http://www.southjournals.com
South Journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling http://southjournals.com/ojs-2.4.5/index.php/sjepc
The Effectiveness of Anger Management Group Training based on
Cognitive Restructuring on Increasing Students’ Social Intimacy in
Shiraz
Sajad Farhadi *1, Masoud Alikhani2
1
(M.A Student of School Counseling,Allameh Tabataba'i University, Iran)
2
(Ph.D. Student of Clinical Psychology, Azad University,Shiraz Branch,Shiraz, Iran)
*Corresponding author: Sajad Farhadi
To cite this paper: farhadi, S., Alikhani, M. (2017). The Effectiveness of Anger Management Group Training based on Cognitive Restructuring on Increasing Students’ Social Intimacy in Shiraz. South journal of Educational Psychology and Counseling, 4, 1, 78-84.
Abstract: In line with necessity of training "the emotional management" skills, the present study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of group counseling for anger management based on cognitive restructuring on increasing social intimacy among male secondary school students in Shiraz. A quasi-experimental method study with pretest and posttest design and control group was used. Spielberger questionnaire, as a screening tool, was conducted on 112 high school students. People who got the highest scores on this test were defined as the target group and among them 20 students were selected and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Then anger management training package based on cognitive-behavioral approach was trained to the experimental group in 12 sessions and 90 minutes per each session. In addition to the 57-item Spielberger questionnaire (Staxi-2), a 17-item questionnaire for management of social intimacy (MSI) was conducted on two groups before and after the sessions. To describe the data, mean, variance and standard deviation were used. Covariance was used to analyze the data. The results showed that group counseling for anger management based on cognitive restructuring did not increase the social intimacy in students.
Introduction
Violence and aggression, at different levels and aspects, is considered as a huge and global problem and the source of many crimes, deviations and even wars should be sought in this matter. At a glance, the cause of moral decline and spiritual silence of many individuals, groups and societies is violence and aggression, and war, murder, destruction, violence and assaults are examples of this behavior. During recent decades, violence and aggression have dramatically increased. Some researchers believe the main reason for increase in the rates of aggressive behavior and violence is the increase of poverty. Others refer to the remarkable role of the mass media. According to these researchers, the media, especially television, are important factors to increase aggressive behaviors. But most complete view on aggression refers to the effects of biological, learning and cognitive factors. This method is a combinational treatment, which typically combines exposure with cognitive restructuring. In fact, it changes the cognitive rules that disrupt the behavior (Sadock and Sadock, 2005).
On the other hand, it can be stated that social intimacy is an important feature of interpersonal relationships and affects on the rate of violence and aggression. Ericsson knew intimacy tasks in transition from adolescence to adulthood stage as a key factor (Daneshvarpour et al., 2007). Burke believed that intimacy can be seen in close interpersonal relations like relation with parents, close friends and spouse (Daneshvarpour, 2006). In addition, a sign of having the ability to intimacy is the desire to participate in the close, warm, communicative and committing interactions which have an essential role in the successful and fruitful life of an adult (Daneshvarpour et al., 2007).
Social intimacy is tendency of an individual to participate in a supportive and loving relation without losing the self in that regard (Ericsson, 1975). Adolescents with low anger are more prepared for intimate social relationships. In such circumstances, cognitive-behavioral approach deals with promotion of social behaviors, increase of intimacy and positive relationship with the person by training the coping methods, internal dialogue, and problem-solving strategies (Kolko and Swenson, 2002). A research which shows that anger management group counseling based on cognitive restructuring increases social intimacy was not found in literature and the present research in this area is an innovation.
In this regard, what seems important is that anger management treatment should be performed as a group therapy. The number of participants in the group ideally is eight people, but the number of the group can range from 5 to 10 people. This is for several reasons. First, there are substantial experimental interventions about group cognitive-behavioral intervention (Carroll, Rounsaville and Gawin, 1991; Mau de Griffin et al., 1998; Smokowski and Wodarski, 1996). Secondly, group therapy is effective and the cost is affordable (Hoyt, 1993; Piper, and Joyce, 1996), and thirdly, group therapy provides a wider range of flexibility in the role-play (Yalom, 1995) and behavioral training activities (Heimberg and Juster, 1994; Juster and Heimberg, 1995). According to the above interpretations, the present study was done to answer the
question “whether group training for anger management based on cognitive
restructuring is effective on increasing intimacy or not”.
