Abstract:Objective: College women are at high risk for sexual assault, especially women with a history of sexual victimization. The present study uses a longitudinal design to explore the role of sexual assertiveness, psychological barriers to resistance, and resistance self-efficacy as putative mediators between prior sexual victimization and sexual revictimization among a sample of 296 college women. Method: Women completed assessments of sexual victimization since the age of 14, as well as putative mediator variable… Show more
“…Recent studies conducted in Asia have focused on using assertiveness training for community well-being via assertive community treatment programs. For example, research has found that women who have difficulty communicating assertively in sexual situations are at heightened risk for sexual assault victimization (Franz, DiLillo, & Gervais, 2016;Kearns & Calhoun, 2010;Kelley, Orchowski, & Gidycz, 2016;Livingston, Testa, & VanZile-Tamsen, 2007). Furthermore, assertive community treatment reduced hospital length of stay and readmission rate (Liem & Lee, 2013).…”
Section: Current Status Of Assertiveness Trainingmentioning
The current article discusses assertiveness training, a once highly popular area of investigation that has been neglected in recent years by the field of psychotherapy. A substantial body of research indicates that assertiveness is a relevant factor associated with a variety of clinical problems, populations, and contexts, and that assertiveness training is a valuable transdiagnostic intervention. Despite its demonstrated importance, research on assertiveness and assertiveness training as a standalone treatment within clinical psychology has diminished drastically. We review the history of assertiveness training, revisit early research evidence for assertiveness training in treating various clinical problems, discuss the current status of assertiveness training, consider issues of clinical implementation, and comment on how the variables accounting for unassertiveness map onto the NIMH RDoC funding priorities.
“…Recent studies conducted in Asia have focused on using assertiveness training for community well-being via assertive community treatment programs. For example, research has found that women who have difficulty communicating assertively in sexual situations are at heightened risk for sexual assault victimization (Franz, DiLillo, & Gervais, 2016;Kearns & Calhoun, 2010;Kelley, Orchowski, & Gidycz, 2016;Livingston, Testa, & VanZile-Tamsen, 2007). Furthermore, assertive community treatment reduced hospital length of stay and readmission rate (Liem & Lee, 2013).…”
Section: Current Status Of Assertiveness Trainingmentioning
The current article discusses assertiveness training, a once highly popular area of investigation that has been neglected in recent years by the field of psychotherapy. A substantial body of research indicates that assertiveness is a relevant factor associated with a variety of clinical problems, populations, and contexts, and that assertiveness training is a valuable transdiagnostic intervention. Despite its demonstrated importance, research on assertiveness and assertiveness training as a standalone treatment within clinical psychology has diminished drastically. We review the history of assertiveness training, revisit early research evidence for assertiveness training in treating various clinical problems, discuss the current status of assertiveness training, consider issues of clinical implementation, and comment on how the variables accounting for unassertiveness map onto the NIMH RDoC funding priorities.
“…Low assertiveness in situations with men predicts future victimization, whereas situation‐specific assertiveness is protective (Greene & Navarro, ), especially for resisting sexual coercion (Testa & Dermen, ). Kelley, Orchowski, and Gidycz () found that low sexual assertiveness was a strong predictor of revictimization among a sample of first‐year college women and argue that “increasing women's sexual assertiveness may be a particularly important component of reducing risk for sexual revictimization.” It is not yet not clear, however, how and why assertiveness is protective: Do more assertive women protect themselves better in risky situations, or are they more likely to avoid risky situations and potential perpetrators before risk is ever incurred? Conversely, do potential perpetrators avoid assertive women as they look for safe victims?…”
Section: Are There Other Consequences Of Self‐defense Training?mentioning
Public attention to sexual assault has increased dramatically over the last decade, spurring questions about how it can be prevented. One approach that has received scant attention is women's self-defense training (sometimes known as sexual assault resistance training). This neglect is curious because empowerment-based women's self-defense (ESD) training is so far the only approach that has produced substantively significant decreases in victimization rates. In this article, I review the research evidence on women's selfdefense training. Does resisting a sexual assault affect the outcome of sexual violence? Does self-defense training further reduce women's risk of violence? What are the other consequences of self-defense training? How does selfdefense work for different groups of women-for example, those who have survived prior victimizations? Are the critiques of women's self-defense training valid? Finally, what do we still need to learn about women's self-defense? Overall, I argue that this evidence presents a compelling case that women's self-defense training should be central to any efforts to prevent sexual violence.
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