Ireland - Anger Management

Question 1

What are anger management programmes based on?

Answer 1

Cognitive behavioural therapy techniques

Question 2

What do anger management programmes try to correct?

Answer 2

Faulty thinking and replace it with accurate thinking

Question 3

What are some of the aims of anger management courses for prisoners?

Answer 3

Increase their understanding of how and why they become angry, realise the importance of monitoring their own behaviour and develop strategies for controlling their anger

Question 4

What does CALM stand for?

Answer 4

Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it

Question 5

What is CALM, and who is it aimed at?

Answer 5

A cognitive behavioural programme aimed specifically at prisoners who have problems in managing their emotions and for whom this has been an important part of their offending behaviour

Question 6

What are the aims of CALM?

Answer 6

To reduce the intensity, frequency and duration of offenders experience of anger and other emotions which contribute to their offending behaviour

Question 7

How many modules does the CALM programme consist of?

Answer 7

6

Question 8

What is involved in some of the modules in the CALM programme?

Answer 8

Enhancing the prisoners motivation to participate in the programme and change their behaviour, participants learn to recognise irrational thinking and communicate and take responsibility for how they feel

Question 9

What was the aim of Ireland’s study?

Answer 9

To assess the effectiveness of a group-based anger management programme

Question 10

What method was used in Ireland’s study?

Answer 10

Quasi experiment

Question 11

Who were the participants in the experimental group?

Answer 11

50 young male prisoners who had completed the anger management course

Question 12

Who were the participants in the control group?

Answer 12

37 young male prisoners who had been assessed as suitable for such a course but had not actually completed one

Question 13

What were the two groups matched based on?

Answer 13

Age, offence and level of angry behaviours reported prior to completing the course

Question 14

Both groups were assessed on two measures 2 weeks before the start of the course and 8 weeks later. What were they?

Answer 14

A prison officers behavioural checklist and an anger management assessment questionnaire

Question 15

What was the prison officers behavioural checklist?

Answer 15

A checklist completed by prison officers concerning 29 different angry behaviours with scores of 0, 1 or 2 for how often a particular prisoner had shown them in the previous week

Question 16

What was the anger management assessment questionnaire?

Answer 16

A self report questionnaire completed by the prisoners, consisting of 53 items which could indicate an anger problem

Question 17

How many sessions were the experimental group participants given?

Answer 17

12 one hour sessions over a 3 day period

Question 18

What were the results from the prison officers checklist?

Answer 18

There was a significant reduction in angry behaviours in the experimental group but no difference in the control group

Question 19

What were the results from the anger management questionnaire?

Answer 19

The experimental group scored significantly lower on self reported angry behaviours after completion of the course although there was no difference for the control group

Question 20

What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed an improvement on at least one measure?

Answer 20

92%

Question 21

What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed an improvement on two measures?

Answer 21

42%

Question 22

What percentage of the prisoners in the experimental group showed a deterioration on both measures upon completing the course?

Answer 22

8%

Question 23

What were the two conclusions of Ireland’s study?

Answer 23

In the short term, the anger management programme could be considered a success and significantly reduced angry behaviour in prisoners however there is no later reconviction data so we cannot be sure if the programmes effects were sustained after leaving prison

Question 24

What is anger management?

Answer 24

A therapeutic treatment programme that assumes violence is caused by anger, and that if violent individuals learn to control their anger then their violent behaviour will decrease