Slow Open Dialectical Behavior Group Therapy for Adolescents and Parents: Comparison between Groups

Abstract

Introduction: The study’s objective is to explore the common behavior of the participants in four slow open groups taking part in a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills training. The experiment population consisted of two groups of adolescents and two of some of their parents or legal guardians. We compared the groups via their answers to the “absurd questionnaire” during the training sessions. Methods: the participants had to select one image in each of 50 pairs in a questionnaire (“absurd questionnaire”). In this experiment, we were able to administer a version of the questionnaire to the participants before forming the groups. We analyzed the differences between the four groups, considering their initial picture choices and how these evolved, the changes in the choices, the flux, and the answers’ focus. Results: The presence of a questionnaire administered before the group experience allows us to distinguish between socio-cultural orientation and group effects. A strong orientation precedes the group formation, is partially lost during the group activity and is eventually recovered at the end of the group work. In addition, there are apparent similarities between the same age groups (parents and adolescents), while family ties seem to play a lesser role in shaping the group’s behavior. Conclusions: The slow-open setting appears to render the groups more susceptible to the external environment. While we can observe the formation of a group identity distinguishable from the “clan loyalty” via a decrease in the initial orientation, this is short-lived, and the external environment asserts its eventual dominance. Family ties are less effective than generational kinship in shaping the groups’ behavior.