Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 175 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-84).

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The belief that an individual holds regarding his/her ability to control or influence the events of his/her life has been related to the adjustment of the physically disabled in the rehabilitation process. It is generally felt that those persons who assume that their actions make a difference, who have an internal locus of control orientation (I-LOC), are more successful in managing their disabilities and making the most out of their life situations. Assertion Training (AT) is a process which assists individuals in developing behaviors which enable them to express themselves directly without undue anxiety and to act in their own best interests while respecting the rights of others. Research indicates that AT is a useful therapeutic approach with a variety of populations but scant attention has been given to its effectiveness with physically disabled subjects although many of the variables considered to be critical in the rehabilitation process, such as self-concept and social interaction skills, have been shown to be positively affected by AT. The present study focused on the effects of Assertion Training on physically disabled subjects' locus of control (LOC) orientation. The dependent variables, LOC and assertiveness levels were measured by two questionnaires, Rotter's I-E Scale and the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule. A pretest-posttest control group design was used in this study. Physically disabled adults, aged 23 to 60, comprised the population. Thirty-two were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. Criterion measures were given to all subjects the week prior to and following the training. The experimental group received 15 hours of Assertion Training, consisting of 1 1/2 hour weekly sessions over a 10-week period. The training focused on increasing assertive behaviors utilizing a number of techniques, including role playing/behavioral rehearsal, modeling, coaching, and homework assignments. The following experimental hypotheses were tested: (H₁)Individuals given Assertion Training will show a significant difference in locus of control scores when compared to individuals who experience no special training. (H₂)Individuals given Assertion Training will show a significant difference in assertiveness scores when compared to individuals who experience no special training. (H₃)There will be a significant correlation between pretest assertiveness scores and pretest locus of control scores. (H₄)There will be a significant correlation between posttest assertiveness scores and posttest locus of control scores. Physically disabled subjects in the experimental group did not differ significantly at the .05 level of confidence in mean LOC or assertiveness scores from individuals in the control group. Internal-external locus of control and assertiveness were found to be significantly correlated. There does appear to be a significant relationship between increased assertiveness and a reduction in externality.

First-year college students have many new responsibilities and challenges. They are faced with increasing autonomy and must find resources and people to help guide them. Students with disabilities face an even greater need to be independent and juggle more responsibilities, as they must disclose their disabilities to campus personnel if they need accommodations and become a self-advocate. In order to self-advocate, students must feel comfortable with being assertive. This study examined the differences in comfort with assertive behaviors between students with and without disabilities at three different types of postsecondary institutions (junior college, 4-year regional university, and 4-year Research 1 university). Two hundred seventy-eight freshman and sophomore students completed a questionnaire concerning their comfort with many different assertive behaviors. The following three variables were examined: a) college students' comfort with overall assertiveness; b) college students' comfort with verbal assertiveness; and c) college students' comfort with prosocial verbal skills. iv There were no significant differences between students with disabilities and students without disabilities in terms of their discomfort with assertive behaviors on any of the three variables. Males were more comfortable with assertive behaviors than females in terms of their overall assertiveness and their verbal assertiveness. Students from the 2-year junior college were more comfortable with overall assertiveness and verbal assertiveness than students at either the 4-year regional university or the 4-year Research 1 university. There were no differences between groups in terms of their prosocial verbal skills. Conclusions about the differences found in the study are reported. Recommendations for disability service providers are provided, as well as suggestions for future research.

