title: Do As I Say: Using Communication Role-Plays to Assess Sexual Assertiveness Following an Intervention.
abstract: Sexual risk reduction interventions are often ineffective for women who drink alcohol. The present study examines whether an alcohol-related sexual risk reduction intervention successfully trains women to increase assertive communication behaviors and decrease aggressive communication behaviors. Women demonstrated their communication skills during interactive role-plays with male role-play partners. Young, unmarried, and nonpregnant African American women (N = 228, ages 18-24) reporting unprotected vaginal or anal sex and greater than three alcoholic drinks in the past 90 days were randomly assigned to a control, a sexual risk reduction, or a sexual and alcohol risk reduction (NLITEN) condition. Women in the NLITEN condition significantly increased assertive communication behavior compared to women in the control condition, yet use of aggressive communicative behaviors was unchanged. These data suggest assertive communication training is an efficacious component of a sexual and alcohol risk reduction intervention. Public health practitioners and health educators may benefit from group motivational enhancement therapy (GMET) training and adding a GMET module to existing sexual health risk reduction interventions. Future research should examine GMET's efficacy in combination with other evidence-based interventions within other populations and examine talking over and interrupting one's sexual partner as an assertive communication behavior within sexual health contexts.
authors.affiliation: CDC Foundation, Atlanta, GA, USA lauraminm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Mercer Kollar
authors.affiliation: Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, USA.|Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Teaniese L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Monahan
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Samp
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Valerie B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Coles
authors.affiliation: Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Erin L P
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica McDermott
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sales
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Comer
authors.affiliation: Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Worley
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Ralph J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: DiClemente
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D001242:Assertiveness; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: aggressive communication; alcohol risk reduction; assertive communication; health intervention; role-play; sexual risk reduction