison of means by the
Newman-Kuhls method indicated s ig n ific a n tly higher mean s e lf

esteem scores for both the rational-em otive and no-contact groups.
The second hypothesis dealt with anxiety scores as measured
by the Test Anxiety Scale for Children.
A sig n ific a n t F -ratio in
favor o f the rational-emotive treatment group was indicated.
When
analysis was undertaken by age-level grouping, a sign ificant d i f

ference was indicated for the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds where
the mean anxiety score for the rational-em otive treatment group
was considerably lower.
Probabilities of F-ratios for the ra tio n a l-
emotive treatment groups at a ll other age groupings are noted as

close to s ig n ific a n t.
Though s t a tis t ic a lly non-significant, the
anxiety mean fo r the other age-level groupings o f the ra tio n a l-
52
emotive group was consistently, considerably lower than for the

other groups.
The th ird hypothesis d e a lt with the differences among the
treatment groups taking into account the intercorrelations o f s e lf
esteem and anxiety scores.
S ig nificant differences were again
id e n tifie d in favor o f the rational-em otive treatment group.
By
discriminant analysis anxiety scores were found to maximally dis

criminate the groups with school-academic subtest scores of s e lf
esteem ranked second.
Results o f testing of hypothesis 3 are
noted as consistent with those indicated in testing hypothesis 2.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
This chapter presents a sunmary and the conclusions o f the
study and the implications for fu rth e r research.
The summary
b rie fly describes the purpose of the study, the subjects, the pro
cedure and methodology, and the findings.
A discussion of the re
sults of self-esteem and test-anxiety measures is followed by the

conclusions with regards to the effects o f rational-emotive group
therapy on learning-disabled children.
The chapter is concluded
with some implications for further research.

Summary
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to investigate the e ffe c tiv e
ness of rational-em otive group therapy conducted with learningdisabled children.
E a rlier studies (Brody, 1974; Knaus & Bokor,
1975) demonstrated the effectiveness of rational-em otive education

in building self-esteem and reducing anxiety of f i f t h - and s ix th grade children in regular classrooms.
This study was aimed a t
building upon and expanding previous studies by using more subjects

and extending the age levels employed.
The subjects were selected
from a learning-disabled student population instead o f a regular
53
54
classroom student population.
Rather than regular classroom in
struction, group-therapy sessions were conducted a fte r school hours.

The question was:
Would rational-emotive group therapy reduce
anxiety and build self-esteem in children id e n tifie d as learning

disabled?
Subjects
The subjects of th is study were learning-disabled children
ages eight to th irte e n receiving le a rn in g -d is a b ility support service
in the South Bend Community School Corporation in the f a ll of 1979.
A total of 110 children id en tifie d as learning disabled by state
o f Indiana c e rtifie d psychologists participated in the study.
Parental permission was required for inclusion in the study.
The
total population o f learning-disabled children within the school

corporation a t that time was 128 children.
Treatment
Three experimental treatment conditions were employed:
(1) rational-emotive therapy, (2) recreational-educational pro
grams ng, and (3) no-contact.
Self-help and problem-solving s k ills were emphasized in the
rational-emotive treatment condition.
The a r t o f identifying
rational and irra tio n a l beliefs and challenging irra tio n a l s e lf

ta lk was stressed.
A predetermined format fo r each session was
used, employing strategies described in previous studies (Brody,

1974; Knaus, 1974) and other approaches acquired in the process of
study and train in g preparation.
Rational-emotive therapy groups
met once a week for sixty-minute sessions.over a ten week period.
55
The major goal of the recreational-education program was to

develop in each child a positive self-concept through successoriented a c tiv itie s .
Perceptual-motor, expressive and receptive
language, conceptual, and visual and auditory s k ills were empha

sized in special a c tiv ity groups.
The children in this treatment
condition were engaged in such a c tiv itie s as arts and c ra fts , ta b le top games, gym a c tiv it ie s , sports, auditory center, and hiking.
Recreational-education program groups met once a week fo r nine
sessions over the same ten-week period.
Procedure and Methodology
Children were assigned to treatment conditions in the f o l
lowing manner.
All children whose parents indicated a b ilit y to
transport them to outside-of-school sessions were assigned to the

rational-emotive treatment provided they were not also planning to
enroll in the recreational-education program.
Children enrolled in
the recreational-education program were assigned to that treatment.

All other children were assigned to the no-contact treatment.
All children p a rticip atin g in the study were pretested and
posttested with the Coopersmith S elf Esteem Inventory and Test
Anxiety Scale for Children.
Test items were read to the children
during te s t administration by South Bend Community School Corpor

ation guidance counselors.
Three main s ta tis tic a l methods were employed to analyze the
data collected.
Univariate analysis of covariance was used to ad
ju s t for the e ffe c t of non-random assignment o f subjects to groups.
56
Pre- and posttest scores on measures of self-esteem and anxiety

were examined.
M ultivariate analysis of covariance was u tiliz e d to
study the in te r-re la tio n s of anxiety and facets o f self-esteem .
In
the event of prob ab ilities o f F -ratio reaching s ig n ific a n t le v e ls ,

discriminant analysis was employed to id en tify the v a riab le (s ) which
maximally discriminated children in each of the three treatment
conditions.
An alpha level o f .05 was used to te s t a ll hypotheses.
Summary of the Findings

Three major hypotheses were tested.
A summary o f the fin d
ings, hypothesis by hypothesis, follows:

The f ir s t hypothesis was:
There is no s ig n ific a n t difference
among the means of the three treatment groups with respect to post
te s t scores of self-esteem as measured by the SEI when pretest
scores are used as covariates.
The probability o f an F -ra tio
reaching significant levels was not obtained.
Hypothesis 1 was re
tained.
Hypothesis 1 was fu rth e r subdivided into four sub-hypotheses,
Probabilities o f s ig n ific a n t F-
ratio s were not obtained fo r eig h t- and nine-year-old children,

ten-year-old children, or eleven-year-old children.
The null
hypotheses were retained fo r these age-level groupings.
For twelve-
and thirteen-year-old children, the null hypothesis was rejected.

There was a sign ificant difference in self-esteem means of twelveand thirteen-year-old children in each of the three treatment
groups.
Comparison of means by the Newman-Kuhls method indicated
s ig n ific a n tly higher self-esteem scores fo r both the ra tio n a lemotive and no-contact treatments.
Means for these two groups were
57
not s ig n ific a n tly d iffe re n t from each other yet s ig n ific a n tly
higher than the mean for the recreational-education groups.
The second hypothesis was:
There is no s ig n ific a n t d i f f e r
ence among the means o f the three treatment groups with respect to
posttest scores of anxiety as measured by the TASC when pretest
scores are used as covariates.
The probability of an F -ra tio
reaching s ig n ific a n t levels was obtained.

jected.
Hypothesis 2 was re
Comparison of group means by the Newman-Kuhls method
indicated s ig n ific a n tly lower anxiety scores fo r the ra tio n a lemotive treatment groups.
Hypothesis 2 was fu rth er subdivided into four sub-hypotheses,
While prob ab ilities o f F-ratios
were consistently in the direction of significance in favor o f the

rational-em otive groups for a ll ages, only means of the twelve- and
thirteen-year-old groups reached significance.
Comparison of
group means by the Newman-Kuhls method indicated s ig n ific a n tly

lower anxiety scores for the rational-em otive groups.
The th ird hypothesis was:
There is no s ig n ific a n t d i f f e r
ence among the centroids of the three treatment groups with respect
to posttest scores of self-esteem and anxiety when pretest scores
on these variables are used as covariates.
The prob ab ility o f an
F -ra tio reaching sign ificant levels was obtained.

was rejected.
Hypothesis 3
A sign ificant difference in favor o f the ra tio n a l-
emotive treatment groups was indicated.
Discriminant analysis re
vealed that lower anxiety scores fo r the rational-em otive treatment

groups maximally discriminated among the three treatment groups.
Higher scores on the School-academic subscale of the SEI fo r the
58
rational-emotive treatment groups ranked second in discriminating

among the three treatment groups.
Lower scores on the Home-parents
subscale of the SEI for the rational-em otive treatment groups

ranked third in discriminating among the three treatment groups.
Results of testing of hypothesis 3 are noted as consistent with
testing of hypothesis 2.
Discussion o f the Findings
I t is apparent from the data analysis that there is qu alified
support for the effectiveness of rational-emotive group therapy con
ducted with learning-disabled children.
The results indicate that
learning-disabled children exposed to rational-em otive group therapy

do exhibit less anxiety than learning-disabled children not exposed.
This is the f i r s t study to investigate em pirically the e ffe c t of
rational-emotive techniques conducted with learning-disabled
children.
I t supports the findings of Knaus and Bokor (1975) and
Brody (1974) which demonstrated that rational-em otive education

approaches bring about less anxiety in regular classroom children.
The results of this study do not indicate the effectiveness
of rational-emotive techniques in building self-esteem in learningdisabled children as a whole.
Twelve- and thirteen-year-old
learning-disabled children who received rational-em otive group

therapy did display higher posttest self-esteem scores.
However,
this resu lt is confounded by the phenomenon that twelve- and

thirteen-year-old children who received no treatment a t a ll also
exhibited s ig n ific a n tly higher posttest scores.
No plausible ex
planation for this resu lt has been developed.
59
While the e a rlie r study o f Brody (1974) also did not find
significant differences in self-esteem, the study of Knaus and Bokor
(1975) did find rational-emotive techniques e ffec tive in enhancing
positive self-esteem.
A possible explanation of this re s u lt may
be that self-esteem is less amenable to change over r e la tiv e ly

short periods o f time.
Both the Brody (1974) study and th is in
vestigation were conducted over a three-month period.
The Knaus
and Bokor (1975) study was conducted over an eight-month period.

