چكيده لاتين
This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of assertiveness skills training on emotional regulation, empathy, and life expectancy of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of this research was 84 students included all female students of the first secondary school with the age range of 16 to 21 years old and IQ score of 50 to 70 in schools of exceptional children in Isfahan. Among them, 30 students were selected by using available method and randomly assigned into two groups: experimental (15 students) and control (15 students). Both groups initially participated in a pre-test and Emotional Behavioral Regulation Questionnaire of Kraij and Garnesky (2019), the Empathy and Sympathy Questionnaire of Vossen and et al (2015), and Life Expectancy of Ginvera and et al Questionnaire (2017), as explained by the researcher. Subsequently, the experimental group was trained in assertiveness skills by Brown and Caramichael (1992) during 11 sessions of 40-minute. After the sessions, both groups underwent a post-test using the aforementioned questionnaires. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and univariate analysis of covariance with SPSS-25 software. The results indicated the effectiveness of assertiveness skills training in improving empathy, hope for life, other-directedness, and reducing disregard in the experimental group students. Assertiveness skills training, by creating a space for expressing emotions, familiarizing with courage techniques, nonverbal communication components, listening skills, questioning, and understanding individual rights, led to self-awareness, increased self-esteem, feelings of worth and optimism, and had a positive effect on emotional regulation, empathy, and hope for life in students with intellectual and developmental disabilities According to the statistical results, teaching assertiveness skills had a slight impact on the components of avoidance, active confrontation, and seeking social support, which are part of emotional behavioral regulation factors, and this impact was not statistically significant. Therefore, alongside other psychological treatments, assertiveness skills can be used to reduce problems and improve the performance of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
