The Assessment and Training of Assertive Skills with Drug Addicts: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The effects of a short-term behaviorally-oriented assertion training program were evaluated with a sample of drug-abuse patients concurrently involved in an ongoing inpatient program. Assertion questionnaire and verbal performance data were obtained from both a treatment and a no-treatment group prior to and following 3 wk of assertion training. Consistent and significant group differences on the verbal behavior variables, but not on the questionnaire data were indicated. The assessment of assertion by situationally defined problem areas may be more accurate and sensitive to change than a more general definition and assessment of assertive behavior.