[Cognitive and emotional approach to assertiveness]

Assertiveness is an individual function which allows adaptation to social interaction. It needs an heterogeneous psychological processus using behavioral, cognitive and emotional components in its expression. Dysfunction in assertiveness contributes to anxious, depressive and personality disorders, representing a frequent impairment for patients. Assertiveness was measured in a population of patients with anxious disorders (n = 33) without concomitant major depression. Rathus Assertiveness Schedule was used for the clinical evaluation, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Coopersmith Inventory was also used for clinical measure of depression, anxiety and self-esteem. Global score to Rathus Assertiveness, correlated no specifically with all the others emotional factors. This multidimensional function would benefit to a more discriminant approach, measuring first behavioral and cognitive skills employed in social adaptation and secondly the emotional component of the processus.