Ireland - Anger Management Flashcards
What are anger management programmes based on?
Cognitive behavioural therapy techniques
What do anger management programmes try to correct?
Faulty thinking and replace it with accurate thinking
What are some of the aims of anger management courses for prisoners?
Increase their understanding of how and why they become angry, realise the importance of monitoring their own behaviour and develop strategies for controlling their anger
What does CALM stand for?
Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it
What is CALM, and who is it aimed at?
A cognitive behavioural programme aimed specifically at prisoners who have problems in managing their emotions and for whom this has been an important part of their offending behaviour
What are the aims of CALM?
To reduce the intensity, frequency and duration of offenders experience of anger and other emotions which contribute to their offending behaviour
How many modules does the CALM programme consist of?
6
What is involved in some of the modules in the CALM programme?
Enhancing the prisoners motivation to participate in the programme and change their behaviour, participants learn to recognise irrational thinking and communicate and take responsibility for how they feel
What was the aim of Ireland’s study?
To assess the effectiveness of a group-based anger management programme
What method was used in Ireland’s study?
Quasi experiment
Who were the participants in the experimental group?
50 young male prisoners who had completed the anger management course
Who were the participants in the control group?
37 young male prisoners who had been assessed as suitable for such a course but had not actually completed one
What were the two groups matched based on?
Age, offence and level of angry behaviours reported prior to completing the course
Both groups were assessed on two measures 2 weeks before the start of the course and 8 weeks later. What were they?
A prison officers behavioural checklist and an anger management assessment questionnaire
What was the prison officers behavioural checklist?
A checklist completed by prison officers concerning 29 different angry behaviours with scores of 0, 1 or 2 for how often a particular prisoner had shown them in the previous week
What was the anger management assessment questionnaire?
A self report questionnaire completed by the prisoners, consisting of 53 items which could indicate an anger problem
How many sessions were the experimental group participants given?
12 one hour sessions over a 3 day period
What were the results from the prison officers checklist?
There was a significant reduction in angry behaviours in the experimental group but no difference in the control group
What were the results from the anger management questionnaire?
The experimental group scored significantly lower on self reported angry behaviours after completion of the course although there was no difference for the control group
What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed an improvement on at least one measure?
92%
What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed an improvement on two measures?
42%
What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed a deterioration on both measures upon completing the course?
8%
What were the two conclusions of Ireland’s study?
In the short term, the anger management programme could be considered a success and significantly reduced angry behaviour in prisoners however there is no later reconviction data so we cannot be sure if the programmes effects were sustained after leaving prison
What is anger management?
A therapeutic treatment programme that assumes violence is caused by anger, and that if violent individuals learn to control their anger then their violent behaviour will decrease
