NCJ Number
198926
Date Published
2002
Length
239 pages
Annotation
In describing the nature and application of a distinctive methodology of "Aggression Management," this book instructs readers in how to measure aggression in others and in themselves, so as to prevent aggressive behavior.
Abstract
The first chapter describes and analyzes the nature of aggression as a social epidemic, notably in the workplace. The second chapter explains how to identify the emergence of aggression and foresee the possibility of conflict. This is followed by a chapter that instructs the reader in the skills required to engage and diffuse aggression, whether in someone else or in oneself. These two elements of the basic "aggression continuum" are the key to effective aggression management. The author describes an effective means to measure aggression in self and others. A graphic is provided to illustrate that aggression is composed of parts, which if understood and properly addressed can diffuse most aggression. The "trigger" phase involves the initial stimuli that trigger stress and anxiety; the "escalation" phase consists of mounting anxiety; and the "crisis" phase involves loss of verbal control leading to the loss of physical control (violence). The lesson drawn is that the more an aggressor is allowed to escalate from one phase to another, the less opportunity there will be to diffuse the aggression. The sooner the aggression continuum is identified and diffusion measures applied, the less likely it is that escalation will occur. After describing the skills that should be developed and applied to diffuse aggression, a series of chapters focus on several working environments in which aggression has been apparently more prevalent, either because of existing statistics or because of recent headlines regarding violence in those environments. These environments are school, public service (postal and law enforcement), the retail food service industry, and terrorism. The concluding chapter describes various options for aggression-management training. A glossary and a 17-item bibliography