Assertiveness training for disabled adults in wheelchairs: Self-report, role-play, and activity pattern outcomes.

34 physically disabled adults participated in an 11-wk assertiveness training (AT) program. Ss were randomly assigned to either AT or a waiting-list (WL) condition. Each was asked to complete 3 self-report measures, a role-play test, and a social and recreational activity diary. The AT Ss showed significant improvements on both self-reported assertiveness and role-play performance from pre- to posttreatment, whereas WL controls showed no changes on these measures. No significant changes in frequency of social or recreational activities were found at posttest for either AT or control Ss. A mixed pattern of results was shown at 6-mo follow-up. Posttest gains were maintained across all self-report measures of assertiveness and acceptance of disability, whereas role-play performance approached baseline levels at 6-mo follow-up. Overall results support the use of AT in enhancing perceived social efficacy and interpersonal skill of physically disabled adults in wheelchairs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increase in assertiveness and actualization as a function of didactic training.

Investigated whether didactic training could increase level of assertiveness and actualization. 65 low assertive undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups. All groups except a no-treatment control group were exposed to 3 20-min videotapes during 1 wk. Group 1 was exposed to the didactic principles of Rogerian theory; Group 2 was given the didactic principles of assertiveness theory. All Ss were given a test battery administered before treatment, after treatment, and again at a 3-wk follow-up. Both Rogerian and assertiveness training increased the level of actualization and the level of time competence at posttesting and at follow-up; the effect of didactic training was significantly greater than the increase caused by inspiration or expectation. Didactic training, however, did not affect assertiveness. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reciprocal peer tutoring: An analysis of "teacher" and "student" interactions as a function of training and experience.

Investigated the relationship between peer-tutoring interactions of dyads with experience in a reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) program in mathematics, vs dyads with no experience in RPT. It was hypothesized that students who participated in the RPT condition would exhibit significantly greater amounts of behaviors associated with effective peer teaching than students in the Practice Control (PC) condition and that these behaviors would be associated with mathematics achievement and student reports of behavioral conduct and social competence. 40 academically at-risk African Americans (aged 9.4–12.1 yrs old) from an urban elementary school were randomly assigned to either RPT or PC conditions. Group difference data revealed that RPT Ss displayed significantly higher rates of mathematics achievement, self-report of social acceptance and behavioral conduct and higher rates of observed teacher and student task-related behavior as compared with controls. Peer student active engagement in academic activity was positively related to curriculum-based mathematics test scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavior rehearsal and social competence: A pilot study.

Investigated the effects on socially incompetent college students of a group program that used social-learning theory and behavior-rehearsal techniques. 20 students referred from a university mental health clinic were assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups (Groups 1 and 2) or a control group (Group 3). Groups 1 and 2 participated in 8, 2-hr sessions involving behavior-rehearsal and modeling procedures, whereas Group 3 was given readings on social skills and assertiveness training. All groups were given pretests, posttests, and follow-up tests on Forms A and B of the 16 PF. Data were analyzed with a repeated measures analysis of variance. Significant gains in social competence were shown by Groups 1 and 2 on the posttest and the follow-up test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Profiles of peer competence in the preschool: Interrelations between measures, influence of social ecology, and relation to attachment history.

40 4–5 yr old first born Ss in 2 preschool groups, differing markedly in terms of classroom ecology, were observed throughout a school year. Peer competence was assessed via teacher rankings of social competence, peer sociometrics, and behavioral measures of social participation, attention structure, and social dominance. Rates of positive and negative affect, affiliation, leadership, assertiveness, and aggression were also recorded. Results show that individual rates of affective expression and social behavior were temporally stable and consistent across contexts for both classes. Teacher judgments and peer sociometrics were more robust with respect to the behavioral ecologies of the 2 classes and most consistently related to external criteria. Two dimensions of peer competence were evident: (1) an affiliative dimension characterized by emotional warmth, social maturity, and peer popularity and (2) a power dimension involving positive and negative affect and high peer status. Ss with secure attachment histories were higher on affiliative dimension, while anxious-resistant Ss were lowest in peer status. Definitions of behavior and response categories are appended. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assertiveness training from the participants' perspective.

