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The Linear and Curvilinear Relationships Between Assertiveness and Mental Health: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
Counselling Psychology Quarterly
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The present research investigated the relationship between self-respect (i.e., a person’s belief of possessing the same rights as others) and depressive symptoms. Based on earlier longitudinal findings that self-respect fosters assertiveness and that assertiveness negatively predicts depressive symptoms, we tested these relationships in Western and non-Western countries. Additionally, we explored associations with suicidal ideation. Across seven countries ( N = 2408) we found that self-respect and depressive symptoms were negatively correlated. In addition, we found evidence for an indirect path via assertiveness as well as negative correlations with suicidal ideation in countries with available measures. Finally, within-manuscript meta-analyses confirmed the main path between self-respect and depressive symptoms across all seven countries. This research presents the first evidence for the negative association between self-respect (feeling equal to others) and depressive symptoms and highlights new directions for linking self and self-regard to mental health.
It is assumed that people seek positive self-regard; that is, they are motivated to possess, enhance, and maintain positive self-views. The cross-cultural generalizability of such motivations was addressed by examining Japanese culture. Anthropological, sociological, and psychological analyses revealed that many elements of Japanese culture are incongruent with such motivations. Moreover, the empirical literature provides scant evidence for a need for positive self-regard among Japanese and indicates that a self-critical focus is more characteristic of Japanese. It is argued that the need for self-regard must be culturally variant because the constructions of self and regard themselves differ across cultures. The need for positive self-regard, as it is currently conceptualized, is not a universal, but rather is rooted in significant aspects of North American culture. Conventional interpretations of positive self-regard are too narrow to encompass the Japanese experience.
This cross-cultural study investigated a conditional indirect effect model in which country membership (South Korea or United States) and the need for approval of others (AO) were hypothesized to moderate the direct and indirect effects of attachment insecurity on depression via social self-efficacy (SSE). A total of 673 Korean university students and 401 American university students completed research questionnaires. Results indicated that Korean students endorsed a significantly higher level of AO than American students. Additionally, findings revealed that the strengths of several significant direct and indirect effects varied significantly by country membership and AO. Finally, we found a significant three-way interaction (Attachment avoidance × Country membership × AO), suggesting the necessity of considering cultural differences in attachment influence. The limitations and implications of our cross-cultural findings for decolonization in Western-based psychology are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Aim
This study aimed to develop and test a causal model focused on assertiveness, stress coping, and workplace environment as factors affecting burnout among novice nurses.
Design
Cross‐sectional study was conducted with novice nurses of 17 hospitals.
Methods
The Novice Nurse Assertiveness Scale and the Japanese version of Maslach Burnout Inventory.
Results
Data from 645 female novice nurses were analysed. The mean age, Novice Nurse Assertiveness Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory were 22.6 ± 3.0, 67.4 ± 10.3 and 13.7 ± 2.5. For the final model, the study adopted a model that includes indirect influences; inappropriate assertiveness and inappropriate coping affected the dissatisfaction with the job and then affected the burnout. The goodness of fit index was GFI = 0.94, AGFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.66, and R² was .86. The findings validated this as a causal model of assertiveness, stress coping, and the work environment as factors affecting burnout for novice nurses.
Aim: This study investigates the impact of assertiveness training on assertiveness and self-esteem of high school students. Method: The study employs Quasi-experimental design where 130 participants aged 13-17 years were selected randomly and assigned into two groups as experimental (N-65) and control group (N-65). Tools: For this aim Assertiveness scale (AS) and Self-esteem questionnaire (RSE) were used. Training: During the treatment phase, the experimental group received assertiveness training of 5 weeks comprising two sessions per week, and each session took 45 minutes. After treatment both experimental and control groups are measured with post-tests. Results: The results show that assertiveness training has significantly increased the assertiveness and decreased the aggression and submission in the experimental group. Also the training has significantly increased the self-esteem of students. Conclusion: The obtained findings revealed an increase in the rate of self-esteem and assertiveness and decrease in the aggression and submission of students. Hence it proved that assertiveness training is significantly effective on the assertiveness, aggression, submission and self-esteem of students.
Background & aim: In some situations in quantitative or qualitative research, complementary tools would be of great help in data collection. Vignette technique is a data collection tool, which has been used for over 50 years in different disciplines including health sciences. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of information regarding this method. With this background in mind, the present review aimed to provide thorough information about the vignette technique. Methods: This was a narrative review conducted through searching of databases of ISI Web of Science (65), PubMed (27), Scopus (24), CINAHL (110), ProQuest (23), ERIC (44) as well as Science Direct (123) using keywords including “vignette”, “qualitative research”, “quantitative research”, and "research” from their inception to September, 2018 to assess those studies regarding different aspects of vignettes. Out of 416 documents, a number of 105 books and articles were reviewed regarding the different aspects of the vignettes. No language restrictions were imposed. Results: Vignettes are used in different forms including text, illustrations, images, videotape and cartoons, computer-based data, and music as an elicitation tool to provide supplementary and complementary data during a research process. Using this technique, the researcher can collect some data which is not accessible through other sources. At the same time, the researchers should be cautious about its accurate design and validity to get more realistic data. Conclusion: Vignettes as an effective tool can be employed in both quantitative and qualitative research to collect more diverse and thorough data, particularly, in cross-cultural research.
