Hint of the Month and News Update - March, 2004
Past Hints
 
March 2004 Hint
Understanding the Personality Assessment Categories

Four sets of items focusing on aspects of individual personality are included in the V2000 PREPARE-ENRICH inventories:
 

    Self-Confidence 

    How positively a person feels about him/herself and their ability to control things in their life.

    Assertiveness 

    The ability of a person to express thoughts, feelings and needs to their partner and to ask for what they want.

    Avoidance 

    A person’s tendency to minimise issues and an unwillingness or inability to deal with issues directly.

    Partner Dominance 

    A person’s sense that their partner is trying to control them and is dominating their life.

It might be helpful to note an important difference between some of these categories.

Of the four, three have a very direct connection to the relationship – assertiveness, avoidance and partner dominance.  An individual’s profile on these three categories will be both influenced by and have an influence on the quality of the relationship.  The items assessing these categories are strongly related to the couple relationship.  They are about “me and my partner”:
 

    Example: It is difficult for me to share negative feelings with my partner.(Item 121 - assertiveness)

The fourth, self-confidence, is more general and the questions assessing this category are more independent of the relationship. The items are more about “me and life in general”:

    Example: I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life. (Item 114 – self-confidence)

This not to suggest that self-confidence will not be affected by the quality of the couple relationship, but the wording of the questions is not as closely tied to the experience of the relationship to the same extent that it is for assertiveness, avoidance and partner dominance.  It will be helpful to keep this issue in mind when you are working on the personality categories.

Past Hints 

News Update:  

    If you have not already read it, the December 2003 issue of the Newsletter, the Prepare Diary, is available on this web site.  Access is via this link:  Newsletter - December 2003

    Brief articles are included on marriage enrichment programs, understanding positive and negative items, as well as an update on Prepare-CC. 

    Skills development training seminars are listed at: Skills Development Opportunities

    The cost of processing has not been increased and remains at $38.50 (inclding GST).