Aggression Replacement Training

Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is manual-based program focused on young adolescents, helping them to cope with their aggressive emotions. It is a complex, multichannel, program that uses three coordinated components to reach the youth; "Social skills", "Anger management" and "moral reasoning". ART was developed in the US during the 1980s and is now used in schools and correctional systems in North America as well as Europe. [citation|title=Student Aggression: Prevention, Management and Replacement Training |author= Berj Harrootunian, Arnold P. Goldstein, Jane Close Conoley|year= 1994|publisher=Guilford Press|id=ISBN 0898622468]

General Information

ART was designed by Arnold P. Goldstein, Barry Glick and John C. Gibbs in the 1980s. [citation|title=ART Aggression Replacement Training Revised Edition - A comprehensive Intervention for Aggressive Youth|author= Arnold P. Goldstein, Barry Glick, John C. Gibbs|year= 1998|publisher=Research Press|id=ISBN 0878223797] They took concepts from a number of other theories for working with youth and incorporated them into one comprehensive system. The main methods for the youth to learn from the various components is though repetition. The model also focuses on Jean Piaget concept of peer learning. It has been shown that youth learn best from other youth.

ART is an evidence based program utilized in many areas. In Washington, ART was added as one of the four different evidence based programs implemented due to the 1997 Community Justice Accountability Act. [citation|title=The Community Juvenile Accountability Act: Research-Proven Interventions for the Juvenile Courts|author= Robert Barnoski|year= 1999|publisher= Washington State Institute for Public Policy|id=Doc-ID 99-01-1204]

ART is done in many different formats. Generally, it is a 10 week program, meeting three times a week for one hour each. To have the best results it is facilitated and co-facilitated by trained leaders. Room set up, introduction of materials, the number of participants, and the participants history are all issues that work towards having a profitable group.

ocial Skills

Structured Learning Training is the behavioral components of ART. Many youths with criminal behavior and/or have difficulties controlling their anger lack social skills. Many of the concepts of the social skills component are taken from Albert Bandura's work. There are many different social skills that these youth are thought to lack. The ART intervention focuses on the following social skills that are particular to reducing aggressive behavior:
* Making a compliant
* Understanding the feelings of others
* Dealing with someone else's anger
* Getting ready for a difficult conversation
* Keeping out of fights
* Dealing with group pressure
* Dealing with an accusation
* Helping Others
* Expressing affection to others
* Responding to failureThese social skills are broken down into various steps (both thinking and action steps). The facilitator discusses the day's skill, bringing out relevant examples. Then the facilitator demonstrates a practice situation to give the youth a picture of using the skill. The youth are asked to point out each of the steps. Then each of the youth is asked to use a practice situation that they have recently had using the skill. Again, the other youth go though and discuss each of the steps each time.

Anger Control Training

Anger control training is the emotional component of ART. This moves from the teaching of social skills, to losing anti-social skills and replacing them with pro-social skills. The anger control training uses the anger control chain. This is a process taught to the youth to deal with situation that cause them to get angry. Once again, one segment of the anger control chain is taught each week and the both the facilitators and the youth practice the new skills with relevant life activities. The anger control chain is as follows;
* Triggers (internal & external) -- The situation that starts the slide into anger and the self talk that perpetuates it
* Cues -- physical signs of becoming angry
* Anger reducers -- activities that are done to reduce or take our mind off of the situation
* Reminders -- short positive statements
* Thinking ahead -- If then thinking
* Social Skill -- Implementing a pro-social skill into the situation
* Evaluation -- Looking back over the use of the anger control chain and evaluating how was implemented

Moral Reasoning Training

Moral reasoning training is the values component of ART. This component takes various scenarios and asks questions about if various activities would be right or wrong to do in those situations. Thinking errors are also taught during this day of training. The thinking errors that are taught are:
* Self-centered thinking -- "it's all about me"
* Assuming the worst -- "it would happen anyways" or "they would do it to me"
* Blaming others -- "it's there fault"
* Mislabeling / minimizing -- "it's not stealing, I'm only borrowing it..." or "everybody else does it"

The class is taught by tallying up the groups answers before the session on a sheet. The facilitator goes though each of the group members from the most pro-social answer to the least. After the various group members have had to answer, the pro-social answering members are asked to discuss with the anti-social answering group members their point of view. The hope is that they can better show these members a different point of view. The values behind the answers are also pointed out by the facilitator. The Moral Reasoning component of ART draws heavily from Kolhberg's stages of moral develop. According to Kolhberg there are three phases of moral development that are comprised of 6 distinct stages. Kolhberg suggests that progress through the stages is linear and invariantly sequential. Stage one thinkers subscribe to the motto of "might makes right". Stage two thinkers adopt the "gotta get mine, before they get theirs" line of reasoning. Stage three thinkers align with a distorted version of the "golden rule". Stage three thinkers are willing to engage in pro-social decision making if there is something in it for them. Stage for thinkers begin to consider the greater community in their decision making.

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