GROUP DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CASE STUDY

GROUP DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CASE STUDY Student's Name: Professor's Name: Course Title: Date: Drug and Substance Abuse Prevention Group This group was specifically formed to address the problem of drug and substance abuse. The drug and substance abuse problem is particularly a great challenge among the youth and men in their mid-40s (Fryar, Merino, Hirsch, & Porter, 2009). Statistically speaking, the number of persons aged 12 years or older and who are active users of illicit drugs stood at an estimated figure of 24.6 million people in the United States in 2013 according to a report by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This means that 9.4% of the total population in the United States is actively abusing illicit drugs and other substances considered illicit as well. This group is to carry out strong campaigns and education seminars to the youth and middle-aged adults. Therefore, the group will focus on persons from the age of 12 years to 40 years. This age bracket is known as the most affected by the drug and substance use menace. Education rallies and seminars will be actively carried out in the local set up in order to enlighten people within this age bracket of the dangers resulting from the abuse of drugs and other substances. The group will be developed in the following stages: * The orientation stage - this will be the stage where members will come together for the first time in order to seek similarities in interest, and make initial personal commitments to the whole group. At this stage, patterns of functioning around tasks will begin to develop. Task roles will begin to appear and emphasis will be placed on activity and orientation to the educational tasks ahead. It is at this stage where the individual members will make decisions pertaining to desirability of belonging to the group and whether to become dependent on other group members. * Authority stage - at this stage, the patterns and structure of functioning will be revised. Members will be asked to share their own ideas and feelings about what the group should focus on when carrying out campaigns and educational seminars and rallies against drug and substance abuse. It is also at this stage that values and norms will be developed through sharing of ideas and feelings. * The negotiation stage - here, the goals, tasks, and roles will be designated and also accepted. Already, the group traditions will have developed and norms and personal involvement will have developed and intensified, respectively. By this point in time, the group members will have achieved stronger cohesion and they will therefore be freer in engaging one another and sharing opinions and information. * The functional stage - here, the group will acquire a "full throttle" status because all its functions and mandates will be clearly spelt out. Additionally, there will be a higher level of integration and little conflict about structure or functioning of the group. Individual members will be assigned different duties and mandates and each member will be required to accept his or her role. Communication channels will also be open and very functional in order to maintain cohesion in the group. The goals and no...