Anger management- FORENSICS

Question 1

What do anger management schemes in prison assume?

Answer 1

• that offenders commit crimes as they can’t control their anger and cognition plays a key role in anger
• it’s a form of CBT that focuses on learning to control anger and respond in more appropriate ways

Question 2

What are the 3 stages of anger management schemes in prison?

Answer 2

• cognitive preparation
• skill acquisition
• application practice

Question 3

What happens in the ‘cognitive preparation’ stage of anger management programmes?

Answer 3

• offender learns to recognise feelings of anger and to recognise events that trigger their anger response

Question 4

What happens in the ‘skill acquisition’ stage of anger management programmes?

Answer 4

• get taught techniques to control anger response in difficult situations

eg positive self talk to keep calm, reciting phrases like ‘be calm, be calm’, also relaxation techniques like deep breathing are used.

Question 5

What happens during the ‘application practice’ stage of anger management schemes in prison?

Answer 5

• formerly anger provoking situations are re-enacted
• offender practices controlling anger using newly acquired techniques in a non- threatening environment

Question 6

Research by Ireland into anger management

Answer 6

• showed that it’s successful

-50 prisoners completed 2 measures of anger (questionnaire and checklist of problem behaviours) before and after completing an anger management programme

• had 12 hours of intervention spread into 1 hr sessions over 3 days
• control group was 37 prisoners matched for offending behaviour profile who didn’t have any intervention and completed the same measures
• findings for 2 groups compared:
  92% reduction in anger levels for the intervention group on at least 1 of the measures

Question 7

Research into anger management schemes by Loza and Loza-Fanous

Answer 7

• argue that many of the research findings that link anger with violence and rape were based on lab studies using students or offenders’ own explanations of their violent acts.
• they interviewed 271 Canadian male offenders and found no significant differences in anger levels between violent and non-violent offenders

conc=

• encouraging violent offenders to explain their offences as being due to uncontrollable anger may serve merely to offer an excuse for their behaviour

Question 8

Howells research into anger management

Answer 8

• measured success levels of an anger management programme with violent offenders
• found the programme reduced anger but not to a statistically significant level

Question 9

AO3- anger management programmes

STRENGTHS

Answer 9

• They give offenders insight into how they think, and can help them gain an understanding of problems in their thinking which have led to offending in the past
• this understanding may help them function better in everyday life

Question 10

AO3- anger management programmes

WEAKNESSES

Answer 10

• studies of effectiveness can be contradictory
  LAW=
  only 1 individual who had completed an 8 session course showed any improvement but…
  HUNTER=
  reported considerable improvements in certain areas, such as a reduction in impulsiveness and depression
• studies suggest that programmes are effective in reducing anger in the short term,, but there’s no clear evidence that programmes affect long term recidivism rates
• to be effective, anger management programmes require careful planning, a high level if staff commitment an offender motivation, some offenders don’t he high levels of motivation or focus and so these programmes won’t work well for them.
• the effectiveness of anger management to reduce recidivism in violent offenders is called into question by several researchers, although it may seem like common sense that anger is a serious problem among those convicted of violent crimes like assault, researchers disagree whether there’s a link between anger and violent crime.
• these programmes have been useful in controlling aggressive antisocial behaviour in prisons BUT there needs to be more research into the relationship between anger and crime before an assessment of its use and effectiveness in reducing rates of recidivism in criminals can be made.