An assertiveness training program for 343 fourth- and fifth-grade children was designed and evaluated. All children in 10 classrooms were randomly assigned by classroom to one of three conditions: (a) assertiveness training, (b) a control intervention, or (c) a no-treatment control. The intervention procedures were administered for 2 hours a week for 12 weeks in groups of 6 pupils each. Assertiveness was higher among classes receiving assertion training on the quality of alternatives generated on the Interpersonal Problem-solving Test, an Assertion Quiz and a Group Decision Task. Teachers reported better comportment and higher achievement and higher popularity among the assertion classes. Grade point averages increased for the pupils in the assertiveness group 1 year following the intervention. Observations indicated a greater number of student-initiated contacts with the teacher and fewer questions answered by the pupils receiving assertiveness training. The usefulness of assertiveness training as a primary prevention intervention is discussed.
Subjects (Ss) met in two separate therapy groups for 10 weeks. Subject-selected outside raters evaluated the Ss' improvement or deterioration in problem resolution. Ratings were performed on both disclosed problems and on nondisclosedcontrol problems that the Ss had indicated as of higher or lower intensity. It was determined that the order of problem improvement was: 1) disclosed higher intensity problems; 2) disclosed lower intensity problems; 3) nondisclosed lower intensity problems; and 4) nondisclosed higher intensity problems, with all differences being significant. Employing attending-to-the-speaker as an indicator of group session cohesion, it was also demonstrated that more problems were disclosed in higher cohesive sessions; and that external raters' S improvement on problems disclosed in higher cohesive sessions as significantly greater than on those disclosed in lower cohesive sessions. The cohesion measure of attending-to-the-speaker was also correlated to the number of members trusted and ratings of satisfaction each session to validate this criterion measure. All correlations were significant. These results are discussed in relation to group therapy.
7 severely disturbed neuropsychiatric inpatients participated in a 12-session assertion training program as well as the normal hospital milieu therapy program. A matched group participated in only the normal hospital milieu therapy routine. All Ss were compared on the dependent measures of personal space and the Spielberger Self-evaluation Questionnaire 1 wk. before and 1 wk. after the assertion training program. The experimental group showed a significant reduction in both personal space and self-reported anxiety while the matched control group shewed no significant reduction. Small rhos indicate the need for further research examining the relationship between personal space and anxiety.
Employing 90 delinquent male youths as subjects, the current investigation explores the relationship between the amount of personal space requested, ethnic background, and type of criminal offense. As predicted, the amount of personal space requested increases as a function of ethnic dissimilarity between the subject and the approachet. Of particular interest is the finding that the amount of personal space requested is directly related to the type of criminal offense committed by the subject. Subjects who commit crimes against other people uniformly request more personal space than subjects who commit crimes against property, who, in turn, request more personal space than subjects who commit victimless crimes. This was found across all ethnic groups and within each ethnic group analyzed separately.
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