Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of the Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls, an anger management and aggression reduction treatment designed to meet the unique needs of adolescent girls in residential juvenile justice facilities. This randomized controlled trial of JJAM compared changes in levels of anger and aggression among girls who participated in the JJAM treatment with those of girls who participated in treatment as usual (TAU) at the facilities. This study also investigated the theoretical model underlying the JJAM treatment, which proposed that reductions in hostile attribution biases, development of emotion regulation skills, and improvement in social problem solving would serve as mechanisms of action in JJAM. Participants were 70 female youth who ranged in age from 14 to 20 years (M ϭ 17.45, SD ϭ 1.24) and were placed at 1 of 3 participating juvenile justice facilities; 57 youth completed the study and were included in analyses. Results revealed greater reductions in anger, reactive physical aggression, and reactive relational aggression among girls in the JJAM treatment condition when compared to girls in the TAU control condition. The proposed theoretical model was partially supported via significant mediation findings; changes in hostile attribution bias were identified as a significant mechanism of action in the JJAM treatment. Results suggest that JJAM is a promising treatment to effectively reduce anger and reactive aggression among adolescent girls in juvenile justice placements.

The efficacy of an online anger management program for justice‐involved youth

“…First, as justice‐involved youth are frequently court‐mandated to complete anger management interventions as part of their adjudication, there is a need for programming options for juvenile probation departments (Goldstein et al., 2018; Vieira et al., 2009). The opportunity to offer an impactful, online intervention at low‐cost would particularly benefit departments with limited resources, or those that cover large rural areas.…”

“…Justice‐involved youth are frequently referred to anger management classes as a condition of their probation (Goldstein et al., 2018). As the COVID‐19 pandemic caused a sudden need to reexamined modality of service implementation, telehealth emerged as a cost‐effective and accessible option for juvenile probation to continue offering needed services to youth in the community.…”

Do Negative Emotions Matter? Paths From Victimization to Cyber and Traditional Bullying From a General Strain Theory Perspective

“…Moreover, including stress-releasing and negative-emotion relaxing techniques in these programs may increase the programs’ effectiveness and help prevent bullying perpetration. In particular, anger management therapy, including behavioral modification, peer group support, and cognitive behavioral therapy, has been shown to be helpful in understanding and controlling anger impulses (Goldstein et al, 2018; Schlichter & Horan, 1981), which should be essential in bully intervention strategies. Although interventions for traditional bullying should consider both victimization history and negative emotion, more comprehensive efforts are needed for cyberbullying because it occurs without the interactive play between two factors.…”

Including Maladaptive Anger in Psychology Courses

“…For instance, McIntyre and colleagues (2019) recently discussed a 12-week, individual, cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol that decreased both anger and general negative affect. Meanwhile, a study by Goldstein et al (2018) explored an anger management approach for girls in a juvenile justice setting, finding that the approach produced a significant reduction in anger. Similarly, though less applied, Summerell and colleagues (2019) discussed the role that cognitive broadening has in reducing angry feelings.…”