Assertiveness Scale for Adolescents (ASA)

You and your best friend have four tickets for the football game. Your other two friends do not show up, leaving you both with an extra ticket. Your best friend says 'If you give me your extra ticket, I will try to sell them both.' Your best friend does sell both, but doesn't give you your share of the money. Would you... A) Accept your friend's actions because you think that your friend earned the extra money by selling your ticket. B) Say calmly, 'Give me my money.' C) Say 'You crook. I am telling you now that if you don't give me the money it will be the end of our friendship.'

Your mother has sent you shopping for food. The supermarket is busy and you are waiting patiently at the check-out. Your mother has told you to hurry. Suddenly the woman behind you pushes you with her shopping cart and says 'Hey, you don't mind if I go first, do you? I'm in a hurry.' Would you... A) Feel unhappy with the way she treats you, but calm yourself down and say 'Okay' and let the woman go first. B) Push the woman's cart and say, 'You've got a nerve butting in like that,' and refuse to give her your place in the line. C) Say, 'Yes I can see that, but I am in a hurry too. Please wait your turn or go to another check-out.'

A school friend of yours has been spreading lies about you. As a result, most of your other friends now avoid you and talk about you behind your back. Today you happen to run into your school friend in the cafeteria. You are greeted as if nothing has happened. Would you... A) Talk with your friend, and pretend that you do not know about the lies your friend has told. B) Say, 'Well, well, I'm glad I have finally caught up with you. We have a little matter to settle, liar.' C) Say, 'I am hurt by the rumors that you have been spreading about me. I thought you were my friend, and I am surprised that you did this to me. If you have a reason I would like you to tell me so that we can get this matter sorted out.'

You often do favors for your friends. One of your friends, however, requests many more favors than the others. In fact, you think that some of this friend's requests are unreasonable, and that you are being used. Today this friend again asks for a favor. Would you... A) Do the favor because friendship is very important to you. B) Make up an excuse and tell your friend that you are too busy to help today. C) Say to your friend, 'Lately you have been asking for a lot of favors and some of them are unreasonable. This time I will say no. Friendship is a two-way street.'

You are a member of the school basketball team. The coach has promised that everyone will get a chance to play in this game. There are only five minutes left to play in the game and the coach hasn't put you in yet. Would you... A) Get up, walk over to the coach, swear, and stomp out. B) Stay on the bench. You think that you can learn a lot of things by watching others play. C) Approach the coach and remind him that you haven't been in the game yet.

Today you got back your graded test paper. After talking with your classmates, you feel that one of your answers was not graded fairly. Later in the day your teacher greets you in the corridor. Would you... A) Say, 'Hello. By the way, I believe that one of my answers was not graded fairly. Could we go over this together?' B) Say, 'Hello. I think you have been very unfair to me.' C) Not think that this is the time to argue over a grade so you simply say 'Hi,' and continue walking.

A classmate of yours missed a test and asks you for your test paper when you are walking home together. You know that the teacher is going to give the same test to those that missed the first one. You don't think that it is fair to allow your friend to get a good grade by studying only the answers to the questions on the test. Would you... A) Refuse to give your test paper to your friend and say that you are no longer friends. B) Refuse to give your test paper to your friend and explain why you think it would be wrong for your friend to use it. C) Give your classmate your test paper because keeping a good classmate means a lot to you.

Your favorite teacher asks you to volunteer one or two hours a day to help with an extracurricular project. You are doing well in his class, but are behind in some of your other subjects and are afraid that you might fail. Would you... A) Say, 'I will think about it,' and then do your best to avoid that teacher. B) Agree to work on the project because you are afraid that the teacher's feelings will be hurt if you refuse, even though you are not happy about doing it. C) Say 'No,' and explain that you would like to help, but you need the time to catch up on your other subjects.

You are having dinner at a friend's house. After sitting down at the table you discover that everything is served on your plate, including a vegetable you hate. This vegetable has made you sick in the past. Your friend's mother says, 'The rule in this house is that you eat everything on your plate.' Would you... A) Force yourself to eat the vegetable because you don't wish to cause any embarrassment at your friend's house. B) Tell her that in the past this vegetable has made you sick and that you don't think it would be wise for you to eat it now. C) Say nothing, but to show your displeasure you get up quietly, leave the table, and go home.

You are standing in a line at the popcorn booth in the movie theater. The show is going to start in a few minutes and you don't want to miss the beginning. Finally you get to the counter. As the girl is about to serve you, a man behind you shouts his order and the girl starts to serve him first. Would you... A) Simply say, 'Sorry, I was next,' and proceed to order your popcorn. B) Say to the man, 'You've got your nerve pushing in like that,' and then say to the girl, 'What's the idea of serving him first?' C) Wait until the girl asks for your order, even though you are upset, and decide that you will never go back to that movie theater again.

You buy a game at a store. When you get home you discover that some of the pieces are missing. You go back to the store to ask for a refund or a replacement. When you talk to the cashier about it, she says 'That's too bad,' but does nothing about it. Would you... A) Say nothing, leave the store, and decide never to go back there again. B) Get angry at the cashier, throw the game on the floor, and walk out. C) Say, 'I know it's too bad, but I insist that the game be replaced or that a refund be given.'

Your teacher singles you out in class by saying loudly, 'Your answers to these problems are very similar to those of one of your classmates. I'll let it pass this time, but don't let it happen again.' You didn't copy anybody's work and your teacher is wrong in suggesting that you cheated. Would you... A) Don't say anything, pick up a book, and start reading it as if you had never been spoken to. B) Say, 'I didn't cheat, and I resent the suggestion that I did.' C) Say nothing because you are angry, hoping you will be able to get back at the teacher later.

