Anger management

• Anger management

  • a therapeutic programme that involves identifying the signs that trigger anger as well as learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way
  • the aim of anger management is not to prevent anger but to recognise it and manage it
  • Anger management can be offered in prison to encourage self awareness and facilitate rehabilitation
• Cognitive behaviour therapy

  • Novaco suggests that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal that precedes aggressive acts
  • He says in some people, anger surfaces quicker especially in situations that are perceived to be anxiety-inducing or threatening
• CBT

  • In behaviourist terms, becoming angry is reinforced by the individuals feeling of control in the situation
  • As such, anger management is a form of CBT where the individual is taught to recognise the cognitive factors that trigger anger and loss of control, and then are encouraged to develop techniques which bring conflict resolution rather than violence
• 3 stages of anger management:

  1. Cognitive preparation
  2. Skill acquisition
  3. Application practice
• 1. Cognitive preparation

  • Requires an offender to reflect on past experiences and identify patterns in their anger
  • Offender learns to identify situations which are triggers, if the offender interprets these as irrational the therapist make this clear
  • For example the offender may view someone looking at them as confrontational, the therapist redefines the situation as non-threatening and attempts to break what would have been the aggressive automatic response of the offender
• 2. Skill acquisition

  • Offender is introduced to a range of techniques to help deal with anger-provoking situations more rationally and calmly
  • Cognitive- Positive self talk to encourage calmness, counting to ten
  • Behavioural- Assertiveness training in how to communicate effectively, which will become an automatic response if practised
  • Physiological- relaxation training, meditation, to control ones emotions rather than being controlled by them
• 3. Application practice

  • Offenders are given the opportunity to practice these skills in a controlled environment
  • Role play between the offender and the therapist, re-enacting scenarios which may have escalated violence in the past
  • This requires commitment from the offender as they must act as if the situation is real, also bravery from the therapist as they are intentionally trying to wind up the offender in order to assess progress
  • If the offender successfully with the situation this is given positive reinforcement by the therapist
• Positive outcome with young offenders

  • Julia keen et al studied progress of young offenders ages 17-21 who took part in a national anger management programme
  • devised in 1992, National anger manamgment package was developed by Engaland and wales prison service
  • The course comprises of 8 2-hour long sessions, first 7 over a 3 week period and then the last one a month later
  • The content follows the 3 stages of anger management
• • There were initial issues of offenders not taking the course seriously, or forgetting routines
  • However the general outcomes were positive and offenders reported they had increased awareness of their anger management difficulties how to exercise self-control
• A03: Better than behaviour modification (+)

  • Unlike behaviour modification, anger management aims to tackle one of the causes of offending ( cognitive processes that trigger anger)
  • Behaviour modification only deals with surface behaviour not what drives it
  • Anger management allows offenders new insight into the cause of their criminality and allows them to self discover ways of managing themselves outside of prison
  • Therefore anger management is more likely to lead to a permanent change
• CC: However follow up studies have shown not to support the long lasting effects of anger management

  • Blackburn- Points out that while anger management has an afect on offender in the short term, very little evidence it reduces recidivism in the long term
  • This may be because the application practice (stage 3) is only role play which may not reflect all real-life scenarios
  • Suggest anger management may not reduce reoffending
• A03: Individual differences (-)

  • Howells conducted an investigation with Australian offenders and found that pps in an anger management programme had overall little impact when compared to a control group
  • However this was not true for all offenders
  • Significant progress was made from offenders who had intense anger levels before, or those who were open to change and highly motivated from the onset ( treatment readiness )
  • Suggests anger management may only benefit certain offenders
• A03: Expensive (-)

  • Programmes are expensive to run as they require high-trained specialists who have dealt with violent offenders
  • Many prisons therefore don't have the resources to fund programmes
  • The success of anger management programmes are based on the commitment of the offenders, this may be a problem if offenders are uncooperative
  • Change takes time so this adds to the expense
• A03: Causation assumption (-)

  • Anger management approach suggests that there is a straight forward relationship between anger and offending
  • Anger is assumed to be an emotional state that is necessary to commit crime
  • Loza says this assumption may be false, she found no difference in the levels of anger between offenders classed as violent and non-violent
  • Suggesting anger management programmes may be misguided as it just provides offenders a justification for there behaviour, maybe there is another factor