Effectiveness of Anger Management Treatment in Reducing Anger-Related Behaviors in Female Juvenile Offenders
Condition: Anger
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an anger management treatment program, Juvenile
      Justice Anger Management for Girls, in reducing anger-related behaviors displayed by girls in
      the juvenile justice system.
    

Detailed description: 
      Girls represent a growing segment of the juvenile justice population in the United States,
      with a large number of them being victims of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. These
      girls have special needs in terms of treatment and rehabilitation; however, little research
      exists on effective mental health treatments for female juvenile offenders in justice
      facilities. Despite the severity of anger-related behaviors displayed by girls in the
      juvenile justice system, no anger management treatments have been systematically developed to
      meet the unique treatment needs of delinquent girls. Treatment programs that provide
      gender-specific education, counseling, and emotional support are necessary for addressing the
      aggressive behaviors and psychological distress often displayed among this population. One
      such treatment program, the Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) for Girls, is an anger
      management program adapted from Lochman's Coping Power program, an empirically supported
      school-based anger management treatment for younger children. This study will evaluate the
      effectiveness of JJAM for Girls in reducing anger-related behaviors displayed by girls in the
      juvenile justice system.

      Participation in this study will last about 8 months. All participants will first undergo
      initial assessments that will include a combination of structured interviews, self-report
      measures, rating scales, and reviews of program behavioral records and incident reports.
      Participants will then be assigned randomly to receive JJAM for Girls plus treatment as usual
      or treatment as usual alone. Participants receiving JJAM for Girls will attend two 1.5-hour
      sessions per week for 8 weeks. Sessions will aim to help youth develop skills in the
      following areas: identifying different types of physical and relational aggression,
      recognizing early warning signs of anger, avoiding anger-provoking situations, managing anger
      to prevent aggression, solving problems, communicating about anger-related events, and
      repairing relationships damaged by anger-related behaviors. Participants will also complete
      between-session practice activities that will include practicing skills involved in planning
      personal goals. Treatment as usual for all participants will include all standard activities
      in the female juvenile justice program. All participants will repeat the initial assessments
      at treatment completion and Month 6 of follow-up.
    

Intervention name(s): Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) for Girls; Treatment as usual
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): JJAM will include two 1.5-hour group treatment sessions per week for 8 weeks. JJAM sessions will be manual based and will be designed to help youth develop skills in the following areas: identifying different types of physical and relational aggression, recognizing early warning signs of anger, avoiding anger-provoking situations, managing anger to prevent aggression, solving problems, communicating about anger-related events, and repairing relationships damaged by anger-related behaviors.; Treatment as usual will include standard activities in the female juvenile justice program.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment