title: Reductions in aggression and violence following cognitive behavioural anger treatment for detained patients with intellectual disabilities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aggression is a significant problem amongst people with intellectual disabilities (ID), particularly those residing in hospital settings. Anger is related to aggression in secure services working people with ID, and the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing anger has been demonstrated in this population. However, no studies have systematically examined whether levels of aggression reduce following anger treatment with people with ID detained in secure settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  This programme evaluation study concerns individually delivered cognitive anger treatment delivered to 50 patients (44 men and 6 women) with mild to borderline ID, delivered twice weekly for 18 sessions in a specialist forensic hospital service. Aggressive incidents and physical assault data were obtained from records 12 months pre-treatment and 12 months post-treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following completion of treatment, the total number of aggressive incidents recorded in patients' files fell by 34.5%, and the post-treatment reduction in the number of physical assaults was 55.9%. Analysis of the data partitioned into 6-month blocks over the 24-month study period showed that significant reductions in aggressive and violent incidents occurred in the assessment intervals following anger treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings reinforce the efficacy of cognitive behavioural anger treatment for detained patients with ID and histories of aggression; and despite its methodical limitations the study indicates the ecological validity of this treatment approach.
authors: Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.|Psychological Services, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Taylor
authors: Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Novaco
authors: Psychological Services, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D000067449:Anger Management Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: anger; cognitive behavioural; hospital patients; intellectual disabilities; treatment; violence