Group Counseling with Male Underachieving College Volunteers

The effects of two different methods of group counseling on those personality characteristics that typify the male academic underachiever and on grade‐point average (GPA) were studied. Eight groups (N = 81) of male underachievers who volunteered for counseling were equally divided between two counselors who each led two groups in the leader‐structured (LS) method and two in the group‐structured (GS) method. A like group served as a control. Men in the LS groups increased in ego strength when compared with those in the control group and had a significantly greater rate of positive change in GPA than men in either the GS or control groups. The GS groups' rate of change in GPA was also greater than the controls' after counseling. Counseled men were more able to overtly express hostile feelings than controls. Three months following counseling the LS groups' rate of positive change in GPA was significantly greater than the controls' but not greater than the GS groups'. The results indicated that the LS method of group counseling does significantly affect both the personality characteristics and academic achievement of male college underachievers who volunteer for counseling.