This paper exploits China's one‐child policy (OCP) to study the relationship between fertility and educational attainment of the mothers of China's “sibling‐less generation.” I take two difference‐in‐differences approaches to estimate the OCP's effect on women's education: one compares gender difference among the ethnic majority group and the other compares ethnicity differences between ethnic majority women and ethnic minority women. I also explore the heterogeneity of the policy's effects by parent's status at the Communist Party. I find that the OCP has a positive and significant effect on women's education and explains about half of the increase in educational attainment for women born between 1960 and 1980. Their increased educational attainment associates with delayed entry into first marriage, delayed entry to parenthood and increased labor supply. (JEL I20, J13, J16, J18)
Objective:
Understanding the general public's beliefs about depression is essential if public education and anti-stigma interventions are to be effective. This study aimed to examine Chinese respondents' personal attitudes towards depression and their perceptions about the attitudes of others regarding depression and to identify the correlates of personal stigma and perceived stigma towards depression.
Methods:
A community survey was conducted among 1697 residents aged between 16 and 89 years of a large city in central China using the Depression Stigma Scale. Participants completed questionnaires assessing experiences of depression and family functioning.
Results:
Participants reported high levels of stigma towards depression, with greater perceived stigma than personal stigma. Increasing age was correlated with greater personal stigma and perceived stigma. Higher personal stigma was also significantly correlated with being male, unemployed and good family function.
Conclusion:
Concerningly high levels of stigmatizing beliefs towards depression were prevalent among the public. This may be a reason why people with mental disorders do not seek assistance. This highlights the importance of the need for health education and promotion activities. Findings from this study suggest that targeted, culturally appropriate education programs are needed to improve knowledge about depression in the broader community.
Adolescence is a developmental phase marked by a high risk of depressive symptoms. The Diathesis-Stress Model of Depression proposed that different types of coping strategy can determine depression level in individuals differently. It was found that low self-esteem is linked with greater depressive symptoms among adolescents. Although past studies have discovered the effects of problem-focused coping on depression, there are limited studies examining the underlying mechanism among Malaysian adolescents. Thus, the present study investigated the intervening role of self-esteem on the association between problem-focused coping and depression among adolescents. A total of 852 secondary school students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were recruited through multi-stage cluster sampling. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires on depression, self-esteem, and problem-focused coping. SPSS macro was used to analyze the mediation model. The findings showed both self-esteem and problem-focused coping negatively correlated with adolescents’ depression. Self-esteem in turn partially mediated the association between problem-focused coping and adolescents’ depression. Thus, it is recommended that intervention on reducing depressive symptoms should focus on providing adolescents with the skills to use problem-focused coping. Workshops could be conducted to heighten adolescents’ self-esteem through the help of teachers, parents and school counselors in reducing depressive symptoms among adolescents.
WEIRD populations, or those categorized as Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic, are sampled in the majority of quantitative human subjects research. Although this oversampling is criticized in some corners of social science research, it is not always clear what we are critiquing. In this article, we make three interventions into the WEIRD concept and its common usage. First, we seek to better operationalize the terms within WEIRD to avoid erasing people with varying identities who also live within WEIRD contexts. Second, we name whiteness as the factor that most strongly unites WEIRD research and researchers yet typically goes unacknowledged. We show how reflexivity is a tool that can help social scientists better understand the effects of whiteness within the scientific enterprise. Third, we look at the positionality of biological anthropology, as not cultural anthropology and not psychology, and how that offers both promise and pitfalls to the study of human variation. We offer other perspectives on what constitutes worthy and rigorous biological anthropology research that does not always prioritize replicability and statistical power, but rather emphasizes the full spectrum of the human experience. From here, we offer several ways forward to produce more inclusive human subjects research, particularly around existing methodologies such as grounded theory, Indigenous methodologies, and participatory action research, and call on biological anthropology to contribute to our understanding of whiteness.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology Volume 48 is October 23, 2019. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
This paper examines changing representations of women in Chinese television dramas since the early 1990s and interprets them within a framework of global socialist media cultures, considering both domestic developments and transnational trends. Drawing on the analysis of three selected dramas, it traces the trajectory of televised femininity from exemplary socialist worker-citizens devoted to family and community, to more individualized middle-class urbanites. It is tempting to see this transformation as an outcome of China's integration into the global capitalist economy, the attendant retreat of the party-state from the private realm, and the infusion of Western cultural gender ideals. Yet this interpretation downplays important continuities, and misses intriguing parallels with TV dramas produced in socialist Eastern Europe. The argument pays particular attention to the enduring appeal of the socialist-style superwoman who shoulders the double burden of a professional career and unpaid domestic work while also acting as a discerning citizen-consumer.
This paper reports the development and baseline data of a vignettes-based measure of gender equality. Methods: Vignettes were developed through 3-day long focus groups. After piloting in 13 sites and repiloting a revised version in 6 countries, responses were categorized by the construct tapped and a scoring system developed. Finalized vignettes were then tested in DR Congo, Ecuador and China. Results: Young adolescents can successfully respond to vignettes; and can differentiate self from hypothetical protagonists of same and opposite sex. Response differences by sex of respondent and protagonist were statistically significant across a range of scenarios and settings. Conclusion: This is the first vignettes-based measure for young adolescents assessing young adolescent perceptions of relationships differentiated by sex of the protagonist.
Aims: Depression is prevalent among university students worldwide, and the prevalence appears to be increasing. As an intermediate stage between being healthy and having depression, students with subthreshold depression could develop worsening depression or recover with intervention to prevent depression. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a useful tool to assess subthreshold depression. The primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of CES-D in Chinese university students. Secondly, we aimed to describe the prevalence of subthreshold depression among the student sample and examine its demographic correlates.