Too, children in the recreational-education program, a program
which was s p e c ific a lly designed to foster positive self-concept
development, did not exhibit s ig n ific a n t gains on the self-esteem
measure.
Another possible explanation is that techniques used in
this study were more powerful in influencing anxiety than s e lf

esteem.
This is questionable, however, as techniques used in this
study stressed both self-esteem and anxiety constructs.

Twelve- and thirteen-year-old learning-disabled children ex
posed to rational-em otive group therapy did exhibit less anxiety
and more positive self-esteem.
I t may be th at rational-em otive
techniques are more e ffec tive with increasing age of children.

Actual observation does p a rtia lly support this supposition.
C h il
dren in the e ig h t- and nine-year-old age-level grouping required

additional explanation o f and practice with the A-B-C model.
Children in a ll other rational-emotive groups deomonstrated aware
ness and control of self-verbalization in the A-B-C model more
read ily.
Each age-level grouping displayed f a c ilit y with chal
lenging techniques with practice.

Investigation of the in terrelation s of a ll variables
60
studied revealed that lower anxiety scores for the rational-em otive
therapy groups maximally discriminated the three treatment groups.
School-academic measures of self-esteem ranked second in maximally
discriminating the three treatment groups and were noted as higher
fo r the rational-emotive treatment groups than for the other two
treatment groups.
This sugge^^âiH B H iiikhZem otive techniques
show promise in build;
children
with respect to
measures o f
f.ibnal-
emotive
self-este
that tec
the homr
have fu
practice
disabled
of note that
disabled children
oservation is
obtained and reported
consistent with findings o f studies \Lrsen, Parker, & J o rjo ria n ,

1973; G r iffith s , 1975) designed to investigate differences in
self-concept between learning disabled children and normally
achieving children.
Also, mean anxiety scores for learning-
disabled children participating in this study are indicative o f

elevated anxiety states.
No studies o f anxiety in learning-
disabled children were found.
Sarason (1960) describes several
60
studied revealed that lower anxiety scores for the rational-em otive
therapy groups maximally discriminated the three treatment groups.
School-academic measures of self-esteem ranked second in maximally
discrim inating the three treatment groups and were noted as higher
for the rational-emotive treatment groups than for the other two
treatment groups.
This suggests th at rational-emotive techniques
show promise in building self-esteem of learning-disabled children

with respect to school and academic performance.
Home-parent
measures o f self-esteem ranked th ird in d iffe re n tia tin g the ra tio n a lemotive groups from the other two treatment groups.
self-esteem measures on this facto r were observed.
However, lower
I t is possible
that techniques for problem solving and self-understanding within

the home environment were not emphasized enough.
Children may not
have f u lly developed their a b ilit ie s to generalize rational-emotive

practices to varying situations.
I t was not the intention of this study to compare learningdisabled children with normally achieving children.
However, i t is
of note th a t mean scores on the self-esteem measure fo r learningdisabled children participating in this study are much below norms
obtained and reported by Coopersmith (1975).
This observation is
consistent with findings of studies (Larsen, Parker, & Jorjorian,

1973; G r if f it h s , 1975) designed to investigate differences in
self-concept between learning disabled children and normally
achieving children.
Also, mean anxiety scores for learning-
disabled children participating in this study are in dicative of

elevated anxiety states.
No studies of anxiety in learning-
disabled children were found.
Sarason (1960) describes several
61
studies reporting a negative relationship between anxiety and

achievement in the school s itu a tio n .
Cone!usions
From the findings of this study concerning the effects o f
rational-emotive group therapy upon self-esteem and anxiety of
learning-disabled children, the following conclusions were drawn:
1.
Elementary-school-age learning-disabled children as a
whole exhibit no s ig n ific a n t differences in measures o f s e lf

esteem when exposed to nine hours o f rational-emotive group therapy.
2.
Twelve- and thirteen-year-old learning-disabled children
e x h ib it sign ificantly higher scores on measures of self-esteem when

exposed to nine hours of rational-em otive group therapy.
Twelve-
and thirteen-year-oId learning-disabled children receiving no

therapy or contact a t a ll also exhibit sig n ific a n tly higher scores
on measures of self-esteem.
Further investigation of this variable
1s required to resolve such confounding results.

3.
Elementary-school-age learning-disabled children ex
h ib it sig n ificantly lower anxiety scores when exposed to nine hours

o f rational-emotive group therapy.
When age-level groupings are
examined separately, twelve- and thirteen-year-olds in ra tio n a lemotive treatment groups e xh ib it a significant reduction on
anxiety measures.
All other age groupings of rational-em otive
treatment display reduced anxiety scores in the direction of the

determined level of significance.
4.
Rational-emotive group therapy techniques show potential
fo r use with learning-disabled children in reducing anxiety con

cerning school performance.
62
Implications for Further Research

This study was an attempt to investigate the effects of
rational-emotive group therapy upon anxiety and self-esteem of
learning-disabled children.
The findings provide insight in the
use of rational-emotive group therapy with elementary-school-age

learning-disabled children in the South Bend Community School
Corporation, South Bend, Indiana.
A sign ificant reduction in
measures of anxiety was found in favor of the rational-em otive

therapy groups when compared to the recreational-education pro
gram groups and the no-contact groups.
The findings concerning anxiety suggest th a t rational emotive group-therapy techniques have the potential fo r influencing
learning-disabled children to confront emotional reactions to
fa ilu re or d iffic u lty with school work.
Lower scores on anxiety
measures were obtained fo r rational-emotive therapy groups.

F a c ility in challenging irra tio n a l thoughts and, in turn, producing
less destructive emotional reactions may break up the cycle of
fa ilu re to learn and the emotional reaction to f a ilu r e described
e a rlie r by Lerner (1976).
Gains in academic achievement might be
observed with use of rational-emotive techniques.

search might consider:
Further re
To what extent, i f any, is academic achieve
ment enhanced by rational-em otive group therapy?
What are some
other possible variables which might be influenced by practice of

rational-emotive techniques?
As studies (Rosenburg, 1953; lip p s e tt, 1958; Suinn & H ill ,
1964) generally indicate highly sign ificant negative correlations
between anxiety and self-esteem, significant differences on measures
63
of self-esteem were expected.
S ig n ifica n tly higher scores were
obtained only fo r twelve- and thirteen-year-olds.
However, such
gains were noted for both the rational-em otive therapy groups and
no-contact groups.
Further research on the self-esteem variable
is d e fin ite ly in order to resolve such confusing resu lts.

might address:
Studies
What are the p o s s ib ilitie s of enhancing self-esteem?
Is self-esteem less amenable to change over re la tiv e ly short

periods of time?
Assuming that rational-em otive group therapy
w ill bring about less negative s e lf-e va lu a tio n , approximately how

many sessions are required to re a liz e such change?
I t is evident that the findings of this study raise a
number of questions related to the use o f rational-em otive group
therapy with learning-disabled children.
The following recommenda
tions for further studies are offered:

1.
A larger sample of learning-disabled children might be
used to determine whether sim ilar findings with reference to measures

of self-esteem and anxiety w ill re s u lt.
2.
A s im ilar study might be undertaken with fu ll randomi
zation to determine whether sim ilar findings w ill re su lt.