With this descriptive research study the investigator proposed to determine what, if any, relationship existed between the assertiveness and job satisfaction in a sample of female Indiana Home Economists in Business and the significance of any relationship found. Data were collected by means of a two-part questionnaire (one section measured job satisfaction and the other measured assertiveness) sent to the population by mail and self-administered. Responses to the testing instrument were returned in a self-addressed, stamped envelope provided by the researcher.Collected data were submitted to t-tests for independent means and the Pearson product moment correlation was calculated. Significance of that correlation was determined by using the critical-ratio z-test. A bivariate frequency distribution and a scatter diagram were constructed to further illustrate the relationship between the variables assertiveness and job satisfaction. Data were analyzed for significance at the five percent level.Treated data did not support null hypothesis one or two of the study. Female IHEIBs were not generally nonassertive and this finding was interpreted as one of assertiveness. Female IHEIBs were not found to be generally dissatisfied with their jobs. However, this finding could not be interpreted to mean that the opposite was true (that female IHEIBs were satisfied with their jobs) because neutral feelings were not separated from those of satisfaction.Furthermore, the crucial relationship hypothesis in its null form was not rejected because the level of significance for the correlation between the two variables did not meet the criteria established for the study. That is, any relationship between the assertiveness of female IHEIBs and their job satisfaction as revealed by this study was no greater than might have occurred by chance.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect on college students of an Assertive Training program that combined Rational Emotive Therapy with behavioral techniques. Assertiveness was measured by ascendance-submission (A-S Reaction Study), dominance (Edwards Personal Preference Schedule), and fear (Fear Survey Schedule).Prior to the group training the 135 volunteers, through the technique of stratified random sampling, were placed in two experimental groups and one control group at Ball State University and two experimental groups and one control group at Butler University. At the time of the group training, at Ball State University eight subjects participated in the experimental groups of the study and at Butler University 22 subjects participated in the experimental groups of the study. The experimental group at Ball State University (5 males and 3 females) and the experimental group at Butler University (8 males, 14 females) participated in a primarily verbal Assertive Training workshop lasting for two hours one night a week for four weeks. The experimental groups participated in an Assertive Training model which included a theoretical and cognitive presentation of the theory of Assertive Training and of Rational Emotive Therapy. The techniques of modeling, rehearsal/role-playing, and feedback were utilized. The control group was placed on a waiting list and contacted a week before the fifth and final session to take the post-tests. The members of the control group were not notified that they were members of the control group.The A-S Reaction Study, the Dominance Scale from the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, and Fear Survey Schedule, were administered to the experimental and control subjects at the conclusion of the training period.The Ball State University sample was eliminated from the study because the procedures used by the facilitators departed from the original research design and, thus, made them non-comparable.The instruments were scored and the three scales (A-SRS, Dominance Scale from EPPS, and FSS) were subjected to a multivariate analysis of variance. The F value whichwas obtained for treatment between groups (3.9992) was statistically significant at the .05 level. Since the HO (1) null hypothesis: There will be no difference between the vector of the means of the experimental groups and the control groups on the total score of the A-S Reaction Study, the Dominance Scale of the Edwards Personal. Preference Schedule, and the total score of the Fear Survey Schedule--was rejected, further analysis of the data was performed using univariate analysis of variance. An F value (8.7028 significant at the .05 level) was obtained for the variable, dominance. Therefore, a conclusion can be made that dominance contributes to the overall rejection of the H0 (1) (treatment). The F values which were obtained for sex (1.0336) and treatment x sex (2.3617) were not significant at the .05 level. Therefore, the H0 (2) null hypothesis--There will be no difference between the vector of means of the males and the means of the females--were not rejected.A correlation study was made in order to assess the degree of relationships between the instruments used in the study. The Dominance Scales score from the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule correlates with the A-S Reaction Study score (+.426938), and with the Fear Survey Schedule (-0220731). Also the A-S Reaction Study score correlates with the Fear Survey Schedule score (-.327414). While these correlations are not strong, they are sufficient to insure that the instrumentation assessed essentially the same construct, assertion.The findings from this study were:1. There was a significant difference found between the experimental group and the control group which was mainly due to theDominance Scale score on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule.2. There was no significant difference found between males and females.3. In the intercorrelation study substantial relationships were found among the three instruments.A conclusion was drawn that college students can be taught to become more assertive in social interpersonal relationships by including rational-emotive procedures with behavioral techniques of Assertive Training.3