A review of effective interventions for reducing aggression and violence

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of whether individual violence can be reduced in frequency or severity, if so to what extent and by which methods. It opens with a brief overview of the nature of personal violence and discussion of some key definitional and methodological problems. However, its principal focus is on the findings obtained from a series of meta-analytic reviews of structured programmes for adolescents and adults who have shown repeated aggression or been convicted of personal violence, drawing together the results of studies conducted in prison, probation, youth justice and allied services. Additional results are considered from a systematic review of studies of violence prevention among offenders with mental disorders. This incorporates the preliminary findings of a meta-analysis of controlled trials of psychosocial interventions with that population. Overall, it is concluded that there is sufficient evidence currently available to substantiate the claim that personal violence can be reduced by psychosocial interventions, but that much more research is required to delineate the parameters of effectiveness in this context. Proposals are made for future investigations with reference to the theoretical understanding of causal relationships and the design of experimental trials.

Do Psychopathic Traits Assessed in Mid-Adolescence Predict Mental Health, Psychosocial, and Antisocial, Including Criminal Outcomes, over the Subsequent 5 Years?

“…However, previous studies of adolescents and adults report that psychopathic traits are associated with a failure to engage and benefit from treatment. 15,16,36 It could be that these adolescents with high scores for manipulation and other psychopathic traits use mental health services for their own ends, such as negotiating with police not to charge them if they go into treatment, or detoxing in hospital to use less drugs to get high. These findings warrant further study.…”

¿Está mediada la gravedad delictiva y cronicidad de los delincuentes juveniles por la competencia cognitivo-comportamental?

“…La variabilidad en las tasas de reincidencia es una constante en la literatura, así como que ésta se relaciona de un modo robusto con los moderadores tipo de delito, cronicidad y de tratamiento (McGuire, 2008;Redondo, Sánchez-Meca & Garrido, 2002). Sucintamente, a mayor gravedad del delito, mayor tasa de reincidencia; los delincuentes habituales, frente a los primarios, tienen una mayor probabilidad de reincidencia y los tratamientos basados en el entrenamientos de destrezas conductuales y cognitivoconductuales, son los más efectivos en la prevención de la reincidencia.…”

Assessing Short-Term Outcomes of an Intervention for Women Convicted of Violent Crimes

“…Multimodal interventions that address the myriad of issues illuminated above are suggested for violence prevention (McGuire, 2008). Although some interventions have been successful in outcomes related to reducing violence and recidivism among male inmates (i.e., Ware, Cieplucha, & Matsuo, 2011), few studies have investigated the efficacy of such programming for females incarcerated for violent offenses.…”