Recently a variety of behavioral treatments for maladaptive anger and aggression have been evaluated. The present article reviews 3 case reports and 5 controlled studies which assess the effectiveness of systematic desensitization as a treatment of anger-based problems. While each investigation offers some support for the effectiveness of desensitization, methodological flaws and conflicting patterns of results obscure interpretation of the findings. It is concluded that because the nature of anger and aggression responses is complex it may be more appropriate to utilize a more multifaceted assessment and treatment approach.
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