ANGER MANAGEMENT

~Aims Of Anger Management~

→ Concentrates on cognitive factors that influence offending

→ Involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down

~CBT - Raymond Novaco (1975)~

→ Cognitive factors trigger emotional arousal which precedes aggressive acts

→ In some people, anger is quick to surface especially if a threat is perceived

→ Becoming angry is reinforced by feeling in control

→ Individuals are taught how to recognise when they are losing control, and then encouraged to develop techniques which bring about conflict resolution

~3 Stages Of CBT~

1. Cognitive Preparation

   • The offender reflects on past experience and considers the typical pattern of anger

   • Offender learns to identify situations which act as triggers to anger and the way in which the event is interpreted as irrational (therapist aims to redefine situations as non-threatening)

2. Skill Acquisition

   • Offender is introduced to a range of skills & techniques to help them deal with anger provoking situations more rationally and effectively

   • Techniques may be cognitive (positive talk), behavioural (assertiveness training) or psychological (relaxation and meditation)

3. Application Practice

   • Offender practices skills in role play

   • Involves re-enacting scenarios that have escalated feelings of anger and acts of violence in the past

~Evidence Of Application - Julia Keen (2000)~

• Studied progress of young offenders aged 17-21 who took part in an anger management programme

• Course consisted of 8, 2-hour sessions, the first 7 over a 3-week period, and the last session a month after

• Initially there were issues as the young offenders did not take the course seriously

• However, by the end, offenders did report that they had increased awareness of anger and increased capacity to exercise self-control

EVALUATION

Research Support:

→ LONG LASTING BENEFITS

• One strength of anger management is that it has benefits that may outlast those of behaviour modification.

• Unlike behaviour modification, anger management tries to tackle one of the causes of offending, the cognitive process that triggers anger rather than surface behaviour.

• Experience of anger management may give offenders new insight into the cause of their criminality and allow them to self-discover ways of managing themselves outside of the prison setting.

• This suggests that anger management is more likely to lead to permanent behavioural change compared to behaviour modification.

• However, Blackburn (1993) points out that whilst anger management may have a noticeable effect on the conduct of offenders in the short term, there is very little evidence that it reduces recidivism in the long term.

• This may be due to the fact that the application phase of treatment still relies on role-play which might not properly reflect all the possible triggers that are present in a real-world situation.

• Any progress made in therapy may count for little when compared to a busy city centre pub on a Saturday night.

• This suggests that anger management may not reduce reoffending.

Conflicting Evidence:

→ INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• One limitation of anger management is that it may depend on individual factors.

• Howell’s et al (2005) conducted an investigation with Australian offenders. The researchers found that participation in an anger management programme had little impact when compared to a control group who received no treatment.

• However, this was not true for all offenders in the treatment programme. Significant progress was made with those offenders who were open to change and highly motivated from the outset experienced similar gains.

• This suggests that anger management may only benefit offenders who fit a certain profile.

  → EXPENSIVE

• Another limitation is that running the programmes is expensive.

• This is because they require the services of highly-trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders. For this reason, many prisons may not have the resources to fund such programmes.

• In addition, success of anger management is often based on the commitment of those who participate and this may be a problem if prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic - change takes time and this is likely to add to the expense of delivering effective programmes.

• This suggests that effective anger management programmes are probably not going to work in most prisons.