Describes a model for a 7-session assertiveness training workshop that has been used with groups of women in several different mental health settings. Results of follow-up evaluations of 85 Ss who participated in assertiveness training over a 2-yr period are presented. These data indicate an enthusiastic response to the experience and increased assertiveness in interpersonal relationships. Many Ss became more aware of their right to be assertive and more capable of assertiveness in some situations, yet more aware of and dissatisfied with their lack of assertiveness in others. Most wanted a one-session workshop to review and practice their skills or a workshop focused on a specific topic, such as vocational or sexual assertiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of discussion and role-play activities in the acquisition of consultant interview skills.

15 graduate students in each of 2 experimental groups were enrolled in a consultation course in which they received a didactic explanation and viewed a videotaped demonstration of consultant interview skills. Ss in the 1st experimental group participated in role-play practice activities; Ss in the 2nd experimental group participated in discussion activities. 15 graduate students not enrolled in the course comprised a 3rd group, and they received no training. Interview skills of all groups were assessed by rating Ss' oral responses to simulated videotaped consultation interview segments. Results indicate that Ss in the role-play group made a significantly higher mean number of appropriate responses than Ss in either the discussion or control groups. No significant differences were found between Ss in the role-play and discussion groups on degree of satisfaction with the course. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Situational determinants of assertive behaviors.

Administered 32 assertive situations that varied in social-interpersonal context to 60 male 21-67 yr old hospitalized psychiatric patients via role playing. Half of the role-played situations required the expression of negative (hostile) assertiveness, and the other half required positive (commendatory) assertive expression. Situational context was varied by having Ss respond to male and female interpersonal partners who were either familiar or unfamiliar to Ss. Responses were videotaped and rated on 5 measures of speech content and 7 measures of nonverbal behavior. Additionally, groups of high- and low-assertive patients were identified from the total sample using a behavioral measure of global assertiveness and a self-report instrument. Results indicate that interpersonal behavior in assertive situations varied as a function of social context. Further, high- and low-assertive Ss were differentiated on the basis of 9 of the 12 measures of interpersonal behavior. Support for a stimulus specific theory of assertive behaviors and implications for assertive training are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of role playing and knowledge of appropriate behavior to assertion in the natural environment.

Role-play tests have become one of the standard ways to assess interpersonal behavior, yet their validity has not been demonstrated. A study compared behavior in a series of role-play situations with behavior in identical in vivo encounters. 28 psychiatric patients (mean age 32.3 yrs) were recruited as Ss. Each was assessed in a series of in vivo situations, in a role-play test, and in a structured interview during which they were asked what someone "should" do in a variety of interpersonal interactions. Results do not support the validity of the role-play procedure. Behavior in the role-play test was not highly related to behavior in the parallel in vivo situations. There also was a greater correspondence between interview responses and in vivo behavior than between interview responses and role play. Alternative hypotheses about this pattern of results are discussed, and it is suggested that the process of role playing might be associated with unique response demands that produce an idiosyncratic response pattern. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expressed emotion, social skill, and response to negative affect in schizophrenia.

Examined social skills and social perception of 48 schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder patients (aged 18–55 yrs) in response to negative affect as a function of family expressed emotion (EE). Ss participated in a role-play test, a social perception test, and a problem-solving discussion with a family member and were assessed on several measures of symptomatology. EE of family members was evaluated with the Camberwell Family Interview. On the role-play test, Ss with less critical relatives became more assertive in response to increased negative affect from a confederate portraying either a family member or friend, but Ss with highly critical relatives did not. Ss with highly critical relatives were also less assertive when confronted with negative affect from a confederate portraying a family member rather than a friend. The behaviors of both relatives and Ss during a family problem-solving interaction were related to the EE dimensions of criticism, emotional overinvolvement, and warmth. Patient gender was also related to family problem solving but was independent of EE. S's ratings of affect on a videotaped social perception task were not related to family EE, and there were few differences in psychopathology between Ss with high and low EE relatives.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response-acquisition and cognitive self-statement modification approaches to dating-skills training.

