Abstract
The present study had 2 purposes. First, the relation between developmental level of social perspective-taking and preferred self-expression style (assertive, aggressive, nonassertive, indirect, and simplistic) for resolving common interpersonal conflict was investigated ; participants were 38 juvenile delinquents (27 males, 11 females; age range 15 to 19 years). Second, effectiveness of the Voices of Love and Freedom (VLF) program was examined ; 12 juvenile delinquents (8 males, 4 females; age range 16 to 19 years) participated in the program. Voices of Love and Freedom is an intervention program that requires juveniles to understand the different perspectives of characters in a story, and to express their feelings, ideas, and conflicts. The results were as follows : (a) the scores on social perspective-taking and preferred self-expression style were found to be significantly related. In other words, the higher the developmental level of social perspective-taking, the stronger was the participants’ preference for an assertive style. (b) Changes in participants’ scores from pre-test to post-test suggested that the Voices of Love and Freedom program had had a positive impact on the observed increase in social perspective-taking and the participants’ preferred self-expression style. The results suggest that the Voices of Love and Freedom program may promote mutual understanding and lead to improved assertive skills.