Promoting assertiveness in youth in foster care: Pilot testing a brief intervention in a randomized trial

Children in foster care lead their lives at an increased risk for mental health issues. Often, these are complicated by the unstable and unpredictable nature of their living arrangements and interpersonal relationships. As such, there is substantial need to examine brief therapies and interventions for use with children in foster care and children who have experienced similar trauma and instability. The present study is a pilot investigation of the efficacy of a brief behavioral intervention targeting help-seeking behavior and assertiveness skills provided to a sample of children in foster care (N = 23). Three, 30-min group sessions of a targeted assertiveness skills intervention were developed and conducted on a sample of children in foster care and compared to an assessment-only control group. Measures of assertive tendencies, emotions towards seeking help, and assertive help-seeking skills were collected at pretest and posttest to assess the efficacy of the intervention. Participants who received the intervention significantly improved on measures of general assertiveness, F(1, 20) = 9.672, p < 0.01, d = 1.33, MD = 2.73, 95% CI [−0.90, 4.56], and assertiveness skills, F(1, 20) = 24.237, p < 0.01, d = 1.78, MD = 15.54, 95% CI [8.96, 22.13], though not on the measure of emotions towards situations in which they would use these skills to seek help, F(1, 20) = 2.218, p = 0.152, d = 0.37, MD = 6.36, 95% CI [−2.55, 15.28]). These findings provide preliminary support for the use of a brief intervention to teach assertiveness and help-seeking skills to a population of children in the foster system who are uniquely in need of brief intervention due to the instability of their living arrangements. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.