ABSTRACT
The purpose of the assertiveness support group was to apply concepts underlying assertive behaviors in order to manage effectively the psychosocial factors related to adjustment to a disability. Women have been characterized as needing protection and desiring dependency, with their main source of identity coming from being mothers or spouses. Assertiveness training appears to offer a basis for building interpersonal skills and learning how to reinforce a healthy self-esteem. B. Morgan and P. Leung conducted an assertiveness training program with physically disabled college students and found that subjects who participated in the sessions demonstrated improvements in inventories that measured acceptance of disability, self-concept/esteem and social interactions. An assertiveness support group for women with visual impairments was formed at Wayne State University to explore the issues such as developing assertive responses. A few women emerged as strong models who had learned how to maintain their self-respect and deal with anxieties in living by acting, rather than refraining from involvement.