Three training programs for girl-shy males were designed using an empirically derived domain of problem situations from shy males and response alternatives from a "competent" population. The effectiveness of a response-acquisition treatment was compared with a cognitive self-statement modification treatment, a combination of these 2 treatments, and a waiting-list control group (no treatment). Two enhanced-treatment groups were used to control for the longer time of the combined-treatment group. 61 college men replying to the program announcement were randomly assigned to 1 of the 6 groups. Assessment included in vivo measures made by women phoned by the Ss, questionnaire measures, and ratings of role-play performance in taped, laboratory, problem situations. A 6-mo follow-up assessment was also included. Results indicate that Ss trained in cognitive self-statement modification showed significantly better performance in role-play situations for which they were not trained, made significantly more phone calls, and made a significantly better impression on the women than Ss in other groups. These effects were generally maintained at follow-up, and the cognitive self-statement groups' performance on the role-play measures improved from posttreatment to follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping skills training: An evaluation of a psychoeducational program in a community mental health setting.

40 21–60 yr old clients of a community mental health center were randomly assigned to either a coping-skills training program based explicitly on a psychoeducational model or a group-counseling control condition. Ss in the psychoeducational program were provided with 30 hrs of instruction and training in progressive relaxation, anxiety management, social skills, and self-reinforcement procedures. Group-counseling control Ss received an equal amount of attention devoted to analyzing personal problems with anxiety and interpersonal relations but with no direct skills training. Significant differences between the 2 groups on measures of general anxiety, fear, and assertiveness emerged immediately after treatment and at a 3-mo follow-up. Further analyses revealed that Ss were similar in terms of major demographic characteristics to clients who did not volunteer for training, that a greater percentage of program Ss than control Ss scored in the range of a sample of "normal" Ss on 2 of the 4 dependent measures, and that fewer program Ss were hospitalized within 1 yr after participation than were control Ss. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social adequacy of parents and children.

Proposes that inadequate skills for dealing with others are an important aspect of pathology and are imparted to the child by socially inadequate parents. Testing involved identifying 2 groups of male undergraduates: one high in social skills and one with a lesser degree of social competence. The mothers of the Ss were interviewed and rated for social competence. As predicted, socially skilled offspring had socially skilled mothers, while less skilled offspring had mothers low in interpersonal competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agonistic Interpersonal Striving: Social-Cognitive Mechanism of Cardiovascular Risk in Youth?

The social competence model (SCM) of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk identifies combinations of goal-oriented strivings, expressive behaviors, and social skill deficits that contribute to persisting interpersonal difficulties and chronic health-damaging stress in youth. SCM hypotheses were tested on 187 Black and White adolescents who completed the Social Competence Interview (SCI) and later underwent ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring. Cluster analyses of stress narratives assessed via SCI identified 3 predicted stress profiles: agonistic (interpersonally focused), transcendent (self-development focused), and avoidant. Group comparisons using social, hemodynamic, and ABP data supported the SCM hypothesis that youths who exhibit the agonistic striving profile display diminished social competence, negative social impact, and heightened cardiovascular responding during a stress interview, and elevated ABP during normal social interactions, thus suggesting higher risk of CVD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of scheduling variations on the effectiveness of a group assertion-training program for women.

Explored the applicability of laboratory findings of the effects of massed vs distributed practice to an applied situation. Using a hierarchical design, 4 types of groups were compared: massed practice, distributed practice, combination massed and distributed practice assertion-training groups, and no-treatment control groups. 66 college students participated. Assertiveness was assessed by self-report measures (e.g., College Self Expression Scale), a role-play test, and peer ratings before, immediately after, and 4 wks following assertion training. Results of analyses of covariance and preplanned comparisons indicate that although assertion training produced greater increases in assertiveness than no treatment, there were no differences between the different types of assertion-training groups. Data indicate that at least for the type of program and Ss involved in the study, scheduling of sessions can be guided by the convenience of group leaders and participants without loss of effectiveness. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early experience and complexity of social organization in groups of young rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Found that 2 6-member social groups of young rhesus monkeys, one socially deprived and the other raised with mother and age-mates, showed marked differences in the complexity of social organization. Compared to deprived Ss, experienced Ss interacted more often as trios and larger subgroups, and the response structure of their triadic subgroups was more complex. Only in the experienced group did functional aspects of triadic interactions suggest that 1 individual recognized the status relations between the other participants. These findings indicate that early social experience affects levels of social competence that transcend variations in ethologically derived response patterns and that cannot be seen in arranged dyadic encounters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the social skills of males in a maximum security psychiatric setting.

