Which Assertiveness Competencies Count Most? Assessing Assertiveness, Passiveness, and Aggressiveness With a New Online Questionnaire

Data collected online from a convenience sample of 16,033 people from 83 countries were analyzed to determine (a) which of four empirically-derived assertiveness competencies - Communicating Proactively, Expressing Your Needs and Desires, Standing Up for Yourself, and Presenting Yourself Confidently - best predicted four self-reported positive life outcomes and (b) how well those life outcomes were predicted by measures of assertiveness, passiveness, and aggressiveness. Regression analyses showed that the competency "Presenting Yourself Confidently" was the best predictor of life outcomes. Assertiveness was positively correlated with those outcomes; passiveness was negatively correlated with them; and the relationship between aggressiveness and those outcomes was orderly and complex, suggesting that aggressiveness has both benefits and costs. Our results also confirmed the value of assertiveness training.