1 THE EFFECTS OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING ON THE SELF ESTEEM AND ASSERTIVE PERFORMANCE OF AT-RISK YOUTH Renee Bader Austin Boon
2 Definitions Assertiveness: Standing up for your assertive rights and expressing what you believe, feel, and want in direct, honest, appropriate ways that respect the rights of the other person. (Jakubowski & Lange, 1978, p. 2). Example: Expressing Anger Self-Esteem: a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the self or feeling of self worth (Rosenberg, 1965, p.15) Example: I feel I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.
3 Definitions (continued) Training Program: Facilitative/Traineecentered Includes cognitive restructuring and behavioral rehearsal Empathetic, relationship-oriented, informal, personalized assertive situations (Piccinin, McCarrey, & Chislett 1985)
Effects of Assertiveness Training Programs Various populations Adolescents Ninth grade students considered by teachers and peers to be aggressive or unassertive Eleventh grade students with poor assertion skills Undergraduate students Benefits of Assertiveness Training: Improved assertiveness in cognitive ability Improved assertive performance Improved teacher-student communication Significant and long term (2 yrs.) improvement 4 Lee, Hallberg, & Hassard, 1979; Lee, Hallberg, Slemon, & Haase, 1985; Pentz, 1980; Piccinin, McCarrey, & Chislett 1985
5 Assertiveness and Self Esteem Assertiveness Training has been used with many populations: Parents 9-11 year old bullying victims Adolescents Jr. and senior high school women Women with low self esteem Assertiveness training: Used to increase self esteem, and does Improves work performance 4 measures of assertiveness are positively correlated with self esteem Clifford, 1987; Fox & Boulton, 2003; Lee, Hallberg, & Colleagues,1979, 1985; Piccinin, McCarrey,& Chislett,1985; Stake, Deville, & Pennell, 1983; Stake & Pearlman, 1980; Lorr & More, 1980; Lefevre & West, 1981
6 Hypotheses Hypothesis 1: o We hypothesized that assertiveness training would improve the assertive behavior of participants in the training group. Hypothesis 2: We also hypothesized that the assertiveness training program would improve the self esteem of the participants.
7 Method: Participants Ninth and tenth grade students at an Alternative High School in a mid-sized, Midwest town The School Reasons students attend: Poor attendance from home schools Family and personal issues Behavioral issues with other students Suspensions not expulsions (personal communication, April, 2011) Other relevant factors: Low socio-economic student body Part of a school system in transition (mostly new teachers and administration) Our perceptions of conversations with and observation of teacher-student interaction reflect frustration and helplessness from the teachers.
8 Method: Participants Study was offered to 20 students. Fifteen did not take part in this study: o Lack of Parent s Consent for Video Recording (n=7) o Refusal to give consent (n=3) o Participant's refusal to participate after giving consent (n=4) o Leaving the class during the study (n=1) Our full participant group gave self esteem measurements (n=5). One participant declined the exit video session, which was for assertion measurements (n=4).
9 Method: Participants Gender o Female: 3 o Male: 2 The sample described themselves as: o White : 3 o American Indian and Black/African American : 1 o Hispanic : 1 Students reported living with: o Mother: 3 o Father: 1 o Mother, Father and Grandmother: 1
10 Method: Measures Pre and Post Tests o Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (SES) 10 items Two week, test-retest reliability =.85 ( Rosenberg self esteem scale, 2009) Sample Questions: "On the whole, I am satisfied with myself." SA A D SD "I wish I could have more respect for myself." SA A D SD Key: SA= Strongly Agree, A= agree, D=disagree, SD= strongly disagree
11 Method: Videos Video Recording of Three Assertiveness Skills A trained college student with a script guideline played the actor for each skill. o Introducing Yourself: Participants were to asked to introduce him or her self to the mother of their new friend. o Refusing Requests: Participants said no to a friend who was asking for money. o Responding to Anger: Students responded to their teacher who was yelling at them for being late.
12 Method: Rubric for First Skill Introducing Yourself Verbal Absent/ Poor Present Good/ Ideal Self-disclosure 0 1 2 Free information 0 1 2 Score Seeking and giving information 0 1 2 Nonverbal Eye contact 0 1 2 Hand gestures 0 1 2 Nodding 0 1 2 Smiling 0 1 2 Fidgeting 0 1 2 Posture 0 1 2 Tonality Rate 0 1 2 Loudness 0 1 2 General Warm 0 1 2 Friendly 0 1 2 Showed interest 0 1 2
13 Results: Hypothesis 1 We hypothesized that assertion training would improve the assertive behavior of participants in the training group. Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Gender Female Male Female Female Pre-Test 45 44.5 49 42.5 Post-Test 52 63.5 44 38 A repeated measures t-test was used to compare the means (p=0.26); no significance was found. Additional t-test revealed no significance by person, skill, or content, verbal, or non-verbal categories.