Methods: A total of 2,068 university students participated in the study, and they were asked to respond to the Chinese CES-D, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The factor structure was evaluated by conducting exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a structural equation modeling approach. The reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha, inter-item correlation, and item-total correlation coefficients. The prevalence of subthreshold depression was calculated and demographic correlates of gender, grade, and major were examined by multiple regression.
Results: The final sample included 1,920 participants. The EFA results suggested extraction of three factors (somatic symptoms, negative affect, and anhedonia) that account for 52.68% of total variance. The CFA results suggested that the newly derived model with 14 items was the best fit for our data. Six items were removed from the original scale (item 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 19). The Cronbach’s alpha of the 14-item CES-D was 0.87. The prevalence of subthreshold depression among university students reached 32.7% for the 20-item CES-D and 31% for the 14-item CES-D, although there was no significant difference of prevalence in gender, grade, and major.
Conclusions: The CES-D has good reliability and validity for assessing subthreshold depression in Chinese university students.
Arabs represent a major cultural group, yet one that is rela-tively neglected in cultural psychology. We hypothesized that Arab culture is characterized by a unique form of interdepen-dence that is self-assertive. Arab cultural identity emerged historically in regions with harsh ecological and climatic envi-ronments, in which it was necessary to protect the survival of tribal groups. Individuals in Arabian cultures were honour-bound to be respectable and trustworthy group members. Supporting this hypothesis, study 1 found that Arabs were interdependent and holistic (like East Asians), but also self-assertive (like Westerners). This psychological profile was observed equally for both Muslim and Christian Arabs, thus ruling out Islamic religion as an alternative explanation for our findings. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the self-assertive tendency of Arabs is in service of interdependence, whereas that of Westerners is in service of independence. Our work contributes to the current effort by cultural psychologists to go beyond the prevailing East versus West, interdependence versus independence paradigm. It also speaks to the emerg-ing socioecological perspective in cultural research.
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 stand-alone 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.
Objective:
Research has shown that three personality traits-neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness-moderate one another in a three-way interaction that predicts depressive symptoms in healthy populations. We test the hypothesis that this effect is driven by three-lower order traits: withdrawal, industriousness, and enthusiasm. We then replicate this interaction within a clinical population for the first time.
Method:
Sample 1 included 376 healthy adults. Sample 2 included 354 patients diagnosed with current major depressive disorder. Personality and depressive tendencies were assessed via the Big Five Aspect Scales and Personality Inventory for DSM-5 in Sample 1, respectively, and by the NEO-PI-R and Beck Depression Inventory-II in Sample 2.
Results:
Withdrawal, industriousness, and enthusiasm interacted to predict depressive tendencies in both samples. The pattern of the interaction supported a "best two out of three" principle, in which low risk scores on two trait dimensions protects against a high risk score on the third trait. Evidence was also present for a "worst two out of three" principle, in which high risk scores on two traits are associated with equivalent depressive severity as high risk scores on all three traits.
Conclusions:
These results highlight the importance of examining interactive effects of personality traits on psychopathology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Background. Nowadays, one sixth of the world’s population is represented by adolescents, nearly 1.2 billion people being of age 10-19. According to the 2011 census in Iran, the estimation of adolescent population was 12 million, which represents 16% of the Iran population. Undoubtedly, adolescence is the most dominant stage of life. During this period, adolescents face biological, cognitive, and emotional changes that may be accompanied by inappropriate behavioral responses such as aggression. Considering pressures of peer groups during adolescence, assertiveness has an important role as a social skill. It seems that the success of adolescents in dealing with these problems depends on their self-efficacy. This study was designed to explore the role of self-efficacy and assertiveness in aggression among high-school students.
Material and methods. This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted among 321 first grade high-school students during 2014 and 2015. Samples were extracted from six education and training regions by a multi-stage random sampling. In this study, the questionnaire included demographic, Rathus Assertiveness, self-efficacy for children and aggression data.
Results. The results showed that there was a notable negative association between aggression and assertiveness (p < 0.003) and also between assault and self-efficacy (p < 0.001).
Conclusions. An increase in assertiveness and self-efficacy resulted in a decrease of aggression. So, training was recommended to reinforce self-efficacy beliefs and assertiveness behaviors for mental health promotion.
In the current study, we tested a moderated mediation model in which cultural orientation moderated the mediation model of adult attachment-perceived social support-depressive symptoms, using 2 comparable cross-cultural samples of college students recruited from China and the U.S. ( = 363 for each group). Results indicated that perceived social support mediated the effect of attachment anxiety on depressive symptoms as well as the link between attachment avoidance and depression in both samples. Moderated mediation analyses using PROCESS revealed that interdependent self-construal significantly buffered the indirect effect of attachment avoidance (via perceived social support) on depressive symptoms. The findings indicated significant differences in the mediation models between the U.S. and China groups and interdependent self-construal accounted for the between-country differences. Limitations, implications of the findings, and future research directions are discussed from the perspectives of cross-cultural variation of adult attachment functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record
Four meta-analyses were conducted to examine gender differences in personality in the literature (1958-1992) and in normative data for well-known personality inventories (1940-1992). Males were found to be more assertive and had slightly higher self-esteem than females. Females were higher than males in extraversion, anxiety, trust, and, especially, tender-mindedness (e.g., nurturance). There were no noteworthy sex differences in social anxiety, impulsiveness, activity, ideas (e.g., reflectiveness), locus of control, and orderliness. Gender differences in personality traits were generally constant across ages, years of data collection, educational levels, and nations.
