Citation

Weitlauf JC, Smith RE, Cervone D. J. Appl. Psychol. 2000; 85(4): 625-633.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. weitlauf@uic.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10948806

Abstract

Concern for personal safety is a pervasive stressor for many women. Developing competencies in physical self-defense may empower women to engage more freely in daily activities with less fear. This study assessed the effects of physical self-defense training on multiple aspects of women's perceived self-efficacy and other self-reported personality characteristics. Training powerfully increased task-specific (self-defense) efficacy beliefs as well as physical and global efficacy beliefs. Training increased self-reported assertiveness, and posttraining decreases in hostility and aggression were found on several of the subscales of The Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992), indicating that training did not have an aggression-disinhibiting effect. In the experimental condition, most of the effects were maintained (and some delayed effects appeared at follow-up.

Language: en