34 male patients (mean age 26 yrs) in a maximum security psychiatric hospital, selected on the basis of their low ratings on role-play situations, the Communication and Social Contact subscales of the MACC Behavior Adjustment Scale, and the Social Adjustment Rating Scale, were assigned to either social skills training (SST) or client-centered therapy (CCT) and were given either contingent or noncontingent reinforcement for social behavior. Ss in the SST condition received 10 wks of SST; Ss in the CCT condition participated in 2 90-min nondirective group psychotherapy sessions per week for 10 wks. Ss in all conditions showed dramatic improvements on the assessment battery when tested postintervention. Consistent with other studies of SST, Ss in the SST condition showed significant improvements in role-play measures of social skills during treatment, while Ss given CCT did not. However, there was no evidence of transfer of training onto the ward nor evidence that the effects persisted at 1-mo follow-up. Thus, the data question the application of SST in maximum security settings. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple perspectives of rejected, neglected, and accepted children: Relation between sociometric status and behavioral characteristics.

Hypothesized, on the basis of findings from several studies, that rejected children are more disruptive, aggressive, and socially inappropriate than are their classmates. Three groups of 39 rejected, 29 neglected, and 39 accepted children were randomly selected from 282 boys and 210 girls who were identified separately on the basis of sociometric scores for 492 children in Grades 3–6. The 3 groups were compared using multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) on measures from 4 domains: peer behavioral attributions, teacher ratings, analog assertiveness task, and self-evaluation. Rejected Ss were clearly distinguished from their same-sex neglected and accepted classmates and were described by teachers and peers as aggressive, disruptive and inattentive. Neglected Ss were only marginally discriminable from same-sex accepted children. Neither neglected nor rejected Ss were differentiated from accepted Ss with respect to observed assertiveness and self-ratings of shyness, unhappiness, and feeling unaccepted. The results replicate previous findings for rejected children. Currently, there is not sufficient justification to consider the group of socially neglected children as a clinical category. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive, assertive, and insight-oriented group therapies in the treatment of reactive depression in women.

33 nonpsychotic, nonsuicidal women (mean age 35.1 yrs) who scored between 15 and 31 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and whose depression was situationally related were assigned to 6-wk cognitive, assertive, or insight-oriented group therapy. Ss were administered a standardized interview, BDI, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, Personality Data Form, and 4 tape-recorded scenes requiring an assertive response before and after the groups and at a 2-mo follow-up. Results show all groups improved significantly in depression, rationality, and assertiveness. Assertive and insight groups improved significantly more in rationality regarding acceptance than the cognitive group. At follow-up, none of the assertive groups, 18% of the cognitive group, and 45% of the insight group had sought further treatment. Additionally, the assertive group was significantly more rational regarding frustrating events and self-worth. The assertive and insight groups made significantly more gains and were more assertive than the cognitive group. A 3 (change in depression) by 3 (treatment group) ANOVA showed high-depression-change and medium-depression-change Ss changed significantly more in assertiveness and rationally than low-depression change Ss. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role play for assessing the social competence of psychiatric patients.

This study examined the validity and utility of role play for assessing social competence of chronic psychiatric patients. Demographically matched groups of patients with schizophrenia (n?=?57), schizoaffective disorder (n?=?16), major affective disorder (n?=?33), and a nonpatient control group (n?=?20) were assessed on a role-play test, interview measures of role functioning in the community, and a problem-solving discussion with a significant other. A subsample was reassessed on the same instruments 6 months later. Behavior on the role-play test discriminated the groups, was highly correlated with ratings on the other measures, and was relatively stable over the retest interval. The results were interpreted as providing strong support for the value of role play as a general measure of social functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)