Components of assertiveness: their relationships with assertive rights and depressed mood among Chinese college students in Hong Kong

Components of assertiveness and depressive symptoms of 183 Chinese university undergraduate students were assessed in their responses to the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule and the Beck Depression Inventory. Three dimensions of assertiveness emerged: expressing, confronting and demanding responses. These components were found to relate differentially to the beliefs in specific assertive rights, although there was no evidence that nonassertive behaviors could arise from beliefs that one did not have the rights to act assertively. Nonassertive responses, especially in expressing and disclosing oneself, correlated with depressed mood. Implications for cross-cultural comparison and assertiveness training among the Chinese are discussed.