Abstract
The effectiveness of a rational-emotive mental health program was examined. Eleventh and 12th-grade high-risk and failure- and misconduct-prone black and Hispanic high school students (N = 40) were given five weekly sessions of rational-emotive education over a full semester. The dependent measures were grade point average, incidents of disruptive behavior, and class cuts. Comparisons were made with alternate treatment and no-treatment controls. The results revealed differential effects among the treatment groups, with the rational-emotive groups showing greatest improvement on all dependent variables over an extended period of time. Implications and suggestions for further research are discussed. The high failure and drop-out rate of secondary school students in economically disadvantaged areas has been noted with grave concern by investigators interested in this problem (Taber, 1963). Students demoralized by continuing poor achievement discover after prematurely leaving school that problems are compounded as failure to obtain a high school diploma decreases the chances for obtaining employment. Consequently, an individual's likelihood for involvement in delinquent activities is heightened (Glasser, 1965). Although studies with drop-out-prone secondary school students are numerous (e.g., Bates, 1968; Gilliland, 1968; McGowan, 1968), most have been either unsuccessful or poorly designed (Anderson, 1969). In considering approaches to decrease school failure among high-risk students, we decided to initiate a systematic cognitive/behavioral group therapy that had been successful with other maladaptive behaviors (Karst & Trexler, 1970; Sharma, 1970; Meichenbaum, Note 1). In particular, rational-emotive therapy, a system based on the educational model and emphasizing the teaching and application of self-realization rules, seemed to be ideally suited as an intervention strategy that might
Published Version
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