Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls
Problems addressed
Interpersonal violence or injuries
Low social–emotional competences
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Teenagers (14 to 17 years)
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Prisons or socio-educational residential centers
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy program for adolescent girls with aggression and self-control issues who live in correctional institutions. The aim is to reduce feelings of anger and aggressive behavior.
The intervention is manualized and applied in 16 group sessions over eight weeks, in which problem-solving, emotional regulation, stress management, communication skills, and cognitive restructuring are addressed.
Participants receive points for taking part in individual activities and group meetings, and these points can be exchanged for rewards, such as extra time on the phone and cosmetics.

Impact evaluations

An impact evaluation showed that program participants had statistically significant reductions in anger, physical aggression, and relational aggression, compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Goldstein, N. E. S., Giallella, C. L