Preliminary Results of Aggression Management Training for Aggressive Parents

Abstract

Four factors associated with parenting have been proposed as being key in the development of the physical abuse of children: (a) physiological arousal in the face of child-related stress, (b) poor communication and parenting strategies, (c) problems in empathic responding, and (d) ascribing negative intentionality to negative behavior. A number of studies have reported on efforts at treating physically aggressive parents with anger management training and with behavior management skills. The current study took a step beyond reporting treatment outcome from a single-case design to studying the impact of a group treatment approach. Twenty-nine aggressive parents were treated with a standardized group treatment over the course of 13 weeks. The treatment focused on anger management, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and the enhancement of empathy. Results indicated that parents, after treatment, reported improvements in their relationships with their children along with less anger. Generally, parents' scores on evaluation questionnaires moved from the clinical range to the normal range posttreatment. This suggests that this type of approach may be useful in reducing aggressive interactions between parent and child.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abidin, R. (1986). The Parenting Stress Index. Charlottesville, NC: Pediatric Psychology Press.

Acton, R. , & During, S. (1990). The treatment of aggressive parents: An outline of a group treatment program. Canada's Mental Health, 38, 2-6.

Azar, S. T. (1986). A framework for understanding child maltreatment: An integration of cognitive behavioral and developmental perspectives. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 18, 340-355.

Faber, A. , & Mazlish, E. (1980). How to talk so kids will listen & listen so kids will talk. New York: Avon.

Hudson, W. W. (1982). The clinical measurement package: A field manual. Chicago: Dorsey.

Karoly, P. (1981). Self-management problems in children. In E. J. Mash & L. G. Terdal (Eds.), Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders. New York: Guilford.

Larrance, D. T. , & Twentyman, C. T. (1983). Maternal attributions of child abuse. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 449-457.

Meichenbaum, D. (1977). Cognitive behavior modification. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

Miller, P. A. , & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/ anti-social behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 324-344.

10.

Milner, J. (1986). The child abuse potential inventory (2nd ed.). Webster, NC: Psytec Corp.

11.

Nomellini, S. , & Katz, R. C. (1983). Effects of anger control training on abusive parents. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7, 57-68.

12.

Novaco, R. (1978). Anger and coping with stress: Cognitive behavioral interventions. In J. Foreyt & D. Rathjen (Eds.), Cognitive behavior therapy. New York: Plenum.

13.

Robinson, E. A. , Eyberg, S. M. , & Ross, A. W. (1980). The standardization of an inventory on child conduct problem behaviors. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 9, 22-29.

14.

Romney, D. , & Jose, T. (1988). A retrospective study of dropout rates from a community mental health centre and associated factors. Canada's Mental Health, 36, 2-4.

15.

Rule, B. , & Nesdale, A. (1976). Emotional arousal and aggressive behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 83, 851-863.

16.

Spielberger, C. , Jacobs, G. , Russel, S. , & Crane, R. (1983). Assessment of anger: The State-Trait Anger Scale. In J. N. Butcher & C. Spielberger (Eds.), Advances in personality assessment (Vol. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

17.

Spivack, S. , Platt, J. , & Shure, M. (1976). The problem solving approach to adjustment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

18.

Steele, B. (1987). Psychodynamic factors in child abuse. In R. Helfer & R. Kempe (Eds.), The battered child (4th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

19.

Trickett, P. K. , & Kuczynski, L. (1986). Children's misbehaviors and parent's discipline strategies in abusive and non-abusive families. Developmental Psychology, 22, 115-123.

20.

Wolfe, D. (1987). Child abuse: Implications for child development and psychopathology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

21.

Wolfe, D. , Fairbank, J. , Kelly, J. A. , & Bradlyn, A. S. (1983). Child abusive parents' physiological responses to stressful and nonstressful behavior in children. Behavioral Assessment, 5, 363-371.