Dealing with offender behaviour: anger management Flashcards
AO1: CBT
anger management programmes are a form of CBT, the offender is taught how to recognise the cognitive factors that trigger their anger and loss of control, learn techniques to stop this
AO1: stage 1- cognitive preparation
offender reflects on past experiences and identifies patterns and triggers for their anger. Therapist makes it clear if the anger is rational or irrational in the situations. If it is irrational, the therapist tries to break the automatic response the offender has
AO1: stage 2- skills acquisition
therapist introduces techniques and skills to offender to help them deal with anger provoking situation e.g. positive self talk, assertiveness training to enable better communicating, relaxation or meditation to decrease the psychical reaction to anger.
AO1: stage 3- application practice
offender practices skills learnt in a controlled environment. Therapist and offender role play by reenacting scenarios that triggered anger for the offender. Offender needs to be committed for it to work. If offender deals with the situation correctly they will get positive reinforcement from therapist
AO3: strength- research support for effectiveness of anger management
however, contradictory follow up research
P: research support for effectiveness of anger management
E: researcher studied progress made by young offenders who took part in an anger management programme that followed the three stages.
E: found that offenders reported increased awareness of their anger management difficulties and increased capacity to exercise self control
L: shows that there is evidence to support anger management
HOWEVER, follow up research contradicts this. Researcher found that anger management has a positive effect in the short term but there is little evidence that it prevents recidivism in the long term. shows anger management is not as effective as suggested
AO3: limitation- expensive
P: anger management is expensive
E: the programmes require highly trained specialists who are therapists and used to dealing with violent offenders. Prisons may not have the resources to fund this
E: also evidence suggests that the success of anger management takes time as offenders may be uncooperative at first. This will add to the cost as offenders will need to do anger management for a while to make it effective
L: suggests the programme is not accessible for all offenders
HOWEVER, the cost-benefit analysis suggests that in the long term using anger management will be cheaper for the prison system and wider economy. If the offender does the anger management sessions for as long as they need for the effects to take place, they will be less likely to reoffend which means it will not cost the prison more money as the rates of recidivism will be lower.
AO3: strength: benefits last longer than token economy
P: benefits from anger management last longer than token economy
E: anger management tires to tackle one of the causes of offending (cognitive processes triggering anger) and gives offenders a chance to see a new insight into the cause of their criminality.
E: whereas token economy only deals with surface level behaviour and not the processes driving the offending behaviour.
L: suggests anger management is more likely that token economies to lead to permanent behavioural changes
AO3: limitation- individual differences
P: success of anger management may depend of individual differences
E: not everybody who experience anger management issues will respond to treatments in the same way.
E: study done on Australian offenders found that participation in anger management programme had little impact when compared to a control group who had no treatment. Significant progress was made by those who were open to change and highly motivated from the outset
L: suggests that anger management may only benefit offenders who fit a certain profile
