What is anger management therapy? | A therapeutic programme that involves identifying the sings that trigger anger as well as techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way. |
What does Novaco suggest? | Cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal which generally precedes aggressive acts
Anger is quick to surface, usually in anxiety-inducing situation or threatening(percevied) |
How is what Novaco suggest seen in CBT? | Inidividual's taught how to recognise when they are loosig control, encouraged to develop techniques which bring about conflict-resolution without the need for violence |
What did Keen et al find? | Young offenders 17-21 took part in 8 x 2hr anger management sessions
Inital difficulties with ppl forgetting their duties and not taking it seriously, but at the end, they reported increased awareness of their anger and better self-control (positive outcomes) |
What are the 3 stages of anger management ? | Cognitive preparation, skill acquisition, application practice |
What is cognitive preparation? | Reflecting on past experiences, learn to identify triggers to anger and the ways their interpretation of events may be irrational.
Redefine this situation as non-threatening, breaking the automatic response. |
What is skill acquisition? | Range to options to help cope with the situation.
Cognitive: positive self-talk to promote calmness.
Behavioural: assertiveness training, to help communicate more effectively.
Physiological: methods of relaxation/medication |
What is application practice? | Offenders given opportunity to practise their skills in a carefully-monitored environment.
Role play between the offender and therapist, re-enacting past scenarios which could be triggering |
A strength of anger management? | -Benefits may outlast those of behaviour modification
-Unlike behaviour modification, anger management tries to tackle one of the causes of offending - that is, the cognitive prcoesses that triggers anger and ultimatley, offending behaviour
-Alternative treatment such as behaviour modification deal with only surface behaviour and not the process that drive such behaviour. Experience of anger management may give offenders new insights into the cause of their criminality and allow them to self-discover ways of mangaging themselves outside of the prison setting
-Suggests that anger management is more likely than behaviour modification to lead to permanent behavioural change |
Strength of anger management? | -Supporting reearch for its effectivness
-Jane Ireland (2004) conducted a study with two group of offenders: one who took part in an anger management programme and another in a non-treatment crontrol
-They were assessed using interviews, a behavioural checklist and a self-report questionnaire. They found 92% had improved in the experimental group on at least one measure, compared to no such improvements to the control group
-Therefore, this shows that it is an effective treatment in reducing anger, increasing the internal validity of the progamme |
A weakness of anger management? | -There are individual factors
-Study by Kevin Howells et al (2005) conducted an investigation with Australian offenders. The research found that participant in an anger management programme had little overall impact when compared to a control group who recieved no treatment. However, this was not true for all offenders in the treatment programme
-Significant progress was made with those offenders who shows intense levels of anger before the programme. Also, offenders who were open to change and highly motivated from the outside (treatment readiness) experienced similar gains
-Therefore, this shows that anger management programmes are very much reliant on the individual for effective change |
A weakness of anger management? | -It is expensive
-Anger management programmes are expensive to run as they require highly trained spcialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders. For this reason, may prisons may not have the resources to fund such programmes
-In addition, the success of anger management is often based on the commitment of those who participate, and this may be a problem if the prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic. Change happens slowly and this is ultimatley likley to add to the expense of delivering effective programmes
-Suggests that effective anger management programmes are probably not going to work in most prisons. |