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Examining Group Members' Interpersonal Style Discrepancies on Treatment Outcomes in Focused Brief Group Therapy: A Test of Interpersonal Group Composition
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Examining Group Members' Interpersonal Style Discrepancies on Treatment Outcomes in Focused Brief Group Therapy: A Test of Interpersonal Group Composition

Tianxin Wang, Kun Wang, Martyn Whittingham and Martin Kivlighan
Group dynamics, Vol.30(1), pp.47-63
03/2026
DOI: 10.1037/gdn0000247

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Abstract

Objective: Group psychotherapy provides a unique therapeutic context where individuals can model and practice interpersonal skills within a social microcosm. Research suggests that discrepancies in interpersonal styles among group members significantly influence group dynamics, processes, and outcomes. However, little is known about how discrepancies between an individual group member's and other group members' interpersonal styles impact group psychotherapy outcomes. Guided by the interpersonal complementarity theory and mutual influence theory, this study examined the effect of discrepancies in an individual member's dominance (actor effect) and the other group members' dominance (partner effect) on the individual member's adjusted posttreatment psychological symptoms. Method: Data consisted of 201 clients participating in focused brief group therapy at a university counseling center between 2015 and 2019. Using the actor-partner interdependence model and polynomial regression with response surface analysis, we modeled pretreatment actor and partner dominance component as predictors of individual group members' posttreatment outcomes. Results: Results indicated a significant positive congruent effect between actor dominance and partner dominance on an individual group member's posttreatment outcome. In addition, there was a significant positive discrepant effect between actor dominance and partner dominance on an individual group member's posttreatment outcome. Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex interplay between group members' interpersonal styles and group composition, providing important implications for structuring and leading groups to optimize interpersonal growth in group psychotherapy. Highlights and Implications * We found both a statistically significant positive congruence effect and a statistically significant positive discrepancy effect between actor dominance and partners dominance on individual group members' posttreatment outcomes. * Our findings highlight the complex interplay between group members' interpersonal styles and group composition, suggesting that dominance-related interpersonal style may function as an adaptive interpersonal resource within group psychotherapy contexts. * Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for group members' interpersonal styles when considering group composition. Greater awareness of these interpersonal dynamics can help group facilitators provide more responsive facilitation and support more effective therapeutic processes. * Our findings also underscore the need for comprehensive training in group psychotherapy facilitation skills, particularly in assessing and responding to the complex and reciprocal interpersonal patterns that emerge within group settings, the present study offering important implications for both clinical practice and future training.
 interpersonal circumplex group composition focused brief group therapy group psychotherapy process and outcome

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