Assertiveness is the ability to express oneself and one’s rights without violating the rights of others. The need for assertiveness is widely acknowledged in different work settings, and in order to manage the stress of working as part of a team every day, one has to become assertive. The purpose of present study is to investigate the effect of assertiveness skills on job burnout. The random sampling technique was employed. The data were gathered from 100 respondents. The adapted questionnaire was used. The advanced econometric technique was employed for data analysis. The SPSS 22 was employed as tool for data analysis. The findings of study revealed that assertiveness skills have negative effect on job burnout. With increase the level of assertiveness skills, increase consistency and confidence and reduce conflict and stress leads to decrease burnout. The study also recommends improving the management, regulation and facilities for preventing of risk of job burnout.
A very important personal quality is to be able to advocate for yourself - your own positions, to achieve your objectives, to overcome difficulties,to be determined, but without harming the rights of others and to be able to control the aggressive impulses. The concept, which expressesthese personal characteristics, is called "assertiveness". Assertiveness is a part of the personal potential. It is a prerequisite for self-actualization.The goal we set in this historical-psychological paper is to explore the genesis, development and stabilization of the term "assertiveness". Inthis context, we will examine, compare and analyze the positions of the leading authors on this issue.
Objectives:
Older adults underutilize mental health services suggesting that significant barriers are operating. This study presents reliability and validity data for a revised version of the self-report Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale (BMHSS) designed to quantify 10 barriers to mental health service use, so that barriers can be examined collectively.
Methods:
The Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale Revised (BMHSS-R) was revised to improve its reliability and validity, including adding items, eliminating poor items, and balancing the number of items across subscales. A sample of 100 older adults (M age = 72.1 years, SD = 17.8 years) completed the BMHSS-R, the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale, and the Willingness to Seek Help Questionnaire.
Results:
Internal consistency for the 10 subscales of the BMHSS-R ranged between .63 and .87, with 8 of the 10 values greater than .70. Correlational analyses indicated that many of the subscales overlap considerably but are still distinct. Convergent validity of the BMHSS-R subscales of help-seeking and stigma was partially supported, although correlations were modest.
Conclusion:
Revisions to the BMHSS resulted in improved reliability estimates for use as a measure of perceived barriers to mental health services. We recommend when using the BMHSS-R to combine results with other information (e.g., service utilization data) to characterize a profile of barriers. We discuss directions for future research and further refinement of the BMHSS-R.
Despite unprecedented access to information and diffusion of knowledge across the globe, the bulk of work in mainstream psychological science still reflects and promotes the interests of a privileged minority of people in affluent centers of the modern global order. Compared to other social science disciplines, there are few critical voices who reflect on the Euro-American colonial character of psychological science, particularly its relationship to ongoing processes of domination that facilitate growth for a privileged minority but undermine sustainability for the global majority. Moved by mounting concerns about ongoing forms of multiple oppression (including racialized violence, economic injustice, unsustainable over-development, and ecological damage), we proposed a special thematic section and issued a call for papers devoted to the topic of "decolonizing psychological science". In this introduction to the special section, we first discuss two perspectives—liberation psychology and cultural psychology—that have informed our approach to the topic. We then discuss manifestations of coloniality in psychological science and describe three approaches to decolonization—indigenization, accompaniment, and denaturalization—that emerge from contributions to the special section. We conclude with an invitation to readers to submit their own original contributions to an ongoing effort to create an online collection of digitally linked articles on the topic of decolonizing psychological science.
Resumen
A pesar de acceso sin precedentes a la información y difusión del conocimiento en todo el mundo, la mayor parte del trabajo en la ciencia psicológica hegemónica todavía refleja y promueve los intereses de una minoría privilegiada de personas en centros ricos del orden mundial moderno. En comparación con otras disciplinas de las ciencias sociales, hay pocas voces críticas que reflexionan sobre el carácter colonial Euro-Americano (nordocéntrico) de la ciencia psicológica, y en particular su relación con los procesos de dominación que facilitan el crecimiento de una minoría privilegiada, pero socavan la sostenibilidad de la mayoría global. Movido por preocupaciones sobre las múltiples formas actuales de la opresión (incluida la violencia racializada, la injusticia económica, el desarrollo insostenible y daño ecológico), propusimos una sección temática especial y emitimos una convocatoria para recibir artículos reflexivos dedicados al tema de la descolonización de la ciencia psicológica. En esta introducción a la sección especial, primero discutimos dos perspectivas—psicología de la liberación y psicología cultural—que han fundamentado nuestro acercamiento al tema. A continuación discutimos manifestaciones de la colonialidad en la ciencia psicológica y describimos tres enfoques para la descolonización—indigenización, acompañamiento y desnaturalización—que surgen de las contribuciones a la sección especial. Concluimos con una invitación a las/os/xs lectores a enviar sus propias contribuciones originales a este esfuerzo en movimiento para crear y continuar una colección electrónica de artículos digitales sobre el tema de la descolonización de la ciencia psicológica.