3.
D ifferent measures of self-esteem and anxiety might be
employed in a sim ilar study.

4.
Other variables such as achievement, frustration to le r
ance, adaptive behavior, and social adjustment might be in vesti

gated to determine the extent to which these variables are in flu
enced by rational-emotive group therapy.
5.
Follow-up studies might be designed to ascertain to what
extent rational-emotive techniques are retained over time.
64
6.
Several therapists might be u tiliz e d in order to assess
results of rational-emotive techniques independent of therapist

in d iv id u a lity .
7.
Rational-emotive group therapy might be conducted
regularly over an entire school year.
I t would be interesting to
investigate whether increasing the time period of treatment or the

in ten sity o f treatment would modify posttest results.
8.
Teachers and parents of learning-disabled children
might be trained in rational-emotive theory principles along with

rational-em otive therapy for the children themselves in order to
ascertain the effects of consistent approaches to problem-solving
s k ills .
Measures of social adjustment and achievement might be
u tiliz e d .
This study investigated the effects of rational-emotive
group therapy conducted with learning-disabled children.
The above
recommendations for further research, while not exhaustive, may

serve as a guide in future studies.
Implications fo r Practice
Results of this study support the findings of previous
studies o f rational-emotive techniques.
Rational-emotive therapy
is an e ffe c tiv e approach in reducing anxiety in children and,

s p e c ific a lly from this study, learning-disabled children.
The
following suggestions for practitioners are offered.

1.
As P. L. 94-142 mandates not only special education
service but also such related services as are required to assist

a handicapped child to benefit from special education, school
65
psychologists, counselors, and social workers might consider using

rational-emotive techniques when providing counseling services to
learning-disabled children.
2.
Regular classroom teachers might conduct weekly or b i
weekly rational-emotive a ffe c tiv e education (Knaus, 1974) sessions

with the entire class including the mainstreamed learning-disabled
children.
3.
Parents of learning-disabled children might be provided
w ith instruction in rational-em otive theory and practice to assist

them in understanding and coping with the needs of th e ir children.
4.
Teachers of learning-disabled children might be in
structed in rational-emotive theory and approaches.
They might be
able to assist learning-disabled children in coping with emotional

reactions to learning d if fic u lt ie s .
5.
Instruction in rational-em otive therapy techniques
might be offered as part o f course work in school psychology

preparatory programs.
This study contributes further empirical research concerning
the use of rational-emotive therapy techniques with children.
It
o ffers data concerning the practice o f rational-emotive therapy

with a specific population of childrenlearning-disabled children.
Attention to remediation o f learning d is a b ilitie s alone
without attention to accompanying emotional responses does not
completely
.e t the needs o f the learning-disabled c h ild .
Just as
applying paint to a car without f i r s t sanding away the rust spots

produces less than satisfactory resu lts, so i t is that treating
only the s p e cifically diagnosed learning d is a b ility without
66
addressing the related emotional reactions of the child yields

less than optimum e ffe c ts .
Rational-emotive therapy, with its
emphasis on thoughts and beliefs and the resulting feelings and

behaviors generated from such thoughts, offers a constructive,
positive approach to dealing with emotional reactions of the
learning-disabled child.
A P P E N D I C E S
APPENDIX A
SELF-ESTEEM INVENTORY
69
Coopersmiih
Self-Esteem Inventory
Form A
by
Stanley Coopersmith
University of California at Davis
1 97 5
PLEASE NOTE:
Copyrighted m aterials in this document
have not been filmed a t the request of
the author. They are available for
consultation, however, in the author's
university lib ra ry .
These consist of pages:
70-76
University
Micrdnlrns
International
300 N. ZEEB RO.. A N N A R B O R . M l 4 8 1 0 6 (3131 761 47 0 0
APPENDIX
FORMAT FOR RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY SESSION
78
FORMAT FOR THE RATIONAL-EMOTIVE

GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS
High in terest paper-and-pencil a c tiv ity materials (d o t-to dat, mazes, picture absurdities, e tc .) were provided before each
session began.
This was done to encourage early a rriv a l so that
a ll group members would be present a t the beginning o f each

session and to provide enjoyable and constructive a c tiv ity for
those who did arrive early.
Refreshments (ju ic e , sometimes with popcorn or peanuts)
were served midway through each session.
The children played a
game of th e ir choice (ring -o n-a-strin g, Simon says, e tc .) for a

few minutes a t that time.
This was done to provide a change in
a c tiv ity and to provide enjoyment which would, hopefully, en

courage children to attend each session.
At the beginning of the f i r s t session, the children were
told that they had at least one thing in comnon with each other
they were a ll receiving le a rn in g -d is a b ility support service.
They
were told that they would be meeting each week for the next few
months to understand themselves better and strengthen th e ir
problem-solving s k ills .
They were told to feel free to speak any
time they had a questi?n or comment with only one ru le .
They
should wait to speak un til someone else was finished speaking.
79
Session 1
A c tiv ity 1
Introduction
Purpose:
To help group members become acquainted with each
other.
1.
Ask the children to introduce themselves by name and
school attended and also to describe th e ir hobbies, pets, fa v o rite

foods, and any other information about themselves that they would
lik e to share with the group.
2.
Tell the group that they w ill play a game to help them
learn group members' names.

game, played as follows:
Introduce the N.A.S.A. communication
"Let's a ll pretend that we have been
selected fo r the next space f lig h t to the moon.
We have been in
formed that we may take only one of our fa v o rite things with us.
We w ill be provided with food and clothing and we can take one
thing fo r our enjoyment.
We w ill go around the group and find out
what each member w ill take."

manner:
The game is played in the following
The f i r s t person states his/her name and what he/she w ill
take (Mary and her monkey).
The next person states the previous
person's name and selection and then adds his name and selection
(Mary and her monkey, Tim and his skateboard).
The next person
states the previous persons' names and selections and adds his
(Mary, monkey; Tim, skateboard; Sue, needlepoint), etc.
A c tiv ity 2
Feelings (Knaus, 1974, p. 17)
Purpose:
To help children define and id en tify th e ir common
feeling s; to demonstrate that people express th e ir feelings in

d iffe re n t ways; and that feelings are generated by thoughts and
b e lie fs .
80
1.
Show the group some magazine pictures of people who are
obviously expressing certain feeling s.
Ask the children what
feelings they think the people in the pictures are expressing.

(Distinguish between physical and psychological fe e lin g s .)
2.
Ask the children to think of feelings they consider as
pleasant or nice.
Ask them to b r ie fly te fl about a situation in
which these feelings were experienced.
E lic it several examples.
Do the same for feelings considered unpleasant.

3.
Ask the children i f they can think of a meaning fo r the
word "feeling."
Does a feeling ju s t come automatically or is i t a
response or result of anything?
Establish the idea of a re la tio n
ship between happenings and feelings.

Break
A c tiv ity 3
The Expression Guessing Game (Knaus, 1974, p. 19)
Purpose:
To demonstrate th at d iffe re n t people can ex
perience the same feeling but express i t d iffe re n tly .

1.
Ask the children i f i t is always easy to t e ll what some
one else is feeling.
Does everybody laugh the same way?
E lic it
other examples and emphasize that d iffe re n t people show th e ir

feelings in d iffe re n t ways.
2.
Ask the children, "Do things that make
(group members' names) happy make you happy?
and _____
Do you think every
body feels the same way about things?

3.
Introduce the expression guessing game.
three children and take them aside.
Select two or
Tell them a feeling and ask
them to think about ways to express the feeling without using
82
Mr. Head has in his head.
A fter they come up with the answer
thoughts," have each child pick a thought and then describe a

situation in which a person might have that thought.
The child
should then be asked to describe how a person might feel or act

i f a person believed that thought.
Emphasize the relationship
between thoughts and feelings.

Break
A ctiv ity 2
Where Feelings Come From (Knaus, 1974, p. 20)
Purpose:
To help the children discover fo r themselves how
certain thoughts lead to certain feelings and behaviors.

1.
Describe the following situation to the children:
Suppose your mother bought you a new coat and told you to be careful
not to get i t d irty .
As you are walking down the s tre e t, a car
swerves near the curb and mud is spalshed a ll over your coat.
would you feel?
How
Suppose you saw that the driver was your mother's
friend and that she had swerved to avoid h ittin g a c h ild .
She
stopped and offered you a ride home and said that she would ex
plain what happened to your mother.
2.
Describe this situation:
How would you feel now?
Discuss.
Suppose you are carrying a
cardboard model of a toy you made for a class project through the
park.
You see a dime near one of the park benches so you put the
model down and another child s its on i t .
How would you feel?
Now
suppose you found out that the other child was blind and he couldn't
see your cardboard model.
How would you feel in this situation?
Discuss.
3.
Ask the children, "Why did your reaction or feeling
83
change with the additional information?

regardless of the driver's motive?
Is the coat s t i l l d irty
Is n 't the cardboard model
broken even i f the boy who sat on i t was blind?"

