Personal predictors of assertiveness in adolescence and early youthful period

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to examine the personal characteristics that would predict assertiveness among adolescence and youth. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the changing in assertiveness from early adolescence to youth is not sufficiently studied, while it is important quality for the successful integration of the younger generation into modern society. The goal of the study was to identify predictors of assertiveness in the younger, older adolescence and youthful periods of development. The investigated variables are parameters of self-attitude, personality traits, social intelligence, and behavioral strategies. The sample consisted of 201 people (98 boys, 103 girls), 67 people in each age group: younger teenagers (11-13 years old), older teenagers (14-16 years old) and youth (17-18 years old). Methods used were: Levinson's Assertiveness test, questionnaire ‘Components of Self-attitude’ (S.R. Pantileev), R. Cattell’s Factor personality questionnaire (16PF), the Four Factor Test of Social Intelligence (the Guilford-Sullivan test), and S.E. Hobfoll's Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS). The research revealed that assertiveness slowly increases from younger adolescence to youth; however, assertiveness is not yet a formed personality trait even in youthful period. A central predictor of assertiveness is emotional stability in early adolescence and positive self-image in later adolescence. In youth period, predictors of assertiveness are contradictory, among them are seeking social support, aggressive action, social translations, and reflective self-attitude. Thus, during youthful period, assertiveness is close to aggressive actions, however, in the process of reflection, aggressive and assertive behavior are differentiated and corrected depending on support or condemnation from others.