Behavioural Approaches to Violent Crime (From Clinical Approaches to Violence, P 25-37, 1989, Kevin Howells and Clive R Hollin, eds. -- See NCJ-125629)

• NCJ Number: 125630
• Author(s): M Henderson
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

The expression and inhibition of violent behavior are viewed as a function of previous learning history and current social and situational determinants that are mediated by internalized norms, attitudes, and cognitions.

Abstract

The most appropriate approach to controlling and managing violent behavior involves replacing the learned violent response with an alternative nonviolent one, and this can best be achieved through affecting behavioral skills and cognitive processes. Social skills training is one of the most commonly used behavioral approaches and is characterized by five component processes: information giving, modeling, behavioral rehearsal, corrective feedback, and social reinforcement. Central to the social skills training process is identifying the target behavior (violence) within a situation-specific context, followed by teaching alternative responses to the situation. The use of social skills training in the management of violent crime involves several implementation issues, such as assessment, training procedures, generalization to real-life situations, and the institutional environment. A case illustration of a social skills training program implemented in 1982 at a British maximum security prison is included. 45 references.