Changing Self Perceptions
A controlled efficacy study of the Quadrinity Process
by Christiane Windhausen
Synopsis & Discussion
Long-term changes are highly desirable for the proponents of any
clinical or educational intervention. To seek long term changes,
and then to have evidence for the support of such changes, is not
only desirable, but an ethically reasonable goal for the proponents
of any educative methodology. Bob Hoffman, the originator of the
Quadrinity Process, often alluded to long-term changes, but had
little supporting evidence beyond his own observations, and anecdotal
reports. This dissertation study clearly supports this notion of
significant changes over time. Further longitudinal studies of the
same subjects would further confirm the longevity of the Quadrinity
Process experience.
Long term changes are desirable in group therapy and educational
settings. Furthermore, some interventions are more prone to creating
positive changes than others. Windhausen, in the examination of
the two groups, effectively demonstrated that the effect of the
8-day Quadrinity Process was larger and more stable than that of
the three-month clinical therapy control group. This is an important
result, in that efficacy of any method or process is an important
ethical and financial consideration for both health professionals
and their clients alike.
Windhausen hypothesized a reduction of reported symptomatology,
increased self worth and self acceptance, increased self assurance,
development of emotional competence, and increased ability to deal
with life circumstances. She has effectively marshaled supporting
evidence for all these hypotheses, and has made her point that the
Quadrinity Process is an effective intervention for positive change
of the individual. A cautionary statement must be added to these
strongly supportive results, in that a replication study, in another
venue, with different investigators would further confirm or disconfirm
the present report. Additionally, other tests and styles of investigation
would add richness and texture to the question of the efficacy of
the Quadrinity Process
Commentary on Methodology, Results
Analysis, and Future Research
This is obviously a preliminary study with an understandably small
sample size. The design does not include random assignment of the
subjects to the experimental control conditions. As is obvious from
Table 1, (Windhausen, p. 95), the Quadrinity Process individuals
were substantially older, and more educated. The researcher did
not control for these demographic differences in the analyses.
A further condition of the study was that there were many scales
administered to this rather small sample, resulting in a n to k
ratio problem, not using the Bonferroni correction. In other words,
the significance of the results were inflated, as one would expect.
The validity and reliability of the scales themselves were not documented
in the dissertation. With the exception of the SCL 90-R it is not
clear whether or not these scales have been published, as no references
have been given. An Appendix with these measures would have aided
in the interpretation of this study.
Third, the analytic plan was somewhat puzzling. Of course, translating
from the English to German language and national differences may
have added to the differences in the statistical presentation and
planning. While it is understandable that the author would want
to standardize the SCL 90-R, which is clearly skewed in the sample,
scoring such measures in such a small sample is usually not attempted.
It is not clear why the author chose non-parametric statistics once
the data had been standardized. As far as can be determined from
the Tables, primarily within-group analyses were done using the
Friedman test. Thus, one cannot determine if there were between-group
differences over time.
The preferred method of analysis would have been a repeated-measures
MANCOVA co-varying out demographic differences between groups. While
the data are skewed, MANCOVA's are typically robust enough to overcome
problematic distributions. Only a group by time interaction effect
could determine whether the groups do vary significantly over time.
The above suggestions, using these added methodological features,
may possibly show robust results and high levels of significance.
With randomization, effects can be established with increased confidence.
We highly recommend the above analysis with larger samples and randomization
be conducted in the future.
Ron Meister, Ph.D. 12/19/98
If you are interested in the Quadrinity Process, here is
our current schedule for the United
States.
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