You are traveling by bus to another city. The bus is crowded and you are sitting in the no smoking section. The man sitting beside you is smoking one cigarette after another. You are beginning to feel sick. Would you... A) Do nothing, fight off the smoke and hope that the driver will come and give him a warning. B) Angrily stare at him and hope that he will get the message soon. C) Say to the man, 'I would appreciate it if you would stop smoking because it is making me sick. You know this is a no smoking section.'

It is Saturday and you have just finished doing your chores. Now you would like to go out and play with your friends. Your mother, however, tells you that you are to babysit your younger sister for the afternoon. Would you... A) Say, 'I would like to go out and play with my friends.' B) Say, 'Yes, mother,' even though you don't want to babysit. C) Ignore your mother's request and walk out of the house.

During an exam the student behind you asks for a Kleenex. Since you have some, you pass one back. The teacher sees this and accuses you of cheating. Would you... A) Say, 'I'm sorry,' and continue working on the exam, even though you are upset. B) Tell the teacher that the student behind you asked for a Kleenex and that you passed one back. C) Look back at your friend hoping that he will speak on your behalf, realizing that only your friend can help you.

Your best friend has continually borrowed money from you for several days and hasn't paid you back. Today you don't have the money and need a dollar to buy lunch. You ask your best friend for some money and are refused. Would you... A) Say nothing and decide that this is the end of your friendship, although you are hurt. B) Say, 'Isn't it great when you continually ask me for money and I give it to you? Well, from now on you can forget about asking me for any more money.' C) Say, 'I've been lending money to you for several days and it bugs me that you can't return the favor just once.'

You are waiting in line at a store. The customer in front of you has been chatting to the cashier for at least five minutes. It is almost supper time and you are in a hurry to get home. Would you... A) Say nothing, and walk out of the store, without getting what you came for. B) Interrupt the cashier and the other customer and say, 'Hey, don't you people think it's about time that you shut up? Can't you see that I've been waiting here for more than five minutes?' C) Say, 'Excuse me, I have waited quite some time and would like to be served now.'

Today is Wednesday and your science notebook is due on Friday. One of your friends who is behind in this subject asks to borrow your notebook to catch up. You need to do some more work on the notebook yourself. Would you... A) Lend your notebook for the sake of your friendship even though you have more work to do on it yourself. B) Say, 'No, you may not have it. I still have work to do on it before Friday.' C) Say, 'Let me think about it,' and then try to avoid him, hoping he will not ask you again.

You are waiting at the bus stop with a lot of packages. When the bus arrives it is almost full and you are lucky to get the last seat. After you sit down you notice that you have dropped one of your packages. When you leave your seat to pick it up, someone else takes your seat. Would you... A) Say nothing and stand up in the aisle because you don't want to make a big fuss over a seat. B) Say, 'Excuse me, that's my seat.' C) Stare angrily at the person, hoping the person will get the message and give up the seat.

You and your classmate have just completed a school project together. You, however, have done most of the work. The teacher is very pleased, especially with the drawings you did. The teacher asks which one of you did the drawings. Before you can say anything, your classmate claims credit for doing them. Would you... A) Say, 'That's not true. I did the drawings.' B) Ignore what has been said because you don't want to embarrass your classmate in front of your teacher. C) Say to your teacher, 'He is a liar,' and say to your classmate, 'I will never work on another project with you again.'

Your teacher has told you that you have been doing very well in class lately, and that your grade will go up from the B you received on your first report card. She has said that you might get an A. Today you receive your final mark and discover with disbelief that it is still a B. Would you... A) Ask the teacher why you were given a B when you were told that your grade would be higher. B) Accept the fact that you received only a B, because you feel that you must have done something recently to change the teacher's mind. C) Say nothing to your teacher, but spread the word among your friends that your teacher lied to you.

You have agreed to babysit for your neighbor for 75 cents an hour. You don't really like the neighbor's kids because they always give you a hard time at bedtime. Tonight is worse than usual. When your neighbor comes home, he says that he will pay you only 50 cents an hour. Would you... A) Say nothing, take the 50 cents an hour, and decide that you will never babysit his kids again. B) Say, 'You promised me 75 cents an hour. It is only fair that you give it to me.' C) Accept the 50 cents an hour because it is better than nothing, and go home very unhappy.

You are playing baseball with your friends in the backyard. One of them accidentally breaks a neighbor's window. Later, when the neighbor comes home, you are called over and blamed for breaking the window. Your neighbor says, 'I know you did it. Be more careful next time.' Would you... A) Tell her that it was an accident, but that you didn't do it. B) Say nothing, but the next day break another window on purpose. C) Say, 'Okay,' and accept the blame so that your friend will not get in trouble.

Your mother's friend comes over to your house and asks you to run an errand for her. It is time to go to your swimming lesson and if you do this errand you will be late. To make matters worse, your mother supports her friend's request. Would you... A) Refuse to do the errand, and tell your mother's friend that she should do it herself. B) Say nothing and do the errand, even though you'll be late for your swimming lesson. C) Tell your mother and her friend that you have a swimming lesson, and that you will be late if you run this errand.

You and your two friends are hungry, so you go to the nearest snack bar. The waitress takes your orders—two hamburgers with the works, and one without onion. You hate onions. When she brings back the hamburgers, all three have onions on them. Would you... A) Say nothing, and scrape the onion off the hamburger. B) Call the waitress over and tell her that you ordered a hamburger without onion. You ask her to get another one with no onions. C) Get angry at the waitress and say, 'Are you dumb?'