title: The Effectiveness of Group Assertiveness Training on Happiness in Rural Adolescent Females With Substance Abusing Parents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parental substance abuse confronts children with a variety of psychological, social, and behavioral problems. Children of substance abusing parents show higher levels of psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression and exert lower levels of communication skills. Weak social skills in this group of adolescents put them at a higher risk for substance abuse. Many studies showed school based interventions such as life skill training can effective on future substance abusing in these high risk adolescences.
  
  
  METHODS
  The participants consisted of 57 middles schools girls, all living in rural areas and having both parents with substance dependency. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n=28) and control (n=29) groups. The data were collected before and six weeks after training in both group. The intervention group received eight sessions of group assertiveness training. Participants were compared in terms of changes in scores on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the Gambrills-Richey Assertion Inventory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total score for happiness change from 43.68 ±17.62 to 51.57 ±16.35 and assertiveness score changed from 110.33±16.05 to 90.40±12.84. There was a significant difference in pretest-posttest change in scores for intervention (7.89±4.13) and control (-2.51±2.64) groups; t (55) =2.15, p = 0.049. These results suggest that intervention really does have an effect on happiness and assertiveness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Determining the effectiveness of these school based interventions on other life aspects such as substance abuse calls for further study on these rural adolescent girls.
authors.forename: Seyed Kaveh
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hojjat
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Golmakani
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Norozi Khalili
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shakeri Chenarani
authors.forename: Mahin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamidi
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akaberi
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. rezaeia@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rezaei Ardani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001242:Assertiveness; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012424:Rural Population; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome