Question

A group of adolescents with behavioral problems has been court-ordered to attend a group treatment with a social worker. One of the adolescents has taken over the group and tries to intimidate the other members. He often talks about various crimes he has committed and says that his older brother, who is in prison, would be proud. What should the social worker do?

A. Encourage group members to share their feelings about the member's comment
B. Confront the informal leader about his behavior and challenge him to find alternatives.
C. Allow the group to proceed without intervening.
D. Model an accepting stance to the group members.

Answer 1

The social worker should confront the behavior of the adolescent who has taken over the group, in order to maintain a safe environment and encourage personal responsibility and individual freedom within the group. This aligns with the findings from Solomon Asch's experiments on conformity and the dynamics of small groups.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a group therapy situation, it's essential for the social worker to maintain a balance between providing a safe environment for all participants and addressing any disruptive or harmful behaviors. The social worker should probably choose to confront the informal leader about his behavior and challenge him to find alternatives (option B). This approach is important because it holds the individual accountable for his actions and also protects the integrity of the group as a safe space. It also aligns with the concepts from the Solomon Asch conformity experiments that highlight how strong the pressure to conform is in a group, and the need for the leader—in this case, the social worker—to model non-conformist behavior and encourage individual expression.

Further interventions could include discussing the responsibilities of the individual as a member of the group, the need for individual freedom in the group, and promoting communication strategies where all generations within the community are involved. This also implies recognizing and utilizing both formal and informal leaders in such efforts. The fear of negative consequences or peer pressure, as well as the group's influence on individual behavior, such as in collective action problems, illustrates the importance of the group's structure and the monitoring of individual behavior (As described in Robert Salisbury's work).

It is crucial that the social worker does not allow the group to proceed without intervention (option C) or passively model an accepting stance to the group members (option D), as these could allow harmful dynamics to perpetuate. Encouraging group members to share their feelings about the individual's comments (option A) might be useful, but it is also essential that the social worker manages this in a way that does not allow the individual to gain more power or intimidate others further.