Research Method
112 students that all of them participated in Spielberger aggression test and the students whose test scores were 52 percent or higher were selected and then among them 18 individuals were randomly selected and assigned to control and experimental groups (9 subjects per each group).
Research Tools
Spielberger State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2): The 57-item STAXI-2 questionnaire consists of three parts and 57 items, which its first part measures the state anger, the second part measures the anger trait and the third part measures the way of anger expression and control. Each item of the questionnaire is measured using a 4-point Likert scale; the completion of the questionnaire lasts about 12 to 15 minutes. The information summarized in the test practical guide shows that alpha coefficients for scales and subscales of the state of anger (S.Ang) and the trait of anger (T.Ang) equal to 0.84 or higher (on average, r=0.88), and for the scales stating the expression of anger (AX-I, AX-O), control of anger (AC.I, AC.O) and the overall index of anger expression (AX Index) equal to 0.73 or higher (on average, r=0.82). Therefore, Cronbach's alpha coefficient as a measure of internal consistency, generally, is satisfactory for various components of STAXI-2, and gender and illness of the subjects do not have a significant effect on alpha coefficients.
Miller Social Intimacy Scale (MSI): This scale was designed by Miller and Lefcourt to assess intimacy received from different relationships. The items of the scale were developed using the organized interviews in which participants discussed the role of intimacy in all their relationships, including relationships with friends, family and members of their family. The scale includes two categories of items that one of which includes 6 items assigned to psychological intimacy description and another including 11 items assigned to description of the experienced intimacy at the present time. All items will be answered on a 10-point Likert scale. Items 2 and 14 are answered reversely and the rest of the items are scored based on a 10-point scale (1=very rarely/low to 10=almost always/high). Miller and Lefcourt (1982) reported
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of various performances equal to 0.86 to
The process of conducting the research
At first, 20 students were selected among the students of Sahid Behesti high school in city of Shiraz through convenience sampling method and were assigned to experimental and control groups. After specifying the experimental and control groups, anger management training program were weekly applied to the experimental group for 12 sessions, 90 minutes per each. At the end of the program, one of the members of the experimental group left the group due to illness and inability to participate in the sessions, so we randomly reduced one of the members of the control group and the number of members in each group became 9 people. Finally, at the end of the program both groups participated in post-test. Training package used in this study consisted of 12 training sessions that were held as group training by the experimenter. Anger management group training was conducted based on cognitive-behavioral method and in weekly 90-minute sessions. The present training package was developed by Patrick Reilly and Michael-Shop Schapper that the details of each session are presented in the table below.
Table 1. The outline of the issues presented during 12 sessions of anger management group training based on cognitive-behavioral approach
Session The objectives and activities of each session
One Introducing group rules, consequences, false beliefs about anger, strategies to control anger, introducing participants and anger measurements
Two Events triggering anger, signs of anger and assessment
Three Anger management program, relaxation through breathing and homework
Four The aggressive cycle training, progressive muscle relaxation and homework
Five The A-B-C-D model, stop thinking and homework
Six Reviewing concepts learned and homework
Seven Assertiveness training, conflict resolution model and homework (1)
Eight Assertiveness training, conflict resolution model and homework (2)
Nin Anger, family and homework (1)
Ten Anger, family and homework (2)
Eleven Reviewing concepts learned and homework
Twelve Reviewing concepts learned and conclusions
Data analysis method
To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. Descriptive statistical methods used in this study included frequency, mean, variance, standard deviation and standard error deviation. Inferential statistical method included analysis of covariance that was applied to the main hypothesis of the study. After collecting the given questionnaires, all information was analyzed by SPSS software.