14 Results: Hypothesis 2 We also hypothesized that assertiveness training would improve the self esteem of the participants. Participant: 1 2 3 4 5 Gender Female Male Female Female Male Pre-Test RSES Post-Test RSES 11 19 20 18 22 10 28 20 18 22 A repeated measures t-test was used to compare the means; no significance was found (p=0.22).
15 Discussion Hypothesis 1 did not achieve significance Other studies with similar training programs fail to show significant effect on adolescents' assertive performance. o There is no evidence that general assertiveness is a protective factor against substance use in teen students, ages 12-14. (Wills, Baker, & Botvin, 1989) o Stored cognitive information of social assertiveness does not correlate with behavioral performance in roleplayed situations. (Thompson & Bundy, 1996)
16 Discussion Hypothesis 2 did not show significant results; no improvement in self esteem of participants No improvements from training Self Esteem as measured is a global factor.
17 Discussion Reviewing the factors that determine effectiveness of assertiveness training programs: Participant Motivation and Investment Participant mortality Pre and post interviews Attendance Participant Characteristics: Verbal reasoning State anxiety (Pentz, 1981)
18 Discussion Training Program This was the first adaptation of a training program to at-risk youth, from one designed for college students. No verbal (or content) improvement in any participants (the level of skill was likely not appropriate for the audience) Trainer Quality Not specifically trained to work with at-risk youth
19 Discussion Perceived Factors of the Environment Assertive behavior not modeled or rewarded Passive behavior reinforced in the classroom Aggressive behavior is reinforced through (negative) attention Life stressors: parenthood, dysfunctional families, low SES families, poor adaptation to school because of long term absences (personal communication, April, 2011)
20 Implications for Future Research For future research o Personalize pre and post-test role plays to individuals' experiences o Reinforce and reward assertive behavior o Provide trainers more experience working with this population o Adapt the verbal content of skills taught to the appropriate level of learning for at-risk youth
21 References Ah-Kion, J. (2006). Body image and self-esteem: A study of gender differences among mid-adolescents. Gender & Behaviour, 4(1), 534-549. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Clifford, T. (1987). Assertiveness Training for Parents. Journal of Counseling & Development, 65(10), 552. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Dong, Y., Hallberg, E. T., & Hassard, J. (1979). Effects of assertion training on aggressive behavior of adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 26(5), 459-461. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.26.5.459 Fox, C. L., & Boulton, M. J. (2003). Evaluating the effectiveness of a social skills training (SST) program for victims of bullying. Educational Research, 45(3), 231-247. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Jakubowski, P., & Lange, A. J. (1978). The assertive option: Your rights & responsibilities. Champaign, Ill: Research Press Co. Lee, D., Hallberg, E. T., Slemon, A. G., & Haase, R. F. (1985). An assertiveness scale for adolescents. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41(1), 51-57. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
22 References (continued) Lefevre, E. R., & West, M. L. (1981). Assertiveness: Correlations with selfesteem locus of control, interpersonal anxiety, fear of disapproval, and depression. Psychiatric Journal of the University of Ottawa, 6(4), 247-251. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Lorr, M., & More, W. W. (1980). Four dimensions of assertiveness. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 15(2), 127. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. McLean, K. C., & Breen, A. V. (2009). Processes and content of narrative identity development in adolescence: Gender and well-being. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 702-710. doi:10.1037/a0015207 Pentz, M. W. (1980). Assertion training and trainer effects on unassertive and aggressive adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 27(1), 76-83. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.27.1.76 Piccinin, S., McCarrey, M., & Chislett, L. (1985). Assertion training outcome and generalization effects under didactic vs. facilitative training conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41(6), 753-762. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Rosenberg self esteem scale (ses). (2009). Statistics Solutions. Retrieved March 21, 2011 from http://www.statisticssolutions.com/methodschapter/directory-of-survey-instruments/ rosenberg-self-esteem-scale/.
23 References (continued) Stake, J., DeVille, C., & Pennell, C. (1983). The effects of assertive training on the performance self-esteem of adolescent girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 12(5), 435-442. doi:10.1007/bf02088725. Stake, J. E., & Pearlman, J. (1980). Assertiveness training as an intervention technique for low performance self-esteem women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 27(3), 276-281. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.27.3.276 Thompson, K. L., & Bundy, K. A. (1995). Social skills training for young adolescents: Symbolic and behavioral components. Adolescence, 30(119), 723. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Wills, T. A., Baker, E., & Botvin, G. J. (1989). Dimensions of assertiveness: Differential relationships to substance use in early adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(4), 473-478. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.57.4.473