Aggression management of criminal offenders in prison setting

TL;DR

A three-month peer-training program aimed at reducing aggression in prison offenders showed limited success, with longer-sentence inmates and those with lower education showing higher aggression levels.

Contribution

A novel peer-based social therapy approach was tested for managing aggression among criminal offenders in a prison setting.

Findings

Offenders with longer sentences showed higher aggression scores both before and after training.

Lower education levels were associated with higher aggression levels after training.

Three months of training was insufficient for significant improvement in aggression control.

Abstract

A new approach of social therapy for criminal offenders was applied in Penalty Facility in Niš, Serbia. It is based on three month peer-training focusing on recognizing of triggers for anger, understanding emotional manifestation and learning socially acceptable ways of anger expression.

To estimate how the impact of pear-based training influences the level of agression of criminal offenders in prison settings.

One hander and six prisoners were randomly assigned to program. The six previously educated inmates trained the participants through 12 work-shops. An independent professional evaluated change in aggression levels after training using Buss&Perry Aggression Scale. We compared subgroups with shorter versus longer sentences pre and post training using Student’s t test. And univariate logistic regression analysis for impacts of sociodemographic variables on aggression scores.

We found a significant higher scores of anger (6.6 ± 4.7 & 11.8 ± 4.2, p=0,043) hostility (15.5 ± 8 & 20.1 ± 6.5, p=0,029) and total aggression (32 ± 14 & 48 ± 21, p=0,023 in subgroup with longer sentences at baseline. After training anger (12.4 ± 4.8 & 15.5 ± 5.6, p= 0,0167), physical aggression (14.6 ± 51. & 17.2 ± 5.6 ,p=0,024) and total aggression score (55.5 ± 14.1 & 68.2 ± 18, p=0,0152) remained higher in the group with sentences more than five years. Lower education level is associated with undesirable outcome-higher level of aggression after training.

Three months training was not sufficient for adopting skills for better control of aggressive behavior in criminal offenders never the less the length of the sentences.

None Declared