4.
Ask, "Why doesn't everybody feel the same way about
the situations?
Where do feelings come from?"
Emphasize that
feelings come from thoughts.

5.
Review key points:
People have d iffe re n t feelings about
things, d iffe re n t moods and experiences, and they express th e ir

feelings d iffe re n tly .
Session 3
A c tiv ity 1
ABC's of inner communication
Purpose:
To acquaint the children with th e ir own inner
communications (s e lf-ta lk ) in thinking, fe e lin g , and behaving; to

further demonstrate that feelings come from thoughts.
1.
Introduce the ABC framework for describing reactions to
various situations.
a new kind of ABC's.
Tell the children that they are going to learn

These ABC's help us understand our behavior.
"A" stands for an event, something happening.

or b eliefs about that event.
in reaction to "A" and "B".
"B" stands fo r thoughts
"C" stands fo r feelings and behavior

Describe the following example:
At
point "A," the event, a student is asked to give a report to the

class.
mistake.
At point "B," b e lie fs , the student thinks, "I might make a

Everybody w ill laugh a t me and see how dumb I am."
At
point "C," feelings and behavior, the student reacts with fear
and anxiety and asks to be excused from giving the report.
E lic it
some alternate thoughts a t point "B" and resulting behaviors at

point "C" for the example.
84
2.
Give the children practice with the ABC framework using
examples of events from the group.
Determine "Bs" and "Cs."
To
reinforce f a c ilit y with the framework, e l i c i t examples of feelings

and reactions and have the group members think of events and
thoughts which might correspond.
Break
A c tiv ity 2
Rational and Irra tio n a l Beliefs (Knaus, 1974, p. 24)
Purpose:
To help the children id en tify rational and
irra tio n a l b e lie fs .

1.
Ask the children to think of some beliefs that would
re s u lt in self-downing (putting yourself down, thinking poorly of

yourself) and anxiety (nervous, not calm) and have them explain why.
2.
Explain that an unreasonable or absurd idea (nonsense,
s ill y ) is called an irratio n al b e lie f.
Give as an example:
Nobody in the world w ill ever be my friend."
Explain that a
rational b e lie f is a sensible, logical thought that seems to f i t

r e a lity .
For example:
"Humans are capable of making mistakes"
or "Making mistakes does not make us worthless human beings."

3.
Have the children examine Mr. Head statements and
determine i f they are rational (sensible) or irra tio n a l (nonsense).

Offer practice in challenging irra tio n a l thoughts.
Session 4
A c tiv ity 1
Challenging Irra tio n a l Beliefs (Knaus, 1974, p. 25)
Purpose:
To provide practice in id entifying irra tio n a l and
rational beliefs and disputing irra tio n a l b e lie fs .

1.
Review rational and irra tio n a l d e fin itio n s .
Give
85
examples.
Have volunteers try to challenge the irra tio n a l b e lie f
that one is a fool for making a mistake.
Try to show that no one
is perfect and that a ll people make mistakes.
Emphasize that many
people accept irra tio n a l beliefs about themselves without stopping

to question themselves:
"Is i t re a lly true that I would be a to ta l
fool i f I made a mistake in front o f a group?"
Point out that
self-questioning is an important part of getting rid of irra tio n a l

b eliefs.
2.
Examine why the idea " I wouldn't lik e to make a mistake"
is rational and the feeling o f displeasure a t making the mistake

reasonable.
Help bring out the idea that things can't always go
as we would wish them in the world, and when they don't, i t is

normal to feel badly.
Have the children discuss why they would
feel badly i f a best friend moved away.

Break
A c tiv ity 2
Using Challenging Techniques (Knaus, 1974, p. 26)
Purpose:
To give the children practice in questioning
irra tio n a l ideas through the presentation of hypothetical s itu

ations.
Through the challenging, children gain practice in re
ducing neurotic behavior.

1.
Tell the children that the b rie f story they are about
to hear concerns a boy's fears.
Ask them to think about helping
him overcome his fear as i t is to ld .

boating, especially on lakes.
"A boy named Sam enjoys
He believes that the world is f l a t ,
that there are monsters a t the edge where the world ends.
He's
afraid of the ocean because he thinks he w ill f a ll o ff the earth
86
i f he goes too fa r out into the ocean."

2.
Encourage the group to help Sam question his thinking.
3.
Have the children work out Sam's feelings w ith in the
ABCframework.
ir r a tio n a l
Ask:
b eliefs?
What are his rational beliefs?
What are his
What feelings do his irra tio n a l b e lie fs cause?
As a re s u lt, what is his behavior like?

4.
Ask the group members fo r examples o f some b e lie fs they
(or th e ir friends) have th a t they think are ir r a t io n a l.
Have the
children discuss how they would feel i f they supported such b e lie fs .
Have the children p ractice challenging these ir r a tio n a l b e lie fs .
5.
Have volunteers describe a fear they (or kids th e ir
age) experience.
E l i c i t the b e lie fs th a t produce th a t fe a r.
Id e n tify rational and ir r a tio n a l b e lie fs .
Emphasize th a t doing
something (positive a c tio n ) and ris k taking are ways to challenge

ir r a tio n a l b e lie fs .
Session 5
A c tiv ity 1
Simple and Complex (Knaus, 1974, p. 28)
Purpose:
To show th a t people are complex ra th e r than
simple, i . e . , o f the thousands o f t r a it s and c h a ra c te ris tic s a

person is capable o f expressing, people share some s im ila r basic
t r a it s but d if f e r in others (No two people can be a lik e in a ll th e ir
ta le n ts and inner q u a litie s ); a ls o , to highlight in divid ual d i f f e r
ences and show th a t each person is capable of fe e lin g and acting in
many d iffe re n t ways, so th a t children can then question the tendency
to define themselves as worthless based on a few t r a i t s or actions.
1.
Ask fo r volunteers to tr y to define the words
87
complicated" or complex as in the example sentence:

is complex."
o f simple.
"This machine
Using the same technique, tr y to e l i c i t the d e fin itio n

Then explain th a t simple things have few features and
are not very involved, whereas complex and complicated things have
many parts th a t make up in tric a te and involved systems.
2.
Draw some basic geometric shapes on the board without
explaining why.
Then show the group a series o f pictures clipped
from magazines (buildings, farms, machines, groups o f people).
Ask
the group which pictures are simple and which are complex and have
them give t h e ir reasons.
3.
Once the difference has been c le a rly established, point
out a geometric shape in one of the complex pictures (c ir c le of

church window in church p ic tu re ).
Ask the children i f i t would be
correct to c a ll th a t picture a simple c ir c le .

4.
complex.
Ask i f the children think th a t people are simple or

Emphasize both physical and non-physical q u a litie s .
Ask
the children to id e n tify some o f the d iffe r e n t t r a it s people have.

5.
Culminating question:
I f i t is inaccurate to c a ll a
complex or complicated picture a c > c l e , why is i t inaccurate to

c a ll a complicated person a fool?
feel and do many d iffe r e n t things.
E l i c i t and emphasize th a t humans

One fe e lin g or t r a i t does not
change a ll o f the other q u a litie s .

Break
A c tiv ity 2
Self-Concept Pin-Wheel (Knaus, 1975, p. 29)
Purpose:
To show th a t every person is more than one
thing and to help children challenge feeling s o f in f e r io r it y .

1.
D is trib u te pin-wheel drawings.
Have the children
88
w rite th e ir names in the center c ir c le .
Ask them to f i l l
in the
outer circ le s with things about themselves (fr ie n d ly most o f the

tim e, sometimes has a bad temper, lik e s swimming, helps Mom take
care o f baby s is te r, needs practice in reading, lik e s to play
soccer, e tc .)
2.
Give help with s p e llin g .
Ask the children to look a t one o f th e ir q u a litie s in
the self-concept c ir c le .
thing?
Ask the ch ild re n :
"Are you ju s t th a t
I f someone c a lls you a name or draws a tte n tio n to a q u a lity
which you don't especially lik e about y o u rs e lf, are you only th at
one quality?
Does someone's opinion o f you make you ju s t th a t
one thing?
3.
Have some volunteers w rite or d ic ta te name-calling
statements (You are trash . . . stinky . . . s tu p id ." ).
Place
individual statements in a bag.

