Recent research on sex differences in aggressive styles is reviewed. The concept of indirect aggression in particular is presented and discussed, and it is argued that it is nonsensical to claim that males are more aggressive than females. A theory about development of aggressive behavior styles is presented. (SLD)

Describes how art therapists can clarify their roles and assertively sell themselves to the public. Looks at the future of art therapy, defines assertiveness, explores the need for art therapists as mentors, details the need for change, and introduces some practical solutions to achieve change. (RJM)

A man with a developmental disability discusses the self-advocacy movement, the cruelty of stigmatizing labels such as "mentally retarded," and the need for greater involvement in professional organizations such as the American Association on Mental Retardation. He proposes a joint conference with a self-advocacy organization. (DB)

Explores how student motives to communicate with their instructors are influenced jointly by perceived instructor socio-communicative style and student socio-communicative orientation. Finds that female students communicate more for the functional motive than male students and male students communicate more for the relational and the sycophantic…

This study examined whether bullies, victims, and aggressive victims (those who are both bullies and victims) differed on classroom social network variables, gender, and ethnicity. Survey data were collected from a primarily Latino and Asian sample of 1,368 Southern California 6th graders (mean age = 11.3 years). Logistic regression analyses were…

Results of a randomized controlled trial show that a behavioral intervention grounded in social cognitive theory reduces unprotected sexual behaviors among men and women living with HIV infection, with the greatest reductions in HIV transmission risk behaviors occurring with non-HIV-positive sex partners. In this article, the authors describe the…

We assessed perceptions of vulnerability and the desire for personal safety/self-defense (PS/SD) training among 67 female veterans receiving outpatient mental health treatment, primarily for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from sexual and/or physical trauma. Consistent with the literature on the impact of such training on nonclinical…

Uncontrolled outbursts of violence, of both an individual and group nature, are distinctive elements of social and economic changes occurring in Poland. They affect all social environments and institutions in this country, and unfortunately many people believe in violent solutions of problems (at least as represented in the media). Between…

Our action research project report provided students with social skills training to effectively handle bullying situations in the fourth grade. Our study involved 70 fourth-grade students and began Monday, January 14, 2008 and concluded Friday, May 2, 2008. The behaviors documented from the fourth grade students were name calling, exclusion,…

The authors posit that women can rely on self-monitoring to overcome negative gender stereotypes in certain performance contexts. In a study of mixed-sex task groups, the authors found that female group members who were high self-monitors were considered more influential and more valuable contributors than women who were low self-monitors. Men…

The purpose of this study was to identify relations between nurses' interaction styles and patient care interventions (PCI) that occurred after nurse-doctor interactions. A nonparticipant observer recorded interactions of 48 female registered nurses with physicians. Transcripts were coded and assigned to one of five theoretical nurse interaction…

Ten weeks of assertion training was provided to eight mental hospital paraprofessionals. These trained subjects served as either counselor or counselee in a microcounseling session with eight paraprofessionals who were untrained in assertion training. Assertion-trained counselors were superior to untrained counselors on a set of…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference among attitudes of teachers in the Quitman Consolidated School District (Mississippi) toward assertive discipline when the variables of grade level, gender, and years of experience were considered. Significant differences were sought between: (1) elementary, junior…

A study examined some of the questions that have been raised regarding D. A. Infante and A. S. Rancer's (1982) Argumentativeness Scale. Specifically, the wording of the scale was examined. Operating under the principle that the use of the process word "arguing" and the product word "argument," as well as mention of issues or…

This document presents one module in a set of training resources for trainers to use with parents and/or professionals serving children with disabilities; focus is on communication skills. The modules stress content and activities that build skills and offer resources to promote parent-professional collaboration. Each training module takes about 2…