[First Experiences with the "Questionnaire for the Assessment of Side Effects and Negative Experiences in Group Therapy" (NUGE-24)].

This report describes the development of a questionnaire aiming in assessing unwanted effects of group psychotherapy and side effects of the group setting. Based upon interviews with experts and considering a model differentiating group related, therapist related strain within groups, stress caused by other members and subjective excessive demands, a first version of the questionnaire was developed and tested in the clinical field using heterogeneous groups. The data set from this sample (N=168 patients) was used to construct a 24-item short version with 6 items per scale reflecting the 4 contents. A first comparison of different groups related to unwanted experiences and side effects indicates that the NUGE-questionnaire might be useful in differentially assessing these effects. This should now be tested in more systematic studies.