Effects of Assertiveness Training on the Self-Esteem of Black High School Students

Effects of assertiveness training on assertive behaviors and self-esteem were investigated among Black high school students. Results showed a significant difference between scores of males and females on the written assertiveness measure. Scores of the 9 females in the experimental group accounted for all of the change, whereas scores of the 18 males actually dropped somewhat. No significant differences appeared on assertiveness or self-esteem across conditions, however. Possible reasons for lack of effects of the training are discussed. Continued study is necessary to identify ways for Blacks to meet their needs by moving from passive or aggressive approaches to assertive ones.     

Cogent Bodies,Self-Aware Souls: An Apologetic for Theater in Christian Higher Education

Mission statements of Christian institutions of higher education often include the purpose of forming individuals to live out their Christian commitments in larger society. This article presents the case that including theater in Christian higher education prepares students to further God's kingdom in this world after graduation—whether or not they do so through the medium of theater. Specifically, the argument is that training in theater serves two primary and interrelated goals in students' development: cogent bodies, capable of representing God to others through relationships, and self-aware souls, foundational for the development of character. The conclusion offers a case example of a successful theater program at Wheaton College.     

Mysterium Christi: the Christologies of Maurice de la Taille and Karl Rahner

Abstract: This article argues that Maurice de la Taille's theology of created actuation by uncreated Act constructively develops Karl Rahner's Christology. The first part gives an account of de la Taille's theology of created actuation by uncreated Act through an examination of the three supernatural communications of the hypostatic union, beatific vision and sanctifying grace. The second part dialogically integrates the insights of de la Taille's theology with Rahner's Christology. The article demonstrates that de la Taille's theology could develop Rahner's Christology. This conclusion raises the question of the value of scholasticism as a method of theology.     

THE STRUCTURE OF CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION BASED ON SEVEN MAJOR PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRES

The purpose of this study was to identify the underlying structure of the trait domain of Conscientiousness using scales drawn from 7 major personality inventories. Thirty-six scales conceptually related to Conscientiousness were administered to a large community sample ( N = 737); analyses of those scales revealed a hierarchical structure with 6 factors: industriousness, order, self-control, responsibility, traditionalism, and virtue. All 6 factors demonstrated excellent convergent validity. Three of the 6 factors, industriousness, order, and self-control, showed good discriminant validity. The remaining 3 factors—responsibility, traditionalism and virtue—appear to be interstitial constructs located equally between Conscientiousness and the remaining Big Five dimensions. In addition, the 6 underlying factors had both differential predictive validity and provided incremental validity beyond the general factor of Conscientiousness when used to predict a variety of criterion variables, including work dedication, drug use, and health behaviors.