Abstract
Inductive social skills training (ISST) based on principles from Beck's cognitive therapy and cognitive-relaxation coping skills (CRCS) were compared to a no treatment control for general anger reduction. Preliminary analyses suggested equivalent, quality administration of treatments and no systematic bias in the 1-year follow-up sample. By 5-week follow-up, treatment groups, compared to the control, showed reductions of trait anger, daily anger level, anger in response to a wide range of situations, anger in the person's greatest ongoing source of provocation, anger-related physiological arousal, and trait anxiety. Regarding anger expression, treatment groups both lowered suppressive and outwardly negative anger expression styles, whereas CRCS also enhanced a controlled style of anger expression. Both groups also led to higher proportions of participants meeting a clinically reliable change index on trait anger. No treatment effects were found for assertiveness. One-year follow-up generally revealed maintenance of effects found at 5-week follow-up. Results are discussed in terms of prior findings, the efficacy and flexibility of ISST, and the need for greater clarity in relating anger and assertiveness, measuring anger, and generalizing findings.
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Preparation of this paper was funded, in part, by the Tri-ethnic Center for Prevention of Drug Abuse, National Institute of Drug Abuse grant P50DA07074.
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Deffenbacher, J.L., Oetting, E.R., Huff, M.E. et al. Evaluation of two cognitive-behavioral approaches to general anger reduction. Cogn Ther Res 20, 551–573 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02227961
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02227961