comparison between efficacy of assertive training and assertive training with cognitive restructuring approaches on adolescents with social anxiety

this study investigates the efficacy of assertive training, that is a kind of multi component behavioral procedures, and it's combination with cognitive restructuring (systematic rational restructuring) on the socially anxious girls of 12-14 yrs. for this study 21 socially anxious subjects were matched by age, sex, education and economic background. first, they were evaluated by a number of scales including: school anxiety scale, fear of negative evaluation scale, self statement test, the loneliness scale, the children's self-efficacy scale, assertion test, positive outcome expectancy scale, social interaction – rating scale, and semistructured interview. then they were randomly divided into three groups (two treatment group, and one placebo group). all of them were evaluated with the same instrument immediately at the end of the treatment and one month later. analysis of variance and turkey test revealed that both assertive training and assertive training with cognitive restructuring approaches were more effective than to placebo, but there was no superiorit y o fassertive training with cognitive restructuring to assertive training with relying on behavioral methods, in either of the dimentions of social anxiety in early adolescent girls.