Elien Neimeijer

28 The GCI has four subscales: (1) support, (2) growth, (3) atmosphere, and (4) repres- sion. A total scale score is a combined score in which the subscale scores are added (after recoding of the items of the repression scale). The GCI was used to assess whether the group climate is more open or more closed. The four factors are evident in both a closed and an open group climate score. The balance between these two (i.e., open versus closed) is decisive in terms of the quality of the climate. The outcomes produced by the GCI provide an in-depth insight into group climate from the clients’ perspective and are being used to guide clinical practice and improve quality of client care. The GCI consists of 29 items that can be scored on a Likert-scale ranging from 1 (‘not applicable’) to 5 (‘entirely applicable’). The Support subscale contains eleven items and measures the responsivity of the sociotherapists towards the needs of participants, including giving attention to participants, taking complaints seriously, and providing respect and trust. An example item of the growth subscale is: ‘The sociotherapists treat me with respect.’ The Growth subscale consists of six items and measures the degree to which participants feel they learn, gain hope for the future, and comprehend the benefit of their stay at the ward. An example item of the growth subscale is: ‘I learn the right things here.’ The Repression subscale has seven items and measures the experience of strictness and control, unfair and coincidental rules, and a lack of flexibility in the group. An example item of the repression subscale is: ‘You need to ask permission for everything here.’ The Atmosphere subscale consists of five items and measures the degree to which participants trust one another, feel safe and secure towards one another (both clients and sociotherapists), are able to find rest, and receive sufficient daylight. An example item of the atmosphere subscale is: ‘We trust one another here.’ In addition to filling out the GCI, participants were asked to evaluate the various fac- tors of group climate by giving a report mark (single item rating) between 1 (very poor) and 10 (excellent) to a statement, corresponding to the four subscales of the GCI. The statement ‘The support you receive from sociotherapists’ corresponded with the subscale support; the statement ‘What you learn here’ corresponded with the subscale growth; the statement ‘The atmosphere at the ward’ corresponded with the subscale atmosphere; and the statement ‘The rules at the ward’ corresponded with the subscale repression.