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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Dec;43(6):691-698.
doi: 10.1177/1090198116630528. Epub 2016 May 10.

Do As I Say: Using Communication Role-Plays to Assess Sexual Assertiveness Following an Intervention

Laura M Mercer Kollar  1 , Teaniese L Davis  2   3 , Jennifer L Monahan  4 , Jennifer A Samp  4 , Valerie B Coles  4 , Erin L P Bradley  5 , Jessica McDermott Sales  3 , Sarah K Comer  4 , Timothy Worley  6 , Eve Rose  3 , Ralph J DiClemente  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Do As I Say: Using Communication Role-Plays to Assess Sexual Assertiveness Following an Intervention

Laura M Mercer Kollar et al. Health Educ Behav. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Sexual risk reduction interventions are often ineffective for women who drink alcohol. The present study examines whether an alcohol-related sexual risk reduction intervention successfully trains women to increase assertive communication behaviors and decrease aggressive communication behaviors. Women demonstrated their communication skills during interactive role-plays with male role-play partners. Young, unmarried, and nonpregnant African American women (N = 228, ages 18-24) reporting unprotected vaginal or anal sex and greater than three alcoholic drinks in the past 90 days were randomly assigned to a control, a sexual risk reduction, or a sexual and alcohol risk reduction (NLITEN) condition. Women in the NLITEN condition significantly increased assertive communication behavior compared to women in the control condition, yet use of aggressive communicative behaviors was unchanged. These data suggest assertive communication training is an efficacious component of a sexual and alcohol risk reduction intervention. Public health practitioners and health educators may benefit from group motivational enhancement therapy (GMET) training and adding a GMET module to existing sexual health risk reduction interventions. Future research should examine GMET's efficacy in combination with other evidence-based interventions within other populations and examine talking over and interrupting one's sexual partner as an assertive communication behavior within sexual health contexts.

Keywords: aggressive communication; alcohol risk reduction; assertive communication; health intervention; role-play; sexual risk reduction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intervention enrollment, 40% randomized to role-play assessment, and complete audio computer assisted self-interview (ACASI) and role-play assessment data counts.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Assertive communication behavior at baseline and postintervention by intervention condition. Note. GMET = group motivational enhancement therapy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Talking over/interrupting partner at baseline and postintervention by intervention condition. Note. GMET = group motivational enhancement therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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