Small Group Counseling for Reactive Aggressive, Anger-Fueled Bullying Behavior

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Small Group Counseling for Reactive Aggressive,
Anger-Fueled Bullying Behavior

• Jim Larson, Ph.D.
• School Psychology Program
• Department of Psychology
• University of Wisconsin Whitewater
• Whitewater, WI 53190
• larsonj_at_uww.edu
• and
• The Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and
  Treatment

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Aggressive Patterns in Students Who Bully - I

• Proactive, Cool-Headed Aggression
• goal-oriented aggressive behaviors
• unprovoked intentions to exert power over others
• higher peer status, often popular
• overvalued use of aggression
• underestimates of victim impact

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Aggressive Patterns in Students Who Bully - II

• Reactive, Anger-Fueled Aggression
• hypervigilant for aggressive cues
• biased interpretation of ambiguous cues
• Hostile attributional bias
• narrow solution generation ability
• poor emotional understanding/regulation
• lower peer status
• high disciplinary contacts

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Rarely are there pure types

• Most have elements of both
• Importance of a good assessment
• Observation and FBA
• Self-Reports, e.g., Multidimensional School Anger
  Inventory or Childrens Inventory of Anger
• Teacher Screening Scale

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Teacher Screening Scale (Adapt. Dodge
Coie,1987 in HSCWA Larson, 2002)

• Never Almost Always
• 1 2 3 4 5
• When teased, fights back
• Blames others in fights
• Overreacts angrily to accidents
• Uses physical force to dominate
• Gets others to gang up on a peer
• Threatens and bullies others
• Reactive Proactive

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Treatment ImplicationsWhen Anger is a Key
Component

• Essential Components for Group
• Treatment
• Emotional education and emotional regulation
  training for generalization
• Identifying and Differentiating Feeling States
• Recognizing Affective Continuums
• Rehearsal of Techniques for Regulation

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Treatment ImplicationsWhen Anger is a Key
Component

• Essential Components for Group
• Treatment
• Attribution re-training for generalization
• Challenge Hostile Attributional Biases
• Train Cue Recognition Strategies
• Use Alternative Explanations Practice

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Treatment ImplicationsWhen Anger is a Key
Component

• Essential Components for Group
• Treatment
• Social problem-solving training for
  generalization
• Train Problem-Solving Steps
• Rehearse Authentic Scenarios

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Treatment ImplicationsWhen Anger is a Key
Component

• Essential Components for Group
• Treatment
• Behavioral skills training for generalization
• Link to Problem-Solving Solutions
• Train Assertiveness Skills

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What is meant by TRAINING?

• It is one thing to know about a skill, but quite
  another to engage the skill in fast moving
  moments of stress, ambiguity, and potential
  danger

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What is meant by GENERALIZATION?

• Can the youth enact the skill
• Across settings?
• Across individuals?
• Across multiple trigger events?
• and can it be maintained over time?

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Implications for Training and Generalization

• Present to student at outset and keep reminding
• Insight, model, rehearse, feedback, repeat
• New situation, new location, new people
• Gather multiple collaborators
• Teachers, family, POs
• Get in for the Long Haul, include Boosters
• Nothing happens in six weeks

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Anger Coping Program

• Small group counseling for children 8-12
• Evidenced-based, cognitive-behavioral orientation
• Highly collaborative with classroom teacher
• 18 sessions plus boosters

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Think First Program

• Small group counseling program for adolescents
• Research is emerging and promising
• 18 weeks plus boosters
• School focus, linked to academics and
  disciplinary structure

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See Also...

• SkillStreaming
• Adolescent and child versions
• Aggression Replacement Training (ART) for
  adolescents
• Anger Training
• Social Skills Training
• Moral Development Training
• Both at www.researchpress.com

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Classroom Curriculum

• Second Step Violence Prevention Program
• Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS)
• I Can Problem-Solve (ICPS)
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional
  Learning www.CASEL.org

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References

• Larson, J. (2005). Think First Addressing
  aggressive behavior in the secondary schools. New
  York Guilford Press www.guilford.com
• Larson, J., Lochman, J. E. (2002). Helping
  schoolchildren cope with anger A
  cognitive-behavioral intervention. New York
  Guilford Press
• Second Step Violence Prevention Program available
  at www.cfchildren.com
• PATHS available at www.channing-bete.com
• ICPS available at www.researchpress.com