title: Substantive differences in the assertiveness of low-income African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian women.
abstract: A sample of 115 low-income African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian women participated in 6 assertiveness role plays. A content analysis of their responses indicated that there are substantive differences in terms of what constitutes passive, assertive, and aggressive responses. The findings suggest that there are basic conceptual differences across the groups regarding connections and obligations to others. Differences in perceptions of assertiveness point to the culturally specific nature of assertiveness. Functionally, each group of women was able to stand up for themselves, yet boundaries between appropriate and inappropriate responding were placed somewhat differently across groups, depending on the situation.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025-4600, USA. mry5@columbia.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001242:Assertiveness; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D012381:Role Playing; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*