Colonisation in Australia has had a devastating and lasting impact on the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia (herein referred to as Indigenous Australians). This paper discusses the role of psychology in Australia and the negative impact that certain disciplinary theories and practices have had on Indigenous Australians. The impact has been further exacerbated by the failure of mainstream policy makers and mental health practitioners to recognise the key, distinctive cultural and social determinants that contribute to Aboriginal health and wellbeing. There is a growing response by Aboriginal psychologists, critical social theorists, and their allies to decolonise psychological theory and practice to redress this situation. This paper outlines key decolonising strategies that have been effective in interrupting those aspects of psychology that are inimical to Aboriginal wellbeing
Vignette-based methodologies are frequently used to examine judgments and decision-making processes, including clinical judgments made by health professionals. Concerns are sometimes raised that vignettes do not accurately reflect “real world” phenomena, and that this affects the validity of results and conclusions of these studies. This article provides an overview of the defining features, design variations, strengths, and weaknesses of vignette studies as a way of examining how health professionals form clinical judgments (e.g., assigning diagnoses, selecting treatments). As a “hybrid” of traditional survey and experimental methods, vignette studies can offer aspects of both the high internal validity of experiments and the high external validity of survey research in order to disentangle multiple predictors of clinician behavior. When vignette studies are well designed to test specific questions about judgments and decision-making, they can be highly generalizable to “real life” behavior, while overcoming the ethical, practical, and scientific limitations associated with alternative methods (e.g., observation, self-report, standardized patients, archival analysis). We conclude with methodological recommendations and a description of how vignette methodologies are being used to investigate clinicians’ diagnostic decisions in case-controlled field studies for the ICD-11 classification of mental and behavioural disorders, and how these studies illustrate the preceding concepts and recommendations
Background: Nursing students are susceptible to a higher risk of depression. Recognition of depression, assertiveness and the relationship between them is important since if a relationship exists, probably enhancing the level of assertiveness can reduce depression in this high risk group. We aimed to investigate depression and assertiveness levels and the relationship between them in nursing students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: The target population of this cross-sectional study was bachelor nursing students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, as the largest and one of the most prestigious Iranian universities. For selecting samples, the convenience sampling method was used. Having no previous information about classes, the researcher selected the students from the courses held while the researcher was present for sampling at the faculty and studied all the students willing to participate in the study in selected classes. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, Gambrill and Richey assertion inventory, and Beck’s depression inventory. SPSS software, version 16, was used to analyze the data. ANOVA and independent samples t test were used for as appropriated.
Results: 55.6% of students indicated average and low levels of assertiveness and 38.7% were suffering from mild to severe depression. Pearson correlation test showed a significant inverse relationship (r=0.314 and P<0.001) between assertiveness and depression. There were significant relationships between depression and interest in the field of study (P=0.001) and between assertiveness and gender (P=0.035).
Conclusion: There was an inverse significant relationship between depression and assertiveness among nursing students. We suggest a cohort study design that can determine the effect of these variables on each other completely.
This study explored the associations between adolescents’ assertive behavior, psychological well‐being, and self‐esteem. The sample consisted of 1,023 students (14.9 ± .51; 47.6% boys). Two dimensions of the Scale for Interpersonal Behavior (distress and performance), 2 factors of the General Health Questionnaire‐12 (depression/anxiety and social dysfunction), and 2 factors of the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (positive self‐esteem and negative self‐esteem) were used; data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. It was found that (a) the more anxious respondents felt in assertive situations, the less frequently they engaged in these situations; and that (b) both dimensions of assertiveness were associated with psychological well‐being and self‐esteem.
Monte Carlo computer simulations were used to investigate the performance of three χ–2 test statistics in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Normal theory maximum likelihood χ–2 (ML), Browne's asymptotic distribution free χ–2 (ADF), and the Satorra-Bentler rescaled χ–2 (SB) were examined under varying conditions of sample size, model specification, and multivariate distribution. For properly specified models, ML and SB showed no evidence of bias under normal distributions across all sample sizes, whereas ADF was biased at all but the largest sample sizes. ML was increasingly overestimated with increasing nonnormality, but both SB (at all sample sizes) and ADF (only at large sample sizes) showed no evidence of bias. For misspecified models, ML was again inflated with increasing nonnormality, but both SB and ADF were underestimated with increasing nonnormality. It appears that the power of the SB and ADF test statistics to detect a model misspecification is attenuated given nonnormally distributed data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The current study examined cross‐cultural differences in perceptions of certain externalizing symptoms, such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – hyperactivity impulsivity (ADHD‐HI) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM‐5). For this study, 39 American and 34 Japanese college students rated the acceptability of externalizing symptoms. The results showed cross‐cultural patterns of perceptions for externalizing symptoms. In terms of ADHD‐HI symptoms, Americans were less accepting of “often interrupts or intrudes on others” and “often has difficulty awaiting his or her turn” while Japanese individuals were less accepting of “often fidgets with or taps hands or feet or squirms in seat” and “often on the go, acting as if driven by motor.” For ODD symptoms, Americans were less accepting of “often blames others,” “often actively defies or refuses to comply with request,” “is often angry and resentful,” “often loses temper,” and “often deliberately annoys others.” This study showed the possible perceptual differences of symptoms between Japanese and American populations, which may be the first step in testing the nonequivalence of DSM‐5 constructs of externalizing disorders.
