Evaluation

• Strength - Research support

  Jane Ireland (2004) wanted to assess the effectiveness of of anger management therapy with 87 young offenders

  Baseline measurements taken using self report questionnaires and assessment by prison officers

  50 took part while 37 were on the waiting list

  The treatment was 12 one-hour sessions over 3 days

  Eight weeks later all participants were assessed using the self-report questionnaire and assessment by prison officers

  Findings - significant difference in those who attended the programme and no difference in those who did not
• Strength - Research support

  Timothy Trimble (2015)

  105 offenders on probation in Northern Ireland

  The condition of their probation was to attend the programme

  This included those whose anger and poor emotional control predisposed them to offend

  9 weekly sessions lasting two hours, with a 15 minute break

  Findings - signifiant reduction in the expression of anger, as well as the amount of anger experienced among offenders compared to pre-treatment scores
• Mixed Evidence

  Strength - Taylor and Novaco (2006) - Reported 75% improvement rates based on 6 meta analysis

  Strength - Landenberger and Lipsey (2005) - analysed 58 studies using CBT with offenders

  Anger control element was significantly related to the amount of improvement

  HOWEVER not all research has proven to support the use of anger management
• Weakness - Methodological issues

  It is difficult to make comparisons and draw similarities between programmes and their effectiveness due to differences in how they are carried out

  • Some courses are run by psychologists, some prison stage
  • Some are just over a few days, others are longer
  • Some target a wide range of issues, others just one
  • Some assess through self-report, others were observations
• Mixed - Anger Management Programmes

  CBT doesn't work for everyone

  If programmes are voluntary, some may drop out

  An alternative is a drama-based group which can be more engaging

  One way to assess whether someone will engage in a programme, would be to measure a 'readiness to change' before the start of the programme (Howells and Day 2003)
• Weakness - Are crimes linked to aggression and anger

  Is it aggression we are trying to reduce or crime?

  Loza and Loza-Fanous (1999)

  Criticised previous studies for the use of lab conditions and students

  Studied 300 male prisoners and found no difference between violent and non-violent offenders in terms of anger - but this can be explained by masking

  They also note a danger between linking anger and violent behaviours

  The problem becomes an issue with anger, rather than taking personal responsibility