4.
Have the children take turns picking a name-calling
paper and challenging
the statement.
S elf-questions lik e " I f some
one c a lls me a name, does i t make me one or does i t mean th a t the

re s t o f the things about me don't count?" should be encouraged.
The use o f words "sometimes," " ra re ly ," "occasionally," and "most
o f the time" to describe some o f the c h ild re n 's individual q u a litie s
should be emphasized.Some key questions in challenging
c a llin g are:
(a) How
can I be ju s t a fool or a dumbbell
a ll o f these other things?
name
i f I am
(b) Does one person's opinion o f me
mean that I am ju s t what they think o f me?
(c) Don't the other
things on the pin-wheel count?

5.
Draw a tten tio n to the negative q u a litie s , such as
sometimes dishonest" or "sometimes u n fa ir" and emphasize th a t
acceptance o f a "sometimes" t r a i t doesn't necessarily lead to more

dishonesty or unfairness.
For example, adm itting that one is d is
honest sometimes rath er than lying about whether one is dishonest

is a sign o f truthfulness.
By being aware o f some o f our un
pleasant q u a litie s , we are able to work on them and change them.

Session 6
A c tiv ity 1
How People Learn (Knaus, 1974, p. 35)
Purpose:
To help the children explore some o f the ways
humans learn and the functioning o f human
language in communicating,
learn in g , and self-questioning.

1.
a puppy.
Have volunteers describe the way they would "paper tra in "
Emphasize the follow ing major points:
(a) le t t in g the
dog know what is wanted "going" on the paper rather than the rug;
(b) rewarding the animal fo r good behavior and punishing him m ild ly
fo r bad behavior; (c) being p a tie n t.
Ask i f the children think the
puppy knows autom atically th a t going on the rug is annoying to adults

before the tra in in g has begun.
2.
learning.
Explain th a t tra in in g is only one form o f teaching and

Ask those children who have cats or dogs i f the animal
knew how to walk when i t was born.

bark or meow?
grown?
Did i t have to be taught to
How long did i t take fo r the animal to be f u l ly
Ask the group i f they think humans or animals take longer
to develop.
Emphasize th at animals take a r e la tiv e ly short time
to be f u l ly grown and developed; humans, on the other hand, take a

very long time to develop p h y s ic a lly , m entally, and em otionally.
Hake sure th a t the children understand that humans have more
with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
90
p o ten tiat fo r learning and developing physical, m ental, and emotional

s k ills .
Ask i f a newborn baby can stack blocks.
are some o f the s k ills a baby has to learn?
Why not?
What
As his mind and body
develop, how does he learn to walk, stack blocks, avoid hot stoves,
etc .?
Emphasize how v/e learn by tr ia l-a n d -e r r o r , making mistakes,
p ra c tic in g , and im ita tio n .

3.
Ask the children i f they think th a t a l i t t l e
baby
reaching fo r his r a t t le or try in g to put his toe in his mouth is

thinking with words:
" I f I could only get that r a t t l e .
. . ."or
I wonder i f that toe has a taste?"
Explain th a t newborns and
in fan ts don't think using a language
because they d o n 't know a
language.
Ask how a young baby's learning is s im ila r to or
d iffe r e n t from th e ir own.
(Both learn by tr ia l-a n d -e r r o r e x p e ri
mentation, mistake-making, im ita tio n , p ra c tic e, e tc .
Only older
humans or children o f a certain age can use language to work things

out in th e ir heads ta lk to themselvesor ta lk to other people.)
4.
I f any c f the children have younger s ib lin g s about
three years old , ask them i f they have ever heard the c h ild t a lk
ing out loud to himself while playing.
children o f th at age often say aloud
Give
as an example th a t
exactly what they are doing.
While building a structure out o f d iffe re n t size blocks, you may

hear them say, " I put this here, and the big one on top.
f e l l down."
Aw, i t
Emphasize th at they are practicing using language
while they are improving a s k i l l .
Ask:
" I f the c h ild were to
ask you how to make something (garage, a irp la n e) out o f the blocks,
how would he be using language?" (To learn , to communicate).
5.
Ask the group to think o f some ways they learn in
91
school through the use of language.
( E lic it :
"The teacher t e lls
them things, they read books which contain words, they discuss, they
w rite , they th in k , they look a t film s with spoken words.")
Empha
size th a t once language has been mastered, people learn through

the use o f language by lis te n in g to what others say and by ta lkin g
to themselves or thinking.
6.
Ask fo r a d e fin itio n o f fru s tra tio n and examples of
fru s tra tin g s itu a tio n s .
(Examples--doing a puzzle and finding
th a t some o f the pieces are missing; not being able to fig u re out
the meaning o f a word when there is no d ictio n ary or no person
a v aila b le to consult; not g e ttin g what you want; a kind o f tension;
an " I c a n 't stand i t " fe e lin g .)
Remind the group o f the example
o f the nev/born reaching fo r it s r a t t l e or its toe.

blaming anyone or saying to him self:
and gettin g angry?
" It 's my f a u l t , or his fa u lt"
Or is he ju s t frustrated?
and fru s tra tio n are the same?
Is the baby
Do you think anger
Emphasize that anger comes from
blaming or ta lk in g to oneself in sentences about how t e r r ib le

things are and whose fa u lt i t is .
7,
Explore ways o f dealing with fru s tra tio n :
(a) accept
ing fru s tra tio n as an " a ll rig h t" fe elin g to have? (b) tryin g to
be p a tie n t and calm since learning and finding solutions takes
time; (c) re a liz in g that problems c a n 't always be solved the way
you want and when you want; (d) tryin g not to add sentences about
"how t e r r ib le the s itu atio n is" so that you won't blame and get
angry.
Break
A c tiv ity 2
Facts and Opinions (Knaus, 1974, p. 36)
92
Purpose:
To establish the d ifferen ce between facts and
opinions.
1.
Have the children give some statements about school.
Establish the difference between fa c t and opinion.
(Facts:
The
school is located a t "x"; i t is open ten months a year; there are

"x" number o f classes and about "x" number of students and teachers;
i t is an elementary school, etc.
Opinions:
school, a certain class, the ru le s , e t c .)

which is v e r ifia b le and observable.
about something.
2.
I lik e or d is lik e the

A fa c t is a statement
An opinion is someone's idea
I t is neither true or fa ls e .
For fu rth e r practice, e l i c i t facts and opinions con
cerning group members' fa v o rite te le v is io n program or hobby.

3.
Ask the children i f facts can be ra tio n a l or ir r a t io n a l.
Ask why o r why not.

or why not?
Can opinions be ra tio n a l or ir r a tio n a l?
Why
Discuss.
Session 7
A c tiv ity 1
Making Mistakes and Learning (Knaus, 1974, p. 37)
Purpose:
To review how people learn and th a t mistakes are
usually a part of the learning process.

1.
Remind the children about the previous week's discussion
on how people learn .
Review ways o f learnin gexperience, t r i a l -
and-error, communicating and thinking with language, e tc .
Ask the
children i f they think that adults continue to learn in some of

the same ways as animals and ch ild ren .
2.
Once i t is established th a t learning is a lif e lo n g , on
going process, give the following examples of mistakes people make
93
while learning:
(a) Your mother takes b a lle t lessons.
She sprained
her ankle because she had not had enough exercise and practice to
tr y to stand on her toes.
She made a mistake while learning.
was the cause of her mistake?
What
(She lacked practice or s k i l l , over
estimated her ta le n t, or made an erro r in judgment, e tc .)
(b) Your
older brother decides to surprise your mother on her birthday by

cooking dinner.
He goofs up the recipe and the meal is not a very
ta s ty one.
He made a mistake.
What are some possible reasons fo r
his error?
(He was in a rush, he read the recipe wrong, he d idn t
fo llo w directions c o rre c tly , e tc .)
(c) Your twenty-year-old s is te r
and her friends from the o ffic e have a discussion group a t your
house every week on women's lib e ra tio n .
They do th is because they
are tryin g to work out a way to get equal rig h ts with men on the
jo b .
Your father forms the opinion th a t the g ir ls are ta lk in g
about female su p e rio rity when they are in fa c t discussing e q u a lity .

He gets angry with your s is te r and t e lls her to have the discussion
somewhere else.
What mistakes did your fa th e r make?
(He got him
s e lf angry; he did not understand the fa c ts ; e t c .)

