Howells et al (CBT) Flashcards
What was his first aim?
To see whether anger management is more effective in producing changes in aggression vs no treatment given.
What was his second aim?
To see if pre treatment offender characteristics such as treatment readiness can predict improvement of aggression or not.
What was his sample?
418 male offenders
What % was prison based?
86%
What % was community based?
14%
What was the mean age and where was they from?
The mean age was 28.9 and they were from Australia
Previous aim’s percentages of those who received treatment
73% never received AM, 20% has received 1 AM or other, 4% received more than 1 AM, and 3% tried but didn’t continue AM.
Procedure
There was no random allocation to control or treatment group. 285 completed post interview assessments. 78 completed a 2 month follow up. 21 completed a 6 month follow up. Questionnaires were given before and after treatment to measure the mean changes in aggression scores. Along with qualitative data gathered from 2 correctional prison officer staff on their behaviour.
How many sessions were there?
10 sessions lasting 2 hours long.
Results - STAXI
Control mean change = +0.5
Treatment mean change = +1.5
Results - WAKS
Control mean change = +0.95
Treatment mean change = +1.80
What did Howells- conclude?
- There was a negative correlation where increase in treatment readiness mean there was a decrease in aggression.
- This meant treatment readiness was a good indicator for treatment outcome and aggression scores.
- Overall there wasn’t a significant difference.
Strength - Large sample
The sample consisted of 418 male ppts - large sample removes anomalies
Weakness - Sample
All the sample was male and Australian. This makes it androcentric and ethnocentric.
However
95% of the prison population is male therefore a sample consisting of 100% male is necessary as it is accurate of what the current prison population is. Males tend to be more aggressive whereas females are more emotionally aggressive leading to their criminality.
Strength - Standardised
10 sessions for 2 hours. Also standardised list of questions used in the questionnaire.
Weakness - questionnaires
Questionnaire promote social desirability bias which means that the offenders are just being desirable and choosing answers in which they think the researcher wants to hear. This leaves a biased sample that isn’t representative of the population being sampled.
Strength - Ethical
The control group that didn’t receive treatment in the study were later treated using AM.
Weakness - There was no random allocation
This meant that some offenders may have received anger management again and therefore this might mean that their outcome is better than the rest as they have had 2 cycles of AM. This means that the data isn’t representative.
High external validity
The study is conducted in a real life setting and on actual criminals. This increases the external validity.
