The meaning of anger for Australian Indigenous offenders: the significance of context.
The problem of overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Australian prisons highlights the need for effective tertiary intervention programs within correctional settings as a way of reducing Indigenous reincarceration. This study seeks to explore meanings of anger within an Indigenous context that might inform the development of more acceptable and potentially more effective rehabilitation programs. A methodology that acknowledges the importance of narrative, context, and culture was devised to explore how anger as an emotion is understood and experienced by a group of Indigenous men in a South Australian prison. Although some of the major themes reflected experiences of anger common to many offenders, it was evident that for these Indigenous men, anger was experienced within a broad social and political context that imbued the experience of anger with layers of culturally specific meaning. It is suggested that these layers of meaning constitute sufficient difference to warrant further exploration.
Day
Andrew
A
Centre for Applied Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, South Australia. andrew.day@unisa.edu.au
Davey
Linda
L
Wanganeen
Rosemary
R
Howells
Kevin
K
DeSantolo
Jason
J
Nakata
Martin
M
D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044382:Population Groups / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012931:Social Environment; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data