THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING WITH PHYSICALLY DISABLED CLIENTS IN AN OUTPATIENT REHABILITATION CENTER
Abstract
The study sought to determine the effectiveness of an assertiveness training workshop (ATW) designed to develop assertive attitudes and behaviors among physically disabled adults. Twenty-four male and 24 female disabled adults were assigned randomly to the ten-week workshop, while equal numbers of male and female disabled adults were assigned randomly to a wait-for-treatment control condition. Criterion measures included both attitude and behavioral measures, including: the Assertiveness, Aggression, and Inhibition Scales of the Interpersonal Behavior Survey (IBS); the Self-confidence subscale of the IBS; observed assertive behavior in Structured Assertiveness Situations (SAS); and performance in a mock job interview, assessed by Grothe's (1974) Interview Effectiveness Rating Form (IERF) which rated initial verbalizations, job-related verbalizations, requests for information, and attending behavior. Analysis of covariance procedures indicated that, relative to controls, ATW participants demonstrated significant increases in self reported assertive attitudes and significant decreases in inhibition. No significant changes were observed in aggressive attitudes. The ANCOVA on self-confidence scores also yielded significant differences favoring the experimental group, although pretreatment differences between the two groups suggest this result be viewed with caution. The experimental group demonstrated significant gains over the 10-week interval on the SAS. Relative to controls, the experimental group demonstrated significant gains on each of the four dimensions of interview behavior assessed by means of the IERF. Sex differences favoring males were found on the IBS assertive attitudes scale and on two of the four IERF interview behaviors. The results were interpreted in terms of the utility of the ATW program for reducing the time required to achieve job placements for physically disabled clients.
Subject Area
Personality
Recommended Citation
WALDRON, RICHARD JAMES, "THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING WITH PHYSICALLY DISABLED CLIENTS IN AN OUTPATIENT REHABILITATION CENTER" (1987). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8715810.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8715810