Purpose: Interpersonal competence, a key competence for patient-centered care by nurses, should be understood. Therefore, factors influencing the interpersonal competence of nursing students should be identified to explore and enhance their interpersonal relationships during the undergraduate educational curriculum for nursing educators. In this study factors influencing interpersonal competence, especially on self-assertiveness and empathy in nursing students were identified and analysed.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used for the study in two Korean nursing colleges with similar baccalaureate nursing curricula. A total of 251 nursing students from freshman to senior year completed a questionnaire to measure related factors that were assumed to influence nursing students’ interpersonal competence. Data were collected from October 11~31, 2016. Study variables included self-assertiveness, empathy, interpersonal competence, and socio-demographic status. Multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis.Results: Nursing students’ interpersonal competence was explained by personality (β=.22), self-assertiveness (β=.16) and empathy (β=.38). The explanatory power of these predictors was 26.8% (p<.001).Conclusions: Nursing students’ interpersonal competence during the undergraduate nursing years can be enhanced by educational strategies that improve their interpersonal relationship as patient-centered care providers. Simultaneously, the attitude of the nurse educator is also important for nursing students who are to be treated as valuable learners and to improve students' empathy and self-assertiveness ability.
Ladies’ Character was a TV play idea posted by an ordinary Weibo user that went viral in 2018. Numerous social media users joined in uninvited, via crowdsourcing, to develop its plot about four single professional women in their 40’s. Earlier in the same year, “Love and Producer,” a cellphone game had been widely criticized for its derogatory depiction of women in a video advertisement. While these Internet events resembled feminist activism in both content and form, no participants identified themselves as feminists. Using virtual ethnography, this paper explores how grassroots social media users construct both opportunities and challenges for feminist development in China. As feminist activism is placed under strict censorship in China, the cultural space provided by social media becomes an important means for grassroots prosumers to put up their collective resistance. Although the participants did not identify themselves as feminists, they protested about media content for its stereotypical and insulting representations about women, and created their own stories, which elicited considerable responses from people. However, a stigmatized feminism has also been prolific online, and poses another challenge for anyone who raises voices for women, which to some extent explains why the participants disavow the term of feminism.
The aim of the present study was to explain submissiveness, aggressiveness, and assertiveness in terms of self-efficacy and the Big Five personality traits. Participants were 398 primary-school children (49.5% girls) aged 8–11 years. Measures of submissiveness, aggressiveness, assertiveness, self-efficacy, and the Big Five personality traits were obtained from children self-reports. The results revealed statistically significant differences between submissive, assertive, and aggressive children on the Big Five personality traits and self-efficacy. Aggressive behaviours were predicted by agreeableness and self-efficacy in self-control. In addition, self-efficacy in self-control was negatively related to aggressiveness only when agreeableness was low; this relationship was insignificant in children with high agreeableness. The results also revealed some significant differences between submissive, assertive, and aggressive behaviour in school-age children; that is, on agreeableness and self-efficacy in self-control, assertive children and aggressive children sat at opposite ends of the continuum, while submissive children were situated in the middle.
This study investigates the extent to which achieving goals during behavioral activation (BA) treatment predicts depressive symptom improvement, and whether goal-related cognitions predict goal achievement or treatment response. Patients (n = 110, mean age 37.6, 54% female) received low-intensity cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, which included setting up to three behavioral goals in each of three BA-focused sessions (i.e., 9 goals per patient). Patients completed items from the Self-Regulation Skills Battery to assess goal-related cognitions and goal achievement for these goals, and depressive symptoms were assessed weekly with the PHQ-9. Multilevel models investigated the relationships between goal-related cognitions, goal achievement and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms improved curve-linearly during treatment (B = 0.12, p <.001), but were not predicted by contemporaneous or time-lagged goal achievement. While cumulative goal achievement predicted end-of-treatment depressive symptoms (r = -.23; p <.01), this relationship became nonsignificant after controlling for depressive symptoms at baseline. Readiness, planning and action control predicted greater goal achievement, whereas greater goal ownership predicted less goal achievement (all p <.05). Motivation and outcome expectancy were related to subsequent, but not contemporaneous, improvements in depressive symptoms (all p <.05). This study indicates the importance of goal-related cognitions in BA treatments, and future research should investigate potential moderators of the relationships between goal-related cognitions, goal achievement, and improvements in depressive symptoms.
Cyberbullying has become a common social phenomenon all over the world. Online game violence has been recognized as a risk factor for adolescents to perpetrate cyberbullying. The present study investigated normative beliefs about aggression (NOBAG) as a mediator and trait aggressiveness (TA) as a moderator in the relation between exposure to online game violence and cyberbullying. A sample of 703 Chinese adolescents aged from 12 to 15 years (M = 13.38, SD = 0.76) completed measures of research variables. Results indicated that after controlling for gender, age, and online time, NOBAG partially mediated the relationship between exposure to online game violence and cyberbullying. In addition, TA moderated the direct effect of exposure to online game violence on cyberbullying and the mediation effect of NOBAG, with these effects being stronger for adolescents with higher TA. This study can extend our knowledge about how and for whom online game violence is related to cyberbullying. Study limitations and implications for related interventions on cyberbullying are discussed.