Results
Table 1. Comparing the individuals’ anger mean in the experimental and control groups
Number Groups Mean Standard deviation
Group 9 Control 65 6.02
9 Experimental 63.22 9.44
Total 18 Total 64.11 7.73
Table 2. Univariate analysis of covariance related to the effectiveness of anger management based on cognitive restructuring on increasing students' social intimacy have been presented in the above table. Based on F-value (0.227) and according to the degree of freedom (df=1), by accepting the error of more than 0.05 (Sig=0.640) and
This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of anger management group training based on cognitive restructuring to increase secondary school male students’ intimacy in Shiraz. Analysis of covariance showed no significant difference in social intimacy between control and experimental groups as a result of anger management group training based on cognitive restructuring; therefore, the null hypothesis is confirmed and the main hypothesis is rejected. The obtained mean indicates that there is no significant difference between social intimacy of control and experimental groups before and after the training. In order to explain the lack of effectiveness of anger management group training based on cognitive restructuring on increasing
social intimacy, given that social intimacy is person’s tendency to have a supportive
Khdayarifard et al., (2011) studied the effect of the components of emotional intelligence training on social intimacy that this research study showed that ability of
understanding others’ feelings and emotional balance have high correlation with establishing a intimate and friendly relation with others. Daneshvarpour et al., (2007) also studied the relationship between gender and social intimacy with emphasis on the mediating role of identity styles in high school students that the results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between the scores of social intimacy and informational and norm styles and commitment in male and female students, and there was a non-significant negative correlation between the confused style and social intimacy in females, but there was a significant positive correlation between the confused style and social intimacy in males. The results also showed that gender, educational grade, and information identity styles, norms and identity commitment can significantly predict the social intimacy. Moreover, as Williams (1985, quoted by Gaia, 2002) has pointed out, men always afraid of presenting a weak and vulnerable portrait of the self to others, so in their relationships with others by predicting the risk of social exclusion, they always refrain the feminine characteristics such as emotions and intimacy; and since the subjects of this study were male high school students, we can conclude that anger management group training based on cognitive restructuring does not increase the social intimacy of the males, and this confirms the social psychology theory that in explaining gender differences in experiencing social intimate relations shows that during the process of socialization, women and men learn to use the coordinated ways related to their gender for the experience of intimacy. Also, the findings of other researchers including, Berzonsky and Kuk (2005) and Rose and Rudolph (2006) confirm the above explanation. Among the limitations of this study, we can refer to the lack of follow-up sessions due to lack of time for implementation. Therefore, it is suggested that the parents and those involved in the education and training themselves as the patterns, control their anger at their relationships. Also, in order to learn, use and understand the role of anger management group training in increasing social intimacy, as well as to understand the importance of cognitive restructuring, training workshops and in-service training must be held for educators, especially for school counselors. And to enhance social intimacy, students who suffer from social phobias must be identified and appropriate interventions must be developed and implemented on them.
References
Berzonsky, M. D.; Kuk, L. (2005). Identity style, psychological maturity, and academic performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 235-247. Daneshvarpour, Z. (2006). The study of the relationship between identity styles and
social intimacy in male and female high school students in Tehran. Psychology
Master’s Thesis, Teacher Training (Tarbiat Moalem) University.
Daneshvarpour, Z.; Tajik Ismaili, A.; Shahr-Arai, M.; Farzad, V.; Shekari, O. (2007). Gender differences in Social population: the role of identity styles. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 4:(4), 393-404.
Erikson, E.H. (1975). Life history and the historical moment. New York. Norton. Gaia, A. C. (2002). Understanding emotional intimacy: A review of
conceptualization, assessment and the role of gender. International Social Science Review, 77, 151-170.
intimacy of girls running away from home. Social psychological studies of women, Issue 10, No. 3, 139-162.
Khodayarifard, M.; Cheshmeh-Noshi, M.; Rahimnejad, A.; Farahani, H. (2011). The effectiveness of teaching emotional intelligence components on social adjustment and social intimacy. Journal of Psychology, 367.
Kolko, D.J.; Swenson, C.C. (2002). Assessing and treating physically abused children and their families: A cognitive-behavioral approach. London: Sage.
Miler, R.S.; Lefcourt, H. M. (1982). The assessment of social intimacy. Journal of personality Assessment, 46, 514-518.
Rose, A. J.; Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98-131.
Sadock, B. J.; Sadock, V. A. (2005). Kaplan and Sadocks comprehensive textbook of psychiatry. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Spielberg, CD. (1999). STAXI-2 State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. Professional manual. PAR
