ANGER MANAGEMENT AO2

• Anger management


  A method of modifying criminal behaviour
• Anger management programmes are generally successful in reducing anger
• Supporting evidence


  • Taylor & Novaco (2006) report 75% improvement rates, based on six meta analyses
• Anger management


  • An effective treatment for criminal behaviour
  • Helps offenders manage their emotions to keep them from ending up in the criminal justice system
  • Ensures others around them are at less risk, thereby creating a safer society for all
• However, a study by Rice (1997) found that psychopaths given anger management or social skills training showed increased rates of reoffending, possibly because the skills and confidence they gained from the programme made them more effective at manipulating others. This suggests that anger management may not be effective, as it could increase criminal behaviour instead of modifying it. As such, anger management will need to be used with caution to avoid reoffending.
• One methodological issue with anger management is that practising the skills in role-play situations is argued to be too different from real life. The level of intensity of emotion is greater in a real-life situation, so the offender could find the ability to apply the skills is hindered and they revert to their former behaviour. Therefore, the studies that show high levels of efficacy need to be considered with caution, as the efficacy of anger management programmes is difficult to track in real life settings.
• Ultimately it is aggression (and crime) that we are trying to reduce
• If anger doesn't contribute to aggression then anger management may be irrelevant
• Loza and Loza-Fanous (1999) claim that research that has linked anger and crime is based on laboratory studies using students
• In their own study of almost 300 males in prison they found no difference between violent and non-violent offenders in terms of anger
• This suggests that anger management programmes may not be effective in modifying criminal behaviour because it assumes that the cause of criminality is anger, whereas there may be other important factors
• If it isn't treating the real cause of their criminality, it will have limited success in its effectiveness
• Therapeutic interventions are intended to


  Help the client
• When therapeutic interventions are used within prisons

  There are conflicts for a therapist
• Therapist conflicts in prisons

  • They have a duty to the institution and to their client
  • A client might tell the therapist information that could threaten the prison security
  • A client may confess details of crimes they have committed
• Breaching any therapeutic confidence is only acceptable in the most serious of situations
• Breaching therapeutic confidence


  Damages the client's trust in authority
• Ethical issues, for example, therapist conflict must be considered
• Breaching therapeutic confidence poses a dilemma for the therapists
• There are also financial implications to be considered. For example, the cost to the economy of reoffending or recidivism is at least £9.5 billion per year. Any method that may reduce even a small amount of offending or reoffending must offer benefits to society. If offenders learn to control their anger better, once they are released from prison this may prevent them committing further crimes.