Cognitive-relaxation and social skills interventions in the treatment of general anger.

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study by Deffenbacher et al. was to ascertain if social skills interventions might benefit from greater attention to training in communication skills designed to foster interpersonal understanding. METHODOLOGY: This study was quasi-experimental. Subjects were gathered through a screening instrument questionnaire administered to introductory psychology classes ranging in size from 85 to 210 students. Subjects meeting inclusion criteria that focused on admissions of inabilities to control anger and wanting intervention were assigned into groups of 10-20 by one of the authors. The students were randomly assigned to conditions for cognitive-relaxation therapy (CRT) (14 students), for social skills training (SST) (17 students), and 18 students were placed in the control condition of no intervention aside from taking assessment tests. One student was dropped from the study for not attending pretreatment assessment. All participants were rewarded with 3 hours of university laboratory credit. Treatments consisted of eight weekly, 1-hour group sessions led by two advanced graduate students who had extensive training in cognitive, relaxation, and social skills interventions. Content and procedures for each session followed a written outline and were discussed and role played in weekly 1 1/2 hour supervised sessions. Those students who received CRT intervention attended sessions devoted to cognitive-relaxation coping rationale, progressive relaxation training, and received training in various relaxation coping skills. The students who received SST intervention attended sessions focused on the development of positive, cross-situational skills and interpersonal strategies for minimizing interpersonal antagonism and anger. General anger was assessed by Likert-type scales, in which increasing scores reflected greater self-reported anger and anger across a range of situations. General-anger expression style, or the ability to suppress anger when provoked, was also measured by a Likert-type scale. Person-specific anger, or anger unique to the individual was assessed by self-reported data, which was later rated by the severity of anger symptoms. State anger and coping were analyzed by a Likert-type scale and a 6-item Coping questionnaire following the presentation of a social provocation through imagery. Lastly, perceived treatment implementation and impact were assessed by evaluation questionnaires drawn from the authors. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: The authors found that generally, CRT and SST intervention subjects showed significant anger reduction compared with the control conditions but did not differ significantly from one another. Thus, both interventions appeared effective. However, the authors also noted that the CRT intervention subjects felt that their program was more helpful than did the SST subjects though the basis of that difference was not clear. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors noted that the cognitive-relaxation condition appeared appropriate for general aspects of anger control, though it may have had some social skills deficits. The authors therefore recommended using the broader cognitive-relaxation condition as a primary treatment and targeting social and other skill deficits toward the end of the treatment as needed. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)