title: Anger management group treatment for cocaine dependence: preliminary outcomes.
abstract: Cocaine abusers who fail to manage anger appropriately may have greater difficulty achieving and maintaining abstinence. We conducted a pilot study to examine an anger management group treatment in a sample of 59 men and 32 women with a diagnosis of cocaine dependence. Participants attended a 12-week anger management group treatment and background substance abuse treatment. Levels of anger, negative affect, and anger control were measured at baseline, weekly during treatment, and at 3-month posttreatment follow-up. Levels of anger decreased and anger control increased between baseline and the end of treatment. End-of-treatment changes were maintained at follow-up. These findings were not moderated by gender, age, or psychiatric medication use. In the absence of a randomized control group, we cannot make conclusive statements regarding the effectiveness of the anger management group treatment. However, these preliminary findings demonstrate the need for a randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of the anger management group treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco and San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 94121, USA. REILLY.PATRICK_M@SANFRANCISCO.VA.GOV
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shopshire
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology