FP - Anger management

Question 1

what does Novaco suggest about offending behaviour

Answer 1

cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal which precedes aggressive acts

Question 2

why do some people get angry

Answer 2

• when they perceive a situation as anxiety inducing or threatening
• becoming angry is reinforced by the individual’s feeling of control when they become angry

Question 3

what is anger management

Answer 3

a form of CBT
- the individual is taught how to recognise the cognitive factors that trigger their anger and loss of control

Question 4

what are the three stages of anger management

Answer 4

• cognitive preparation
• skills acquisition
• application practice

Question 5

what occurs during cognitive preparation

Answer 5

• requires an offender to reflect on past experiences and consider the pattern of their anger
• the therapist acknowledges if their response was rational or irrational

Question 6

what occurs during skills acquisition

Answer 6

the offenders are introduced to a range of techniques that can be cognitive, behavioural or physiological to help them deal with their anger

Question 7

cognitive anger management techniques

Answer 7

positive self-talk e.g. counting to ten

Question 8

behavioural anger management techniques

Answer 8

assertiveness training in how to communicate more effectively so it becomes an automatic response

Question 9

physiological anger management techniques

Answer 9

deal with anger physically using relaxation training or meditation

Question 10

what is application practice

Answer 10

• offenders are given the opportunity to practice their skills within a controlled environment
• role play involving the therapist re-enacting scenario’s that provoke anger
• when the offender deals with it successfully they receive positive reinforcement form the therapist

Question 11

+ Benefits of anger management may outlast those of behaviour modification

Answer 11

• Anger management tries to tackle one of the causes of offending and overall offending behaviour
• Alternative treatments such as behaviour modification deal with only surface behaviour and not the processes that drive such behaviour
• Experience of anger management may give offenders new insight into that cause of their criminality and allow them to self-discover ways of managing themselves out the prison setting
• BUT follow up studies of anger management tend to not support this assumption
• Blackburn 1993 points out that whilst anger management may have a noticeable effect on the conduct of offender in the short term, their is very little evidence to suggest it reduces recidivism in the long term

Question 12

X The success of anger management depends on individual factors

Answer 12

• Research into Australian offenders found that participation in an anger management programme had little overall impact when compared to a control who received no treatment
• But this was not true for all offenders in the treatment programme
• Significant progress was made for those who had showed intense levels of anger before the programme
• Offender who were open to change and highly motivated from the outset experienced similar gains

Question 13

X Anger management is expensive

Answer 13

• The programmes are expensive to run as they require the services of highly-trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders
• Many prisons do not have the resources to fund the programmes and success is based on commitment as changes take time and is likely to add to the expense of delivering effective programmes