Assertiveness: 6 questionnaires and rating scales
Assertiveness questionnaires are psychometric tools that measure the ability to express one's needs, set boundaries and handle social situations. They help identify assertiveness difficulties and target the therapeutic work.
RASA
Rathus Assertiveness Schedule for Adolescents (RASA)
The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule for Adolescents (RASA) is a self-report tool designed to measure the level of assertiveness in adolescents. It helps identify difficulties in expressing one's opinions and needs, or in asserting one's rights in various social situations. The resulting score helps psychologists target areas for intervention and assess progress during therapy follow-up.
SAS
Self-Assertion Scale (SAS)
The Self-Assertion Scale (SAS) assesses an individual's ability to assert themselves in various everyday situations, including expressing their emotions, requests, refusals and opinions to others. This tool is particularly useful in clinical practice for identifying assertiveness difficulties that may be linked to anxiety or depressive disorders or to relational issues. It is also used in assertiveness training groups.
CAT
Chalvin Assertiveness Test (CAT)
This tool is designed to assess the extent to which a person is able to assert themselves in various situations. This type of test helps to understand a person's behaviors and attitudes regarding assertiveness, such as maintaining open communication, the ability to express their needs and opinions, and managing conflicts effectively.
RAS
Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS)
This questionnaire is designed to assess a patient's level of assertiveness, that is, their ability to express their opinions, needs, and emotions clearly and respectfully, without aggressiveness or passivity. This test helps the therapist better understand how the patient interacts in social or personal contexts and identify any difficulties they may have in standing up for their point of view or expressing their feelings.
SCS
Self-Confidence Scale (SCS)
The Self-Confidence Scale (SCS), developed by M. LaFrance, is a self-report tool measuring different aspects of an individual's self-confidence. This questionnaire is used in clinical and research contexts to assess the level of confidence the person perceives in various everyday situations.
AI
Assertion Inventory (AI)
Gambrill and Richey's (1975) Assertion Inventory is a self-report questionnaire that measures an individual's degree of assertiveness across different social situations. It helps psychologists identify specific difficulties in expressing or defending one's rights, opinions or feelings appropriately, without excessive anxiety.
Frequently asked questions
What is the point of assessing assertiveness?
It helps quantify difficulties in expressing oneself and handling social situations, identify the contexts involved and measure the progress of the therapeutic work.
Is assertiveness linked to social anxiety?
The two are often associated but distinct. The assessment helps specify the share of social inhibition and guide the most relevant areas of work.
Are these scales suitable for monitoring?
Yes. Repeated administration is useful for assessing how assertive behaviors change over the course of training or therapy.
Assertiveness in clinical practice
A lack of assertiveness shows up as difficulty saying no, making a request or expressing disagreement, often at the cost of discomfort or avoidance. It is common in social anxiety and in some dependent patterns of functioning.
Scales help distinguish inhibition from aggressiveness and specify the problematic situations. They support the move toward behavioral work and the tracking of progress.
- Distinguish assertiveness, inhibition and aggressiveness.
- Identify the social situations being avoided.
- Track the progress of behavioral work.