formulations & treatments

Question 1

what are the 3 main phases of case formulation?

Answer 1

phase 1: offence formulation
phase 2: understanding the function of offending
phase 3: application of treatment

Question 2

what are the two main reasons they may be asked to complete a formulation?

Answer 2

to understand the offender and assess the risk capability of an individual re-offending behaviour

consider whether or not an offender would suit a treatment programme and which programme is suitable, in which to try to minimise the risk of future offending

Question 3

what is offence analysis?

Answer 3

process of looking at and researching similar offences, this is so you can draw conclusions- these are called contingencies

have an insight into motivation for the crime

Question 4

what does understanding the function of offending mean?

Answer 4

concerned with what purpose committing the crime has and what motivated them to do it

Question 5

what does application to treatment mean?

Answer 5

is to establish some form of intervention or treatment with the view of reducing re-offending

Question 6

3 strengths of using case formulas?

Answer 6

Reductionist- when formulations are completed in diagram format- they are simplified and easy to understand

brings together the work and insight of many agencies and professionals in the CJS, pooling expertise is helpful when deciding the best way to treat offenders

useful of explaining to the offenders themselves about their behaviour and how their own individual circumstances have contributed towards themselves carrying out a crime.

Question 7

3 weaknesses of using case formulations?

Answer 7

sometimes offenders may not be truthful about their behaviour, social desirable bias, may not accurately remember. Data gathered is unreliable

some evidence may be incomplete or contradictory- this may make it difficult for the psychologist to recommend a suitable programme

case formulation is how success is measured- by whether the d reoffends but a lot of re offending goes undetected, so might not be VALID on the effectiveness of the treatment programme

Question 8

what does anger management assume?

Answer 8

the offenders inability to control their anger is the root cause of their offending behaviour

Question 9

what does Novaco suggest about anger issues?

Answer 9

some offenders are more likely to see a situation as threatening and stressful, and this leads them to react aggressively or violently

Question 10

what are anger management programmes based upon?

Answer 10

psychological principles of CBT and the process model

Question 11

what does the process model suggest?

Answer 11

thoughts can impact on your feelings which in turn impact on your behaviour

Question 12

what is the main aim for CBT?

Answer 12

to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts

Question 13

what are the three main stages of anger management?

Answer 13

cognitive preparation
skill acquisition
application and practice

Question 14

what happens in stage 1: cognitive preparation?

Answer 14

the offender reflects on situations that have triggered their anger in the past and consider things like could they have reacted differently

Question 15

what happens in stage 2: skill acquisition?

Answer 15

the behavioural aspect of an anger programme like this is to develop strategies or behavioural techniques for controlling their anger
might be asked to remember an anger provoking situation and then count to 10 to temper the reaction

Question 16

what happens in stage 3: application practice?

Answer 16

involves situations being devised where the offender can demonstrate and practice the skills they have learnt.

Question 17

what is the aim of Ireland (2000) study?

Answer 17

to assess the effectiveness of a group- based anger management programme

Question 18

what is the method of Irelands study?

Answer 18

Quasi/natural experiment taking advantage of two naturally occurring groups

Question 19

what was the sample for Ireland’s study?

Answer 19

experimental- 50 young male prisoners who had completed the anger management course
control- 37 young male prisoners who had been assessed as suitable for such a course but had not actually completed one yet

Question 20

what is some of the procedure of Ireland’s study?

Answer 20

assessed two measures 2 weeks before the start of the course and 8 weeks later

1) a prison officers behavioural checklist - completed by prison officers concerning 29 different angry behaviours with scores of 0, 1 or 2 for how often the prisoner showed them the prev. week

2) anger management questionnaire, which was a self-report completed by prisoners

experimental group given 12 one hour sessions over 3 day periods

Question 21

results of Ireland’s study?

Answer 21

prison officers’ checklist- sig. reduction in angry behaviours in the experimental group but no difference in control

anger management questionnaire- scored lower sig. on self report

overall 92% of the prisoners in the experimental group showed improvement on at least one measure

Question 22

conclusion for Ireland’s study?

Answer 22

in the short term the anger management programme could be considered a success and significantly reduce angry behaviour in prisoners
no later re-conviction data so cannot know if it’s good in long term

Question 23

3 strengths of anger management?

Answer 23

based upon psych principles such as CBT- scientific evidence

followed modules and standardised procedures which means the programmes are reliable and can be carried out in different prisons

anger management is seen as an ethical treatment that empowers the patients and gives them strategies

Question 24

3 weaknesses of anger management?

Answer 24

reductionism- focuses on thought processes of the offender but not the underlying causes of crime

effectiveness of it may be limited because some researchers argue that there is not a casual relationship between anger and violent crime (LOZA), therefore they are only suitable for where lack of emotional control has contributed to their crimes

there is a lack of research into whether or not these programmes have any long term benefits in preventing recidivism

Question 25

if an offender is deemed a risk before release, what drug treatment may they be given?

Answer 25

MPA

Question 26

what does MPA do?

Answer 26

the ANTI-ANDROGEN decreases the functioning of testosterone by breaking down and eliminating testosterone by inhibiting the production of it.
it reduces sexual drive and deviant fantasies

Question 27

what are the side effects of MPA?

Answer 27

breast enlargements, decreased sperm production and gall bladder and gastrointestinal problems

Question 28

what was the aim of MALETZKY’s study?

Answer 28

to evaluate the offenders who had been assessed for appropriateness of MPA on or just before release. The study followed up offenders who had been on MPA and those that had not, in order to assess the outcomes of being on MPA or not.

Question 29

what was the method for Maletzky’s study?

Answer 29

retrospective review because it looked at the history of the 275 inmates after their release to recidivism rate

134 deemed suitable for MPA

79 received MPA
55 did not

throughout treatment, their parole officers received and filled in questionnaires on whether any offences has been committed or violations of parole

Question 30

what were the results from Maletsky’s study?

Answer 30

it was found that those offenders who had received MPA committed few or NO offences
they also committed fewer parole violations

Question 31

what were the conclusions from Maletsky’s study?

Answer 31

those that were recommended and receiving MPA less likely to reoffend than those males who did not

MPA did reduce sexual drives because even when there were reoffenders, they were non-sexual

Question 32

two strengths of hormone treatment?

Answer 32

supported by research to confirm it’s effectiveness, other studies have found it effective such as Turner, based upon scientific evidence

there is a benefit to society since recidivism rates had reduced using the treatments, therefore demonstrating the usefulness of this treatment in society

Question 33

two weaknesses of hormone treatment?

Answer 33

parole officers filled in the questionnaire so there may have been bias as some criteria would have been subjective opinions of the officer (no inter-rater reliability)

may be seen as reductionist, the treatment only looks at providing one treatment for the offender and ignores social or cognitive factors that may impact

ethical issues, since MPA can cause serious side effects to an individual and the full extent of these long-term side effects are unknown for each individual, this impacts on their protection of harm.