Barbara K. Chesney

Cross-cultural perspectives on self-help groups: Comparison between participants and nonparticipants in Israel and the United States

An exploratory descriptive international study of self-help groups compares self-help groups of parents of children with cancer (U.S.; N = 116) and parents of mentally ill persons (Israel; N = 50). Findings indicate that despite different cultures and focal crises, self-help group participants reported very similar benefits and other commonalities. Differences, likely to be related to the two different national service delivery systems and the two different illness foci, were discerned as well. Comparative international research, while posing methodological problems, offers the potential to greatly expand the understanding of universal vs. culture-specific attributes of self-help groups. Since the 1970s there has been a tremendous expansion of scholarly and practical literature on self-help and mutual aid (e.g., Gartner & Reissman, 1984; Katz & Bender, 1976, 1990; Lieberman & Borman, 1979; Madera, 1986; Surgeon Generals Workshop on Self-help and Public Health, 1987). Although self-help itself is not a new phenomenon (Kropotkin, 1902), the number of people and groups actively involved in these social processes has grown considerably during the past several

Parental Intervention in the Medical Case of Children with Cancer

Some parents deal with the medical and psychosocial challenges of childhood cancer by playing an active and assertive role in the medical treatment process. In this study involving 116 parents of children with cancer, 56 percent reported intervening at some point in the treatment process to prevent or correct a medical mistake. The nature of these interventions varied, but prominent among them were behaviors intended to (1) prevent or correct erroneous administrations of drugs, (2) remind the staff of correct or incorrect procedures, (3) alter intravenous procedures, and (4) mediate the staffs style of interacting with ill children. Parents with fairly high levels of income and education and those who were active in a local self-help group reported that they intervened more often. Moreover, parents who reported less satisfaction with the emotional support they received from staff reported intervening more often. The implications of the results for pediatric oncology social workers involve attention to th...

Israeli and U.S. Orientations Toward Self-Help Groups for Families in Crisis

This article explores the orientations toward self-help and mutual support groups held by people facing family crises in the United States and Israel. People from four different kinds of self-help groups in the two nations— Parents of Children with Cancer and Parents of Murdered Children, from the United States, and Parents of Mentally Ill Children and Members of Families of New Immigrants, from Israel—report on the kinds of activities and programs that their self-help and mutual support groups undertake and on the benefits that they receive from participation. The results indi cate that these voluntary organizations can be helpful to people facing family crises. Further analysis distinguishes the differential impact on these reports of the types of family crises involved and the national cultures and social service systems of Israel and the United States.