Mental health-related stigma is common and inhibits help-seeking. It triggers fears of devaluation and can add to the burden of a mental disorder. To counter the consequences of mental health-related stigma, its sound assessment is crucial. Therefore, we developed a new measure, the Stigma-9 Questionnaire (STIG-9), and evaluated its psychometric properties and applicability in patients with mental disorders. Item development was based on the modified labelling theory, psychometric reasoning, and discussion with focus groups including patients and clinicians. Data from 919 consecutive patients from an outpatient clinic for mental disorders (69% female, mean age 41 (SD = 14) years) was used to psychometrically evaluate the measure. The STIG-9 consists of nine items assessing cognitive, behavioural and affective aspects of perceived mental health-related stigma. Higher scores indicate stronger expectations of negative societal beliefs, feelings, and behaviours towards ‘mentally ill’ people. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a single factor structure. The scale showed high internal consistency. Male gender, social impairment and higher levels of psychopathology corresponded with higher STIG-9 scores. The STIG-9 is a new, theory-grounded, patient-oriented and psychometrically promising self-report measure of perceived mental health-related stigma. It is brief, comprehensive, and appears to be well accepted by patients with mental disorders.
Cross-cultural differences in norms, values, and beliefs abound and impact preferred conflict resolution strategies. Potential differences in values and subsequent conflict resolution strategies can exacerbate the underlying conflict unless they are well understood. We study the case of differences in conflict resolution strategies between the United States and Mexico as well as studying the underlying value differences that explain their preferences. In a quasi-experimental study, we found that Mexicans, compared to US participants, appear to have a greater preference for both the use of social influence and negotiating when confronting a conflict. Moreover, it appears that collectivism helps explain these country differences as it mediated the relation between country and the likelihood of using social influence and negotiation. In addition, perceptions of fairness had a stronger influence on the preference that US participants had for negotiation as a conflict resolution strategy. The research helps illuminate the underlying mechanisms through which culture impacts conflict resolution strategy.
Background:
Communication errors have a negative impact on patient safety. It is therefore essential that healthcare professionals have the skills and confidence to speak up assertively when patient safety is at risk. Although the facilitators to and barriers of assertive communication have been the subject of previous reviews, evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance assertive communication is lacking. Thus, this paper reports the findings from a systematic review of the effectiveness of assertiveness communication training programs for healthcare professionals and students.
Objective:
The objective of this review is to identify, appraise and synthesise the best available quantitative evidence in relation to the effectiveness of assertiveness communication training programs for healthcare professionals and students on levels of assertiveness, communication competence and impact on clinicians' behaviours and patient safety.
Data sources:
The databases included: CINAHL, Cochrane library, EMBASE, Informit health collection, MEDLINE, ProQuest nursing and allied health, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science. The search for unpublished studies included: MedNar, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Studies published in English from 2001 until 2016 inclusive were considered.
Study eligibility criteria:
The review included original quantitative research that evaluated (a) any type of independent assertiveness communication training program; and (b) programs with assertiveness training included as a core component of team skills or communication training for healthcare professionals and students, regardless of healthcare setting and level of qualification of participants.
Study appraisal and synthesis methods:
Studies selected based on eligibility criteria were assessed for methodological quality and the data were extracted by two independent researchers using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal and data extraction tools.
Results:
Eleven papers were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklists. Eight papers from the USA, Australia, Ireland, and Taiwan were included in the review.
Conclusions:
Interventions to improve assertive communication were reported to be effective to some degree with all targeted groups except experienced anaesthesiologists. Face-to-face and multimethod programs, support from leaders, teamwork skills training and communication techniques adapted from the aviation industry were identified as appropriate approaches for optimising the effectiveness of assertiveness communication training programs. Behavioural change as the result of assertiveness interventions was evaluated by observer-based rating scales during simulation, whilst self-perceived knowledge and attitudes were evaluated using validated scales. Future research should consider evaluation of sustained effect on behaviour change and patient safety.
There is scholarly disagreement about whether Asian Americans are more socially anxious and less assertive than European Americans. We examined this question by exploring the interrelations among race/ethnicity, social anxiety, assertiveness, and self-beliefs related to mood regulation and sense of self. Participants were 72 Asian Americans and 63 European Americans who completed measures assessing negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), self-construal, social anxiety, and assertiveness. Moderated regression analyses revealed that independent self-construal, a self-belief, predicted both social anxiety and assertiveness regardless of participant race/ethnicity. Also, less social anxiety predicted more assertiveness, regardless of one's NMRE, also a self-belief. The most powerful predictors of assertiveness were social anxiety and self-construal. These findings suggest that when working with clients experiencing concerns about social anxiety or assertiveness, mental health counselors should explore their clients' self-beliefs, regardless of whether clients are Asian American or European American.
The concept of resistance rarely if ever arose in the early literature on behavior therapy. Most of the original descriptions of behavior therapy conveyed an underlying assumption that, apart from their presenting problems, clients were totally “rational” beings who readily complied with the intervention procedures set forth. As behavior therapists began applying their procedures to unselected cases and were confronted with a wide variety of complex clinical problems, it became strikingly evident that the simple application of the appropriate technique was not always successful. Although the therapist might have been clear about the determinants associated with any problem behaviors, and may also have felt confident that certain therapeutic techniques had a good chance of bringing about the needed change, the clarity of the clinician’s thinking was not always matched by the client’s desire or ability to comply with the intervention procedures. It has been in the face of such instances of therapeutic noncompliance that the topic of resistance has come to the fore in behavior therapy.
