Criminal Behaviour (Anger Management) Flashcards
What is anger managment
Anger Management is a type of CBT that aims to help people manage their anger in a more productive way
Argued that a lot of criminal behaviour stems from issues with anger
Making poor decisions, lose control and may not be able to judge to consequences of their behaviour accurately
Aims to reduce rates of recidivism, if anger can be controlled, and its effects limited, then offenders who are prone to angry outbursts may be able to reduce the likelihood that their anger causes them to engage in criminal behaviour
Reduce the levels of anger and aggression in particular in prisons
Novaco (2013) refers to prisons as anger factories
Lots of angry people in one area - confinement
No access to things that could stress relieve
Anger in prisoners
Hostile Attribution Bias
Negative interpretations then lead to increased anger
Minimisation has a role to play in anger
Person does not fully understand the consequences of their actions and the long term negative effects that may result from it
key aims
Novaco (2011) set out three key aims
Cognitive restructuring
Greater self awareness and control over cognitive diversions of anger
Regulation of arousal
Learning to control the physiological state
Behavioural strategies
Problem solving skills, strategic withdrawal and assertiveness
STRESS INOCULATION MODEL
Key aim of anger management is to give the individual the skills to deal with the potentially stressful and anger provoking situations in which they may find themselves
Stress inoculation can be seen as a way of vaccinating an individual against anger, so that when they come in contact with an anger provoking situation
Better able to cope and will not engage in angry behaviour
Most often used with offenders in prison, or on parole and those who have a history of angry outbursts
Conceptualisation - Clients learn about anger generally, and how it can be both adaptive and nonadaptive
Analyse their owen patterns of anger and identify situations which provoke anger in them
Skill Acquisition and Rehearsal - Taught various skills to help manage their anger
Taught how to better communicate so they can resolve conflicts without anger
Application and Follow Through - Apply skills in controlled situations (role play)
Receive extensive feedback and try skills in real life situations
CALM
Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM), teaches male participants to monitor and understand their emotions in order to prevent and control problematic behaviours
Teaches participants the skills necessary to reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of anger in order to lessen the likelihood of aggression
Also addresses the management of other strong negative emotions and concerns (jealousy/anxiety)
6 comprehensive group leader guides to deliver 34 group sessions, workbooks and assignments
Sessions are practica, structured and desiended for delivery to groups of adolescent and adult males at risk for inappropriate, violent behaviour
The workbook is at year 5 reading level which makes it suitable for males with poor literacy skills and limited education
Desirable as is easy to follow, can be delivered by anyone, accessible, variety of tasks
Effectiveness evaluation
Taylor and Novaco (2006) report 75% improvement rates based on 6 meta analysis
Ainsworth (2000) argues that anger management is effective but only if managed properly, given the right resources and targeted at the right offenders
Landenberger and Lipsey (2005) analysed 58 studies using CBT with offenders, 20 of these studies looked at anger management as a keo component
Researchers found that having an anger control element was significantly related to amount of improvement
Howells et al (2005) cite 5 meta analysis which showed only moderate benefits of anger management programmes
Law (1997) only one person improved as a result of anger management
Anger management may have the inverse effect on some offenders, causing higher levels of violent and aggressive behaviour
Howitt (2009) says that some offenders act violently not out of anger but to achieve specific goals
Rice (1997) found that psychopaths given treatment were more likely to offend afterwards, maybe because the skills they acquired raised their self - esteem and allowed them to manipulate others more effectively’
Argued to be sexist
Majority of schemes are designed for male offenders and research is carried out on men
Limited options for women who offend due to anger issues
Ethical issues evaluation
Free will - may be forced by courts to undergo anger management
This lack of informed consent is both an issue of ethics and effectiveness
Reluctant offender is unlikely to engage and receive no benefit
Forcing people to undergo therapy when they do not want to is an ethically grey area
Their free will is already limited due to the fact they are in prison
May not be appropriate for all violent offenders
Cause them psychological harm
Prisoners are more likely to suffer a variety of mental illnesses
Trigger depression
Anger management is often delivered by non professional staff who may not be equipped to deal with these serious psychological outcomes
Who is anger management meant to benefit?
May make inmates easier to handle
Makes difficult inmates easier to handle and reduce rates of violence in prison
A standard part of a sentence for violent crimes
Some people may end up in anger management courses who do not need to be there
Wrong place at the wrong time
Anger management may brush over legitimate causes of anger (inequality/poverty)
Social implications evaluation
If anger management is a successful treatment, it may reduce the rates of violent crime and the economies money
Violent crime costs the UK economy £124 billion a year
Police / NHS / Courts
People are forced to go into anger management courses and not fully engage with the therapy (so they may go on to reoffend), but this course will cost the government money
Howells and Day (2003) scales to assess ‘readiness to change’ before the start of an anger management programme rather than waste time with individuals that won’t benefit
May be seen to be treating the symptoms rather than the cause of crime
Anger may be a product of a deprived upbringing, education, unemployment or poor health
All these social problems are hard to solve
