Preparation 87 Creating a Group Work Service Use a brief lecture format to clarify issues associated with translating needs and concerns into a specific group’s purpose securing organizational sanction and support, as well as the involvement of critical representa- tives considering group balance, homogeneity, and heterogeneity and specifying critical background and descriptive variables important to group composition. 1. Use the following vignette to help students understand the tasks associated with group formation: You are placed in a large high school. The principal asks you to form a group for pregnant adolescents and has identified 14 girls who would be candidates for the group: • Eight girls are experiencing their first pregnancy and are in the first three months of their pregnancy. Five are students of color, and three are Caucasian. Two girls are 14, five are 15, and one is 18. • Three girls are experiencing their second pregnancy. They are between four and six months pregnant. All are students of color. One is 14, and the other two are 16. • Three girls are experiencing their first pregnancy and are due within the next two months. Two are Caucasian, and one is a student of color. All are either 15 or 16. a. What personal characteristics should you consider in identifying members who would be appropriate for the group? What personal characteristics might preclude a student from joining the group? Would the context or cir- cumstances of the pregnancy matter? For example, suppose that one or more members had been kicked out of their home or were estranged from their families because of their pregnancies? Or suppose that one or more members were no longer with the father of the baby and were distraught as a result? Or suppose that one or more members had mental health issues? Develop a rationale for your decisions. b. How many members do you think would be appropriate for your group? Provide a rationale. c. Decide on temporal arrangements for the group (number, frequency, and duration of sessions). Develop a rationale. d. Use anticipatory empathy to prepare an offer of service.