The present study attempts to explore the differences in LOC, assertiveness and mental health status in active and non-active elderly people in Razavi Khorasan Province in Iran and also tries to find out how these variables correlate to each other. In this comparative and correlative study 193 (100 active and 93 non-active) elderly people were chosen using random sampling. They completed Ratter's LOC, Goldberg' s General health and Alberti and Emmon's assertiveness questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and independent "t" tests. The findings of the study revealed significant differences between active and non - active people regarding mental health status and assertive behaviour. Active people were more assertive and had better mental health status. No significant difference was observed between these two groups regarding LOC. Either group were internally oriented in terms of LOC. Significant correlation was observed between these variables. Our study adds to the growing body of research on mental health status and factors such as LOC and assertiveness that affect this variable. In view of our findings, we hope that the use of sport and physical activities as means of improving one's mental health status, be more emphasized and recommended by psychologists and mental health experts.
This study assesses the effectiveness of an assertiveness training program on the emotional improvement of adolescents in residential care. The training programme was provided to 12 female adolescents and 12 others were in a control group. Forty-five items from the Korean Personality Inventory for Children (KPI-C) were used in measuring anxiety and depression. Pre and post analysis, as well as in-depth interviews, were conducted. The effect of the program was verified by the nonparametric testing methods, by the Mann Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon matched-pairs singled-ranks test. The findings are that, compared to the control group, the experimental group demonstrated a decrease in depression and anxiety.
The aim of the present research was to investigate the relationship between frustration intolerance and emotional-behavioural problems. Specifically, the study explored whether frustration intolerance beliefs were associated with difficulties in assertive behaviour, anxiety, depression, and anger in a non-clinical student sample (N = 250). For this purpose an Italian version of the Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS) was developed. The findings supported a multidimensional model of frustration intolerance and the relationship between specific frustration intolerance beliefs and emotional-behavioural problems. Regarding unhealthy emotions, structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses (model A) indicated that discomfort intolerance and emotional intolerance had a significant relationship with state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression. The discomfort intolerance and entitlement sub-scales had a significant relationship with state anger and trait anger, while entitlement directly predicted trait anger. Regarding assertiveness, SEM analyses (model B) indicated that emotional intolerance had a significant relationship with distress when being assertive. More generally, the FDS full scale score (model C) was significantly related to unhealthy emotions and (model D) unassertive behaviour (distress). The present study provided evidence of the cross-cultural applicability of the FDS.
Aggression research often relies upon convenient samples with unknown generalizability to populations of interest, potentially threatening external validity. This article details the measurement properties of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire Short Form (BPAQ-SF) and its subscales in two nationally representative U.S. samples (N = 924) and a concurrent study with U.S. college students (N = 384). The results provide useful benchmarks for generalizing BPAQ-SF results from convenient samples to U.S. adults, including distributions, reliability, and factor structure. The results also confirm basic relationships between trait aggression and key social and demographic variables such as sex, age, and socioeconomic status while establishing convergent validity with violent political attitudes. Results from the national studies closely align with those from the student sample, providing reasonable support for generalizing trait aggression elements to U.S. adults. Aggr. Behav. 9999:XX-XX, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This study tested a model that links stress, social support, problem‐focused coping, and well‐being. First, it looks at how high support significantly moderated the association between stress and well‐being. Next, the students' problem‐focused coping was seen as mediating this moderated association. Finally, a 3‐way interaction of stress, social support, and avoidant coping revealed that only frequent use of avoidant coping accelerated the association between stress and well‐being in a negative way at both low and high support.
Do people know when they are seen as pressing too hard, yielding too readily, or having the right touch? And does awareness matter? We examined these questions in four studies. Study 1 used dyadic negotiations to reveal a modest link between targets' self-views and counterparts' views of targets' assertiveness, showing that those seen as under- and over-assertive were likely to see themselves as appropriately assertive. Surprisingly, many people seen as appropriately assertive by counterparts mistakenly thought they were seen as having been over-assertive, a novel effect we call the line crossing illusion. We speculated that counterparts' orchestrated displays of discomfort might be partly responsible-behaviors we termed strategic umbrage. Study 2 revealed evidence for widespread strategic umbrage in real-world negotiations and Study 3 linked these behaviors to the line crossing illusion in a controlled negotiation. Study 4 showed that this illusion predicted outcomes in a multi-round negotiation.
This review presents findings from an overview of meta-analyses of the effects of prevention and promotion programs to prevent mental health, substance use, and conduct problems. The review of 48 meta-analyses found small but significant changes that reduce depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior, and substance use. Furthermore, the results were sustained over time. Meta-analyses often found that the effects were heterogeneous. A conceptual model is proposed to guide the study of moderators of program effects in future meta-analyses, and methodological issues in synthesizing findings across preventive interventions are discussed. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology Volume 10 is March 20, 2014. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.
To date, the vast majority of the research on aggression has been conducted on Western samples. This research expands the culture-bound understanding of aggression by examining universal and culture-specific dimensions that underlie the psychological structure of aggression. Drawing on cultural logics of honor, dignity, and face, we examine the construal of aggression across Pakistan, Israel, Japan, and the United States. Multidimensional scaling analyses revealed potentially universal dimensions of aggression. In all four nations, dimensions of damage to self-worth and direct versus indirect aggression emerged, and a physical versus verbal aggression emerged in Pakistan, Israel, and Japan. In addition, an infringement to personal resources dimension emerged in the United States and Israel, and a degree of threat dimension emerged in Pakistan. Further, results demonstrated cultural specificity in terms of (i) where aggressive behaviors fell along each dimension and (ii) meanings that defined each dimension across cultures. These findings have implications for the prevention and attenuation of intercultural conflicts as well as the advancement of the cross-cultural psychology and the aggression literatures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/job.1873/abstract