Assertive behavior and its relation to anxiety, locus of control and self esteem in undergraduate students

Authors

  • Marina BANDEIRA Universidade Federal de São João del Rei
  • Maria Amélia Cesari QUAGLIA Universidade Federal de São João del Rei
  • Lívia da Silva BACHETTI Universidade Federal de São João del Rei
  • Tatiana Lourençoni FERREIRA Universidade Federal de São João del Rei
  • Grasiela Gomide de SOUZA Universidade Federal de São João del Rei

Keywords:

anxiety, self esteem, assertive behavior, locus of control

Abstract

The assertive behavior and its relation to the anxiety, locus of control and self esteem have been evaluated. This study sample was random by selected and composed by 135 undergraduate students, 25 years old in average, male or female. The subjects had filled in the following scales: Rathus´ assertive scale, Levensons´ locus of control scale, IDATE-trace anxiety scale and Dela Coleta self esteem scale. Results have indicated that students from Science area presented higher assertiveness and self esteem scores, and lower anxiety scores than students from Social Sciences. No gender differences were observed. Results showed that the assertive behavior was positively correlated with internal locus of control (r=0.23) and positive self esteem (r=0.54). It was also obtained a significant negative correlation between assertiveness and anxiety (r=0.055). These results replicated data from other researches, indicating the importance of a low level of anxiety and high level of internality and self esteem for assertive behavior and its implication for social skills training.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anderson, R.T. (1997). Anxiety or ignorance: the determinants of interpersonal skill display. Dissertation abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 57 (9-B), 595-599.

Appelbaum, A., & Tuma, J. (1975). Internal-external control and social assertiveness of subjects high and low in social desirability. Psychological Reports, 37 (1), 319-322.

Biaggio, A., & Natalício, L. (1979). Inventário de Ansiedade Traço-Estado Rio de Janeiro: Cento Editor de Psicologia Aplicada.

Creed, A., & Funder, D. (1998). Social anxiety: from the inside and outside. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 19-33.

Del Prette, Z.A., & Del Prette, A. (1999). Psicologia das habilidades sociais: terapia e educação 2. ed. Petrópolis: Vozes.

Dela Coleta, J.A. (1979). Escala de locus de controle interno-externo de Rotter: um estudo exploratório. Arquivos Brasileiros de Psicologia, 31 (4), 167-181.

Dela Coleta, J.A. (1980). Atribuições de causalidade em presos, cegos e amputados Tese de doutorado, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro.

Dela Coleta, M. (1987). Escala multidimensional de locus de controle de Levenson. Arquivos Brasileiros de Psicologia, 39 (2), 79-97.

Halford, K., & Foddy, M. (1982). Cognitive and social skills correlates of social anxiety. British Journal Clinical Psycholody, 21 (Feb), 17-28.

Kernis, M.H., Cornell, D.P., Sun, C., Berry, A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: the importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (6), 1190-1204.

Kremer, J.F., Bringle, R.G., & Cave, P. (1980). Anxiety and aggression of high and low assertive persons following conflict. Personality and Individual Differences, 1 (4), 355-361.

Lange, A.J., & Jakuboviski, P. (1978). Responsible assertive behavior Illinois: Research Press.

Levenson, H. (1973). Activism and powerful others. Journal Consulting Clinical Psychology, 41 (3), 397-404.

Molinari, V., & Kanna, P. (1981). Locus of control and its relationship to anxiety and depression. Journal of Personality Assessment,45 (3), 314-319.

Orenstein, H., Orenstein, E., & Carr, J.E. (1975). Assertiveness and anxiety: correlational study. Journal Behavior Therapy Experimental Psychiatry, 6 (3), 203-207.

Pachman, J.S., & Foy, D.W. (1978). A correlational investigation of anxiety, self-esteem and depression: New findings with behavioral measures of assertiveness. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 9 (2), 97-101.

Pasquali, L., & Gouveia, V. (1990). Escala de Assertividade Rathus - RAS: adaptação brasileira. Psicologia Teoria e Pesquisa, 6 (3), 233-249.

Rangé, B.P. (1994). Terapia cognitivo-comportamental da fobia social. Journal Brasileiro da Psiquiatria, 43 (6), 327-331.

Rathus, S.A. (1973). 30-Item schedule for assessing assertive behavior. Behavior Therapy, 4 (3), 398-406.

Riggio, R.E., Throckmorton, B., & DePaola, S. (1990). Social Skills and Self-Esteem. Person Individ Diff, 11 (8), 799-804.

Riggio, R.E., Watring, K.P., & Throckmorton, B. (1993). Social Skills, Social Support, and Psychosocial Adjustment. Person Individ Diff, 15 (3), 175-280.

Rotter, J.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychology Monography, 80 (1), Whole Nş 609.

Schwartz, R.M., & Gottman, J.M. (1976). Toward a task analisis of Assertive Behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44 (6), 910-920.

Spielberger, C.D., Gorsuch, R.L., & Lushene, R.E. (1970). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychology Press.

Strahan, E.Y. (2002). The effects of social anxiety and social skills on academic performance. Person Individ Diff, 34 (2), 347-366.

Stopa, L., & Clark, D.M. (1993). Cognitive processes in social phobia. Behav Res Ther, 31 (3), 255-267.

Tomaka, J. (1999). Assertiveness predicts threat and challenge reactions to potential stress among women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76 (6), 1008-1021.

Williams, J., & Stout, J. (1985). The effect of high and low assetiveness on locus of control and health problems. The Journal of Psychology, 119 (2),169-173.

Wolpe, J.S. (1958). Psychoterapy by reciprocal inhibition Stanford: Standord University Press.

Wolpe, J., & Lazarus, A.A. (1966). Behavior therapy techniques Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Wolpe, J. (1973). The practice of behavior therapy New York: Pergamon Press.

Wolpe, J. (1981). The Dichotomy Between Classical Condictioned and Cognitively Learned Anxiety. Journal of Behavior Therapy Experimental Psychiatry, 12 (1), 35-42.

Published

2005-06-30

How to Cite

BANDEIRA, M. ., QUAGLIA, M. A. C. ., BACHETTI, L. da S. ., FERREIRA, T. L. ., & SOUZA, G. G. de. (2005). Assertive behavior and its relation to anxiety, locus of control and self esteem in undergraduate students. Psychological Studies, 22(2). Retrieved from https://seer.sis.puc-campinas.edu.br/estpsi/article/view/6740