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CBT in a Caribbean Context: A Controlled Trial of Anger Management in Trinidadian Prisons

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Gerard Hutchinson ,
Paul Willner ,
John Rose ,
Ian Burke  and
Tony Bastick Open the ORCID record for Tony Bastick [Opens in a new window]
Gerard Hutchinson
Affiliation:
University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago
Paul Willner
Affiliation:
Swansea University, UK
John Rose
Affiliation:
St. Andrews Health Care, Northampton, and the University of Birmingham, UK
Ian Burke
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham, UK
Tony Bastick*
Affiliation:
University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago
*
Correspondence to Tony Bastick, Psychiatry Unit, Department of Clinical Medical Sciences, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt. Hope Hospital, UWI, Trinidad. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background: Anger causes significant problems in offenders and to date few interventions have been described in the Caribbean region. Aim: To evaluate a package of CBT-based Anger Management Training provided to offenders in prison in Trinidad. Method: A controlled clinical trial with 85 participants who participated in a 12-week prison-based group anger management programme, of whom 57 (67%: 16 control, 41 intervention) provided pretrial and posttrial outcome data at Times 1 and 2. Results: Intervention and control groups were not directly comparable so outcome was analysed using t-tests. Reductions were noted for state and trait anger and anger expression, with an increase in coping skills for the intervention group. No changes were noted in the control group. The improvements seen on intervention were maintained at 4 month follow-up for a sub-group of participants for whom data were available. Several predictors of outcomes were identified.

Keywords

CBTangercontrolled trialprisonCaribbeanTrinidad
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2016 

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