A Measure of Engagement for Social Group Work

This study develops and empirically tests a measure of engagement for group work. The items compiled for the measure were drawn from respected group work theory. The groupwork engagement measure (GEM) consists of 37 items in seven dimensions: attendance, contributing, relating (to worker and with members), contracting, and working (on own problems, with others∗ problems). Coefficient alpha for the measure was .97 with a low SEM of 4.52. Construct and criterion-related validity analyses indicated a generally valid measure. Applications to social work practice and research are discussed.