anger management

Question 1

what type of approach is anger management

Answer 1

cognitive

Question 2

how was anger management created

Answer 2

Novaco (1975) suggests that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal of anger which generally precedes aggressive acts. He argues that in some people anger is quick to surface especially in situations that are perceived to be anxiety-inducing or threatening. In behaviourist terms, becoming angry is reinforced by the individual’s feeling of control in that situation. As such, anger management programmes are a form of cognitive behaviour therapy as the individual is taught how to recognise the cognitive factors that trigger their anger and loss of control, and then encouraged to develop techniques which bring about conflict resolution without the need for violence.

Question 3

aims of anger management

Answer 3

Anger management has become one of the most common rehabilitation programmes and its use of anger with prisoners has two aims.
1) A short-term aim of reducing anger and aggression in prisons where it is a serious issue.
2) There is also the longer-term aim of rehabilitation and reduction of recidivism. This is especially the case for violent prisoners.

Question 4

what are the stages of anger management

Answer 4

1. Cognitive preparation
   - Requires the offender to reflect on past experience and consider the typical pattern of
   their anger.

• The offender learns to identify situations that have acted as triggers to their anger. If the offender interpreted the event as irrational the therapist point this out to them and in doing so breaks the automatic response for the offender.

2. Skill acquisition
   - The offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal with
   anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively.

• Techniques involved in anger management may be cognitive: positive self-talk to encourage calmness; behavioural: assertiveness training in how to communicate more effectively and physiological: methods of relaxation and/or mediation.

3. Application Practice
   - Offenders are given the opportunity to practise their skills within a carefully monitored environment.

• Role play involves the offender and therapist re-enacting scenarios that may have escalated feelings of anger and acts of violence in the past. Successful negotiation of the
  role play would be met with positive reinforcement from the therapist.

Question 5

Evaluation of anger management

Answer 5

BETTER THAN BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION
P - One strength of anger management is that the benefits may outlast those of behaviour modification.
E - Unlike behaviour modification, anger management tries to tackle one of the causes of offending - that is, the cognitive processes that trigger anger, and ultimately, offending behaviour. Alternative treatments such as behaviour modification deal with only surface behaviour and not the processes that drive such 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.
E - This suggests that anger management is more likely than behaviour modification to lead to a permanent behavioural change.

COUNTERPOINT
However, follow-up studies of anger management tend not to support this assumption. The general trend is 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 because 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. This suggests that, in the end, anger management may not reduce reoffending.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
P - A limitation of anger management is that success may depend on individual factors.
E - A study by Howells et al. conducted an investigation with Australian offenders. The researchers found that participation in an anger management programme had little overall 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 had showed intense levels of anger before the programme. Also, offenders who were open to change and highly motivated from the outset experiences similar gains.
E - This suggests that anger management may only benefit offenders who fit a certain profile.

EXPENSIVE
P - A further limitation of anger management is that it is likely to be an expensive option.
E - Anger management programmes are expensive to run as 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, the success of anger management is often based on the commitment of those who participate, and this may be a problem is prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic. Change takes time and this is ultimately likely to add to the expense of delivering effective programmes.
E - This suggests that effective anger management programmes are probably not going to work in most prisons.