Culturally sensitive assertiveness training for ethnic minority clients.

Abstract

This article serves as a comprehensive resource to help bridge the gap of cultural understanding for those using assertiveness training with ethnic minority clients. Therapists providing cross-cultural assertive training must be certain that gaining such skills is a value shared by the client and not imposed by the therapist. A more culturally appropriate approach includes the following general assessment strategies: determining the etiology of the lack of assertiveness; using self-report inventories that avoid words, slang, or situations that may not be meaningful to the client; and developing norms for the cultural group for which the inventory will be used. General treatment strategies may include "message matching," backup assertion, and discriminitive cue learning. Specific strategies that are relevant for each cultural group are discussed.

Child sexual abuse: from prevention to self‐protection

“…With regard to cultural concerns related to oppression and views that discourage assertive behaviour, it is true that many cultures, including Asian, Puerto Rican, other Latino cultures, AfricanAmerican, Native-American and others (Fontes, 1993;Fontes et al, 2001;Wood and Mallinckrodt, 1990) may perceive assertive behaviour, particularly by women and children, as disrespectful, and may refrain from utilising assertive behaviour for fear of being perceived negatively due to issues of discrimination and oppression. Compounded by these culturally relevant factors, many children and families may be hesitant to report CSA to the systems they distrust due to the discriminatory and oppressive practices directed towards them by these very systems (Fontes, 1993).…”

“…Compounded by these culturally relevant factors, many children and families may be hesitant to report CSA to the systems they distrust due to the discriminatory and oppressive practices directed towards them by these very systems (Fontes, 1993). While not directly addressed in the literature on sexual abuse education, researchers have suggested that the cultural beliefs, issues of oppression and the context of specific situations be taken into consideration when conducting assertiveness training (Wood and Mallinckrodt, 1990) and sexual abuse prevention programmes (Fontes et al, 2001) with minority populations. Promising results have been found with research that has been conducted with 'Only a few studies reported negative side-effects in a small number of participants' 'Cultural beliefs, issues of oppression and the context of specific situations' children from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds who were sexually abused.…”

“…masturbating, using sexual words and making sexual sounds) (Currier and Wurtele, 1996). Other positive effects also include increases in parent-child communication about CSA (Finkelhor and DziubaLeatherman, 1995;Wurtele, 1990 Arguments against prevention programmes include: preschool children cannot understand self-protection concepts, such training increases anxiety and externalising behavioural problems; possible concerns about subsequent negative effects on sexual development; overgeneralisation of concept evidenced by overreaction to appropriate touches (Krivacska, 1990;Tutty, 1997); sexually reactive behaviour (Currier and Wurtele, 1996); and difficulty incorporating skills due to oppression and cultural beliefs associated with sexual abuse that discourage assertive behaviour (see Fontes, 2005;Fontes et al, 2001;Wood and Mallinckrodt, 1990). However, there is little to no empirical evidence to support these claims.…”

Collaboration in Multicultural Therapy: Establishing a Strong Therapeutic Alliance Across Cultural Lines

“…Again, it is ideal to make cultural modifications that have been validated in the population of interest, but in the absence of definitive empirical evidence for all possible modifications, we must use our cross-cultural knowledge to make reasonable changes to effective techniques. For instance, in the CBT framework, we often ask clients to question the validity or reasonableness of a particular negative automatic thought, but this might be regarded as uncaring on the part of the therapist, and places negative judgment on the client’s belief system (Wood & Mallinckrodt, 1990). The therapist might choose instead to take a more culturally responsive approach (Beck, 2005) and ask clients to question the utility or helpfulness of the thought, encouraging them to weigh out the pros and cons of holding on to this belief.…”

The Case of Felix: An Example of Gay-Affirmative, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

“…Strategic planning based on the social-problem-solving and culturally sensitive assertiveness literatures (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1999;Wood & Mallinckrodt, 1990) was next undertaken. Felix and I discussed potential scripts of disclosure with different individuals, and he was encouraged to discuss these issues and role-play with his partner and significant friends.…”