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Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales (AAA-S)

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Abstract

Diminished assertiveness has been associated with neuroticism, depression, and anxiety. Although many assertiveness instruments have been developed for research and clinical purposes, one common shortcoming is a lack of discriminant validity with regard to aggression. Further, the wording of many instruments is outdated and discriminatory. The goal of the present research was to develop a more sensitive instrument measuring two distinguishable forms of assertiveness: adaptive assertiveness and aggressive assertiveness. We present data validating such a measure, the Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales (AAA-S). Participants included two samples of college students and a clinical sample of adults with anxiety disorders. The AAA-S demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The aggressive assertiveness scale was associated with various forms of aggression and peer reports of aggressive assertiveness. The adaptive assertiveness scale was associated with competence and peer reports of adaptive assertiveness. Importantly, there were no gender differences in adaptive assertiveness. Clinical implications are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The way assertiveness has been conceptualized may shed light on why many assertiveness instruments confound assertiveness and aggression. For example, assertiveness is seen as a part of agency (Bakan 1966), a set of personality traits including dominance, independence, leadership and control. Indeed, many conceptualize assertiveness as similar to dominance (e.g., Twenge 2001). Similarly, much of the early work on assertiveness was based, in part, on a model by Wolpe (1954), which did not distinguish between nonaggressive and aggressive expression.

  2. We are defining interpersonal conflict rather broadly—as a situation involving someone else in which one person’s needs are being threatened or are not being met.

  3. There are other ways of getting one’s needs met such as acting passive aggressively. However, we consider such responses unassertive because they get needs met in an indirect or passive way.

  4. Degrees of freedom vary across analyses due to missing data (e.g., participant omitting items of an instrument).

  5. Four items (#3, 5, 11 & 19) were slightly revised to update occupational names and/or to minimize heterosexist terminology. For example, the item, “I often don’t know what to say to attractive persons of the opposite sex” was revised to “I often don’t know what to say to a person whom I find attractive.” Other examples include changing “salesmen” to “salesperson” and changing the terms “waiter” or “waitress” to “server.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Jordan Hall, Bldg 420, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Renee J. Thompson

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Howard Berenbaum

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  1. Renee J. Thompson
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  2. Howard Berenbaum
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Correspondence to Renee J. Thompson.

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Renee Thompson is now a postdoctoral fellow at Department of Psychology, Stanford University.

Appendix A. Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales

Appendix A. Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales

Below is a list of different common situations you may experience in daily life. Following each situation is a variety of responses. Rate to what extent each response best describes how you would react to the given situation. Here is an example:

figure a

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Thompson, R.J., Berenbaum, H. Adaptive and Aggressive Assertiveness Scales (AAA-S). J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33, 323–334 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-011-9226-9

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