1what does AMP stand for
anger management programme
2what does Howells investigate
effectiveness of AMPs
3Howells aim
- to see if brief AMP can help reduce anger and if changes in prisoners could be predicted by pre-treatment readiness
4who were the sample
- males in Australia
- sentencing ranging from one month to 26rs +4mo
- mean age of 28.8
- convicted mostly for violent offences
5what did the AMP consist of
- 10, 2-hour sessions delivered by trained facilitators
- identifying triggers, relaxation techniques, cognitive restructuring, assertion and relapse prevention
6how was aggression rated
by self-report questionnaires
7examples of questionnaires
- MOAS
- STRS
8what did the results show in regards to anger reduction
Overall there was no significant difference between pre and post-treatment scores between the two groups
9what did the results show in terms of pre-treatment readiness
the results showed that the degree of improvement was found to be predictable from pre-treatment measures of treatment readiness
10why did they find improvements in control groups scores
it was believed that the act of completing anger assessments may have a small beneficial effect in itself - self awareness
11why did they think the AMP was ineffective
the programme was too short and the sample included high risk offenders with multiple issues
12applications
to maximise success of AMPs they should be thorough programmes and used on motivated ppts
13how many ppts remained at end of study
21 completed the 6 month follow up but this was for logistical reasons not a high drop out
14is study reliable
yes, the questionnaires are easily replicable with another sample to test for consistency in findings regarding the effectiveness of AMP
15why did the ratings have high levels of validity
Measures of aggression and treatment readiness came from multiple questionnaires which makes the conclusions more credible
16why was the study data not necessarily valid
It was self report data so people can lie to make themselves look like they are benefitting from the treatment or not as aggressive as they really are (demand characteristics + social desirability)
17why is the control group a strength
allows for a baseline measure and more credible conclusions can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of AMPs
18At what stages was the data gathered
immediately before and after intervention and again 2 + 6 months later