3.
Ask the group i f they think th a t these three m istake-
makers are bad people because they made mistakes?

change th e ir good t r a it s and c h a racteristics?
Did the mistakes
When you make mis
takes a t school, home, or play, do the mistakes change your good

q u a litie s or do the mistakes make you a bad person?
Why or why not?
Break
A c tiv ity 2
Why People Make Mistakes (Knaus, 1975, p. 45)
Purpose:
To review and emphasize the fa c t th a t people
94
are mistake-makers, and that mistakes are usually part o f the

learning process; that because the world is a complex place, people
react to the same things d iffe r e n tly .
1.
Present the following examples to the group:
(a) In
learning how to walk, the baby reaches fo r stable objects to

maintain his balance.
He reaches fo r a wobbly table and as he
f a lls , the ta b le collapses on top o f him, giving him a serious

cut on his head,
(b) While trying to walk, the baby grabs onto an
expensive standing lamp, and the lamp f a lls and breaks,
(c) Mr.
Jones is d riv in g up Main Street and doesn't see the stop sign.
He goes through the s tre e t and is seen by a policeman.
tic k e t,
(d) Mr. Smith is driving up
the same
through a red li g h t , and his car crashes

Both drivers are seriously in jured,
on his weekly s p e llin g te s t,
exam,
He gets a
s tre e t, and hegoes
in to
a car making atu rn .
(e) John
gets a f a ilin g mark
( f ) Jane f a ils the college entrance
(g) A young boy takes money from his mother's w a lle t, gets
caught, and is punished fo r a week,
(h) A teenager steals the
same amount from a stranger, is caught, and is taken to ju v e n ile

court.
2.
is it?
Do a ll
these incidents have something in common?
(A ll involve mistakes.)
What
In what ways are they d iffe re n t?
(Causes, consequences, varying degrees of importance.)

3.
Have volunteers compare re la te d examples (a) and (b ),
(c) and (d ), e tc .
A fter examples have been discussed, emphasize
the fa c t th a t some mistakes have worse consequences than others,

the greatest being serious in ju ry or death.
95
4.
Ask what the causes o f mistakes in the examples were?
(Lack o f s k i l l , tria l-a n d -e rro r le a rn in g , carelessness, poor

judgment, not studying, not understanding inform ation, t ir e d , i l l ,
e t c .)
5.
Have volunteers share with the group mistakes they
have made or observed.
Discuss the mistake, the cause, the re s u lt,
and then thoughts about the mistake maker.

6.
Have the children consider some o f th e ir examples
using the ABC method and then challenge irra tio n a l thoughts and
b e lie fs .
Emphasize that a ll humans are mistake makers, but th a t v/e
need not ju s t resign ourselves to things as they are.
Ask each
child to w rite down or d ictate some areas o f th e ir liv e s they

would lik e to improve (school a c t iv it ie s , personal q u a litie s ).
Suggest th a t they might make e ffo r ts to improve (themselves) using
th e i subsequent mistakes as inform ation in the improvement process.
7.
Encourage the children to challenge and question th e ir
thinking about mistake making throughout the next week.

Session 8
A c tiv ity 1
In stan t Replay
Purpose:
To introduce the children to the problem-solving
technique o f "instant replay."

1.
Read Instant Replay (Bedford, 1974) to the group.
2,
Ask fo r a volunteer to describe a "rough spot" th a t
Discuss,
the group can use fo r instant re p la y .
Have the child describe
how he or she f e l t (and the in te n s ity o f the fe e lin g ) about the
96
rough spot."
Have him or her describe, in d e ta il (in sta n t replay)
the s e ttin g , p re lim in aries, what happened, and what was the end
r e s u lt.
Ask the c h ild to describe his or her thoughts.
Then have
the group think o f other options or a lte rn a te plans fo r action

concerning the "rough spot."
Determine consequences o f each
a lte rn a te plan and ra te each option.

Break
3.
spot"
Use in stan t replay
example:
to work through the follow ing "rough
A math assignment was given
to the class.
Several
examples and the f i r s t few problems were completed by the teacher

and class members on the blackboard.
to work the problems.
While his classmates completed the assign
ment,
Adam pretended to fin is h his.
ment,
and thus received a "0."

4.
Adam did not catch on to how
He did not hand in his assign
Encourage the children to practice instant replay fo r
rough spots" they encounter during the next week.

Session 9
A c tiv ity 1
Learning D is a b ilitie s
Purpose:
To help the children understand th at not a ll people
have the saê s k ills ; to help them challenge irr a tio n a l b e lie fs they
may have about themselves or which others may e x h ib it towards them.
1.
Ask the children what i t means to be learning disabled.
What is a learning d is a b ility ?
Ask them to describe learn in g -
disabled children.
2.
Keep track o f a ll comments and then have the group
determine which statements represent ra tio n a l and which represent
97
irra tio n a l thoughts and b e lie fs .
Have the group challenge ir r a tio n a l
statements.
3.
Have the children place the irra tio n a l statements in
the ABC framework to id e n tify feeling s and reactions which might

re s u lt from such irra tio n a l b e lie fs .
4.
Add points 0 and E to the ABC framework.
Explain th a t
a t point D, one questions or challenges the b e lie fs and thoughts

a t point B.
At point E, one answers his or her questions and
challenges a t point D lo g ic a lly , sensibly, and ra tio n a lly .
Practice
the ABCDE framework using some o f the statements previously obtained

from the children about learning d is a b ilitie s .
Break
A c tiv ity 2
In stant Replay and ABCDE
Purpose:
To o ffe r the children practice in applying the
ABC method o f examining thinking and in putting to use the in s ta n t

replay method in problem solving.
1.
Have the children use the following
fo r point A in practice of the ABCDE process:
a c tiv a tin g events

Getting teased,
making a m istake, taking a te s t, not being able to find something,

"other people do n't v/ant to do what I wantto do."
2.
Ask fo r volunteers to describe a "rough spot" they (or
one of th e ir frie n d s ) have encountered.
Have the group use in s ta n t
replay to practice problem-solving techniques.
PLEASE NOTE:
Some of the following appendix

pages contain lig h t and in d is tin c t
p rin t. Filmed as received the best
copy available.
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS INTERNATIONAL.
APPENDIX D
REGISTRATION MATERIALS
"I
lik e
be i n - I Z I
yro.yrnm *o b u ild s e lf er-teerr. ox' learn in g disabled children

-rour. a c t iv it ie s , ja n e s , and discussion s tra te g ie s emphasizing p o s itiv e
re I f esteem and s e lf understanding
Cciobcr 17 - December 20
! h r. cessions twice a week Chen.V/eb. or Tues.Thurs.)
re-ir.r.inj* a t 5:^5 or
2C p.m.
C en trally located schools ir. the
South Bend area
r-II your child in the f i r s t t r i a l of th is program, please f i l l cut

the
V forrt and return i t by October 3 to your c h ild 's LDteacher or n a il
tc :
'r. Psychological Services Department, South Beni Community School
:
t 53 South Main S tr e e t, South Bend, In d ia n a, ^6601, There w i l l be no
r t:.ts rrogrrun. I f tran sp o rtatio n is needed, parents v i l l be expected to
- tore than eig h t students per -roup w i l l be formed. Parents w i l l be
: recit'io dates, tim es, and lo catio ns fo r program sessions. The
- -1 oe evaluated a t i t s close to determine e f fe c ts .
-.r. : Xt yor at ? 3 ^ -3 l^ l ( e x t . 211), or 272-7358 i f you have questions
vrograa.
"1 lik e he ill'; HE!"

A program to b u ild s e lf esteem of learning dishblbd children
WHAT:
Group a c tiv iti's n , âacn, n:;d discussion otrutcgieo emphasising p o eitlvc

s e lf esteem und s e lf understanding
WhiSH;
Cctobor IV - December TO
!' h r. sessions tv/ice a week (Hon.Wed. or Tues.-*-Thurs)
Beginning a t 3:h5 or h:20 p.m.
V.'fLSJ'JS;
C e n trally located schools in the South Bend urea
To e n ro ll your ch ild in the f i r s t t r i a l of th in program, please f i l l out the

attached form and return iu by October 3 to your c h ild 's LD teacher or moil to:
Don.no Meyer, Psychological Services Department, South Bend Community School
Corooration, 633 South Haiti S tre e t, South Bend, Indiana, h6G01. There w i l l be no
charge for th is program. I f tran sp o rtatio n in needed, parents w i l l be expected to
provide i t .
Groups of no more than eight students per group w i l l be formed. Parents w i l l be
n o tifie d of sp o cific dates, times, and locatio ns fo r program desaiona. The
program w i l l be evaluated at i t s close to determine e ffe c ts *
Contact Donna Keyer at 23t-0li+l (e x t. 211), or 272-7388 i f you have questions
concerning th is program.
i f
i M
vo
vo
I uu
Fun and Learn

Centsp
C h ild r e n 's
D is p e n s a r y
the fun and
children wi t h
l e a r n c e n t e r i s a r e c r e a t i o n a l -e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m f o r
le a r nin g di sa bil it ie s cr fo r ch ildren h a v i n g l e a r n i n g
DIFFICULTIES IN THEIR REGULAR CLASSROOM. IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1976

THE CHILDREN'S D I S P E N S A R Y , A PRIVATE. NOT FOR PROFIT, VOLUNTEER
ORGANIZATION. IN ORDER TO BETTER MEET THE NEEDS CF THE CHILDREN,
THE CENTER IS DIVIDED INTO TWO P R O G R A M S , THE REGULAR PROGRAM FOR 7
TO 10 YEAR OLDS AND THE JUNIOR FROGRAM FOR 11 TO 14 YEAR O L D S .
by
GOALS;
THE MAJOR GOAL OF THE FUJI AND LEARN CENTER IS FOR EACH CHILD TO
DEVELOPE A POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPT THROUGH SUCCESS ORIENTED A C T I V I T I E S .
IN ADDITION, PERCEPTUAL MOTOR, EXPRESS AND RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE, CON
CEPTUAL, VISUAL AND AUDITORY SKILLS ARE ENCHANCED 3Y DIVIDING CHILDREN
INTO SPECIAL ACTIVITY GROUPS.
STAFF:
SALARIED STAFF CONSIST OF THREE PROFESSIONALS AND TRAINED
THE STAFF ARE IN THE FIELD OF LEARNING DISABILITIES OR SOME
RELATED FIELD. ST. MARY'S C O L L E G E , UNIVERSITY CF NCTRE DAME
UNIVERSITY AT SOUTH BEND PROVIDE VOLUNTEERS. AP P R O X I M A T E L Y ,
VOLUNTEER PARTICIPANT RATIO IS FIV E TO ONE.
VOLUNTEERS.
OTHER
AID INDIANA
THE STAFF,
FUN AND LEARN CENTER-JUNIOR P R O G R A M :

THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN RANGING IN AGS FROM 11 TO 14
YEARS CF AGE. ACTIVITIES FOR THESE CHILDREN ARE MORE ADOLESCENT IN
NATURE. EXAMPLES OF PROGRAMMING ARE CONSERVATION, ECOLOGY, JOURNALISM,
FIELD TRIPS, COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS, T H E A T R I C S . SPORTS , CAMPING
AND FIRST AID. THIS PROGRAM IS FLEXIBLE FOR IT FREQUENTLY ALLOWS THE
CHILDREN TO SELECT AND PLAN ACTIVITIES.
FUN AND LEARN CENTER-REGULAR P R O G R A M ;
CHILDREN IN THIS PROGRAM ARE F R O M 7 TO 10 YEARS CF AGE. GAMES AND
ACTIVITIES ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THIS AGE GROUP. ARTS AND CRAFTS
AUDITORY CENTER, TABLE TCF GAMES. FIELD TRIPS, HIKES, NEW GAMES, GYM
ACTIVITIES, SPORTS AND AN OVERNIGHT CAMP CUT ARE SOME OF THE MANY OC
CURRING ACTIVITIES.
THE FUN AND LEARN CENTER MEETS EACH SATURDAY AT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE
FROM OCTOBER THROUGH MAY. FEES ARE S50.00 FER SEMESTER AND THERE ARE
THREE SEMESTERS PER YEAR. HOWEVER. NO CHILD IS DENIED THE R I G H T TO PARTI
C2PATE IN THE FROGRAM BECAUSE CF AN INA3ILITY TO PAY AND PARTIAL FEE
p a y m e n t is a c c e p t a b l e , a n y d o n a t i o n s f r o m o r g a n i z a t i o n s o r i n d i v i d u a l s
WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

CHILDREN'S DISPENSARY, INC.
^Tycrcst Building
201S Western Avenue Suite 307
South Bend, Indiana
46629
pho ne:
219-234-1169
APPENDIX E
correspondence
102
October 12, 1979
: < ir
_______________________________
welcome to th e " I l i k e being ME!" program.
There has been one change.
In s te a d
cf Deeting tw ice a week fo r a h a l f hour, we w i l l meet once a week f o r one h o u r.
Jrj have been assigned to the____________________________________ group which w i l l

seet at __________________________________ School ( ________________________________ )
free___________________ to __________
.Yourgroup
w i l l n eet on th e fo llo w
ing dates_________________________________
I f you have any questions o r problems concerning t h is assignment, please c a l l

at 23U-81U1, E x t. 211 o r 272-7388.
S in c e re ly ,
Donna Meyer
Psychological Services Department
103
October 11, 1979
: * i r Parent o f a Learning D isab led C h ild ,

In studying th e needs o f le a rn in g d is a b le d ch ild ren and attem p tin g to
develop appropriate programs, I would l i k e to give two in v e n to rie s to a l l
l . l ' . children in th e South Bend Community School Corporation.
One o f the
.r.ver.torics is a c h e c k lis t which purports to measure s e lf esteem, and the
;.her attempts to measure a n x ie ty . Both are group adm inistered, paper and
;**r.cil ch e c k lis ts th a t w i l l take approxim ately 20 - 20 minutes to ad m in iste r,
inventories w i l l be adm inistered during th e school day a t yo u r c h i l d s school
m is f a l l and again next ye a r.
Results w i l l be used s o le ly f o r research and wi l l not become a p a rt o f
cf your c h ild 's permanent reco rd . These in d iv id u a l r e s u lts w i l l not be shared
vIda your c h ild 's teacher or school o f f i c i a l s . Results w ii 1 be used to a id in
c.&lyzing the needs o f L.D . c h ild re n and th e effe ctive n ess o f p resen t program-
Please sign below to o f f e r your perm ission f c r your c h i l d s p a r tic ip a tio n

in th is study. Return imm ediately to your c h ild 's te a c h e r.
D irect any questions to Donna Meyer, Psychological Services Department,
r-uth Bend Community School C o rp o ratio n , 23^-81^1, S x t. 211 o r 272-7383.
cooperation is appreciated.
S in c e re ly ,
Donna Keyer
I give my permission f o r my c h ild to complete the S e lf Esteem Inventory

Anxiety Scale f o r the research study o f L .D . ch ild re n done by Donna Meyer.
C h ild 's name
Parens's sig n a tu re
u 7
SOUTH BEND COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

INTER-OFFICE MEMO
To:
D r. Zebrovski and. P rin c ip a ls
Date:
From:
Mrs. Donna Meyer
Subject:
October 1 5 , 1979
Psychological Services
As part o f my d o c to ral s tu d ie s , I have been doing research on em otional and

social development o f le a rn in g d is a b le d c h ild re n . P.ecent research seems to
indicate th a t L.D. ch ild re n vho re c e iv e L.D. support s e rv ic e s and counseling
are able to ad ju st b e t t e r and progress f-.r th e r academ ically than L.D . c h ild re n
who receive only L.D. support s e rv ic e o r o nly counseling th e ra p y .
I an
attempting to te s t t h is hypothesis w ith L .D . c h ild re n in South Bend schools.
I have developed a group program f o r
lik e being ME! Major program goals
cnxiety. Small group a c t i v i t i e s and
s e lf understanding and p o s itiv e s e l f
L.D . c h ild re n vh ich I have t i t l e d "J.

are to b u ild s e l f esteem and reduce
s tra te g ie s have been devised to emphasise
esteem.
Program in fo rm atio n has been given to ai 1 L.D . p a re n ts . A l l paren ts vho have

applied f o r t h is program v i l l be served. Groups have been set up according to
ages o f the c h ild re n . Groups w i l l meet once a week, f o r one hour (3 :3 0 - L :5 0 )
from October 17 through December 2 0 .
I would l i k e to use th e fo llo w in g b u ild in g s t o d e liv e r t h i s group program:
Mondays
Tuesdays
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Monroe
Lincoln
Swanson
Darden
(9 years o ld )
(11 - 12 years o ld )
(10 years o ld )
( 7 - 3 years o ld )
Tentative agreement fo r b u ild in g use from b u ild in g p r in c ip a ls has been sought,

pending o f f i c i a l permission f r c a th e Elementary Education o f f i c e .
Parent permission has also been sought so th a t L .D . c h ild re n in t h is system may
be adm inistered a s e l f esteem in v e n to ry and an a n x ie ty s c a le q u estio n n aire n r./
and again next January. C h ild re n 's scores in the " I l i k e being 1-31" program, in
the "Fun and Learn program a t S t. M ary's, and those o f studen ts re c e iv in g o n ly
L.D, support services w i l l be ccmoared in an attemmt to determ ine urogram
e ffe ctive n ess.
(Scores w i l l n et become a p a rt o f th e c h i l d 's permanent re c o rd ,
nor w i l l th ey be shared w ith one c h ild 's teacher o r school o f f i c i a l s ) . Group
results w i l l be shared w ith o arsn ts and school o f f i c i a l s .
Testing w ith the S e lf Esteem In v e n to ry and A n x ie ty Scale (ta k e s approxim ately Z i
30 minutes, group ad m in iste re d ) w i l l begin the l a t t e r p a r t o f th e week o f Cctc'r->15. P rin c ip a ls w i l l be contacted in d iv id u a lly so cake necessary arrangem ents.
(Hay, L in c o ln , Darden, C o q u illa rd , L'uner, Kcnroe, Swanson, M adison).
7our cooperation is g r e a tly a p p re c ia te d .
APPENDIX F
RAW SCORES
TABLE 26
SEI RAW SCORES:
Subject
General-Self
Age ---------------------------Pretest Posttest
RATIONAL-EMOTIVE THERAPY GROUP
S ocial-S elf
---------------------------Pretest Posttest
Home-Parents
---------------------------Pretest Posttest
Lie Scale
School-Academic
---------------------------- ------------------------------Pretest Posttest Pretest Posttest
11
14
14
10
12
15
13
14
11
15
15
11
18
18
10
13
20
10
17
16
12
18
19
10
20
21
7
f0
10
11
14
12
11
13
15
16
12
10
19
19
13
10
14
11
10
15
12
10
12
16
11
16
14
TABLE 26 (Continued)
General - S e l f
S ubject
Soda! -S e lf
Home-Parents
L ie Scale
SchoolAcademic
Age
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
17
12
18
17
18
13
16
17
19
16
16
20
12
15
17
21
11
14
16
22
15
15
23
10
17
17
24
10
12
15
25
10
15
18
26
16
27
13
14
16
28
14
11
29
10
14
16
30
11
14
31
12
20
19
32
11
18
16
TABLE 27
SEI RAW SCORES:
Subject
RECREATIONAL-EDUCATION GROUPS
G e n e ra l-S e lf
S o d a !-S e lf
Home-Parents
L ie Scale
School-Academic
A g e -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------P r e te s t P o s tte s t P r e te s t P o s tte s t P r e te s t P o s tte s t P r e te s t P o s tte s t P r e te s t P o s tte s t
33
11
18
19
34
11
17
17
35
12
36
13
16
37
10
10
17
38
13
19
15
39
12
19
15
40
11
15
17
41
13
11
11
42
10
14
17
43
10
11
19
44
12
18
17
45
12
16
19
46
10
16
14
47
16
13
48
11
14
14
General - S e l f
Subject
Social - S e l f
Home- Parents
School-Academic
Lie Scale
Age
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
49
18
16
50
10
14
51
16
18
52
10
14
14
53
13
14
54
11
12
17
55
11
12
15
56
16
14
57
12
14
58
12
16
16
59
11
15
60
11
16
15
61
10
16
18
62
10
14
20
63
12
15
15
TABLE 28
SEI RAW SCORES:
S ubject
Age
G e n e ra l-S e lf
-----------------------------P r e te s t P o s tte s t
NO-CONTACT GROUP
S o c ia l - S e lf
Home-Parents
L ie Scale
School-Academic
------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------P r e te s t P o s tte s t P re te s t P o s tte s t P re te s t P o s tte s t P re te s t P o s tte s t
64
10
14
14
65
11
11
66
12
14
16
r>
67
11
14
18
68
10
12
15
69
13
11
17
70
10
12
12
71
10
17
14
72
12
13
16
73
19
20
74
13
13
16
75
11
20
18
76
12
20
20
77
13
17
19
78
12
13
13
79
10
17
16
S ubject Age
G e n e ra l-S e lf
S o c ia l - S e lf
------------------------------ -----------------------------P r e te s t P o s tte s t P r e te s t P o s tte s t
Home-Parents
-----------------------------P re te s t P o s tte s t
H e Scale
School-Academic
80
10
11
11
81
17
14
82
13
13
12
83
11
20
19
84
12.
19
18
85
13
18
20
86
10
14
17
87
15
19
88
11
18
12
89
11
90
12
12
17
91
13
17
16
92
12
17
18
4.
93
13
11
94
12
16
17
95
13
16
15
General - S e l f
Subject
Social - S e l f
Home--Parents
Lie Scale
School
- Academic
Age
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
P re te s t
P o s tte s t
96
10
15
16
97
12
15
15
98
12
16
15
99
13
17
15
100
10
11
101
10
13
102
12
12
14
103
10
17
17
104
13
11
16
105
11
15
17
106
16
15
107
13
15
18
108
10
14
109
19
19
110
12
15
18
113
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abrams, Jules; and Belmont, Herman. D iffe re n t Approaches to the
Remediation o f Severe Reading D is a b ility in C hildren."
Journal o f Learning D is a b ilitie s 2 (March 1969):136-41.
Anderson, Robert. "L e t's Treat uiscouragement Too." Academic
Therapy Q uarterly 7 (Winter 1971 -1 9 72 )1 3 1 37.
Bedford, Stewart. In sta n t Replay. New York:
Rational L iv in g , In c ., 1974.
In s t it u t e fo r
Blom, Gaston E. "The Psychoeducational Approach to Learning Dis

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C lin ical Aspects o f Learning D is a b ilit ie s , Indiana Univer
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Boxw ill, Frank. Learning D is a b ility : A M u ltid is c ip lin a ry Team
Approach. Jamaica, NY: ERIC Document, In c ., Reproduction
Service, EDI17917, 1974.
Brody, Mark. "The E ffe c t o f Rational-Emotive A ffe c tiv e Education
on Anxiety, S e lf Esteem, and Frustration Tolerance." Ph.D.
d is s e rta tio n , Temple U n iv e rsity, 1974.
Bush, Wilma; and Waugh, Kenneth. Diagnosing Learning D is a b ilit ie s .
Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. M e rrill Publishing Company,
1976.
Campbell, Donald; and Stanley, Ju lian . Experimental and QuasiExperimental Designs fo r Research. Chicago: Rand McNally
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VITA
NAME:
Donna J. Meyer
DATE OF BIRTH:
February 4, 1947
EDUCATION:
B.S. Indiana U n iv e rsity, 1969

M.A. Andrews U n iv e rsity, 1972
Ed.D. Andrews U n iv e rs ity , 1981
POSITIONS HELD:
Junior High School Science Teacher

1969-1972
School Counselor CK-8)
1972-1978
School Psychometrist
1979-
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EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY UPON ANXIETY

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EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY

EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:

Dean, School of Graduate Studies

External Examinerc-^R. Edward Turner

EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY

ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH

EFFECTS OF RATIONAL-EMOTIVE GROUP THERAPY UPON ANXIETY

Name and t i t l e of fa c u lty adviser:

Conrad Reichert, Ph.D.

Previous research has indicated the effectiveness of

o f this study was to investigate the effects of rational-em otive

emotive therapy (N=32), recreational-educational programming (N=31),

Within the two experimental treatments that

actually met, groups of seven to nine members, sim ilar in chrono

The rational-em otive groups received

therapy based on rational-em otive theory.

educational programming groups engaged in such a c tiv itie s as arts

The no-contact group did not meet.

o f nine sessions over a ten-week period were conducted with the

Pre- and posttest measures o f self-esteem (SEI) and

anxiety (TA3C) were obtained.

The data were studied s ta tis

tic a lly by univariate and m ultivariate analysis o f covariance and

Results indicated s ig n ific a n tly lower mean

anxiety scores fo r the rational-em otive therapy group (p < .0005)

No s ig n ific a n t difference was obtained in mean

suggested that self-esteem may be less susceptible to change over

Recommendations for further

research are offered.

Background of the S t u d y ...................................................

Learning D is a b ilitie s .......................................................

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF D A T A ....................................

Data-Producing Sample .......................................................

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS

Ages and Numbers of Participants in the

Univariate Analysis of Covariance fo r Twelveand Thirteen-Year-Olds on the TASC:

This study was accomplished with the help of many in d i

I would lik e to thank the members o f my coirmittee,

Dr. W. Peter B1itchington, Dr. Roy E. Hartbauer, and Dr. Wilfred W.

Dr. Conrad A. Reichert, my committee

chairman, supported me from beginning to end offering suggestions

Their willingness and cooperation

were essential to the whole dissertation e f f o r t .

the rational-emotive therapy brochure and critiqued and even, a t

He cooked and cleaned and continually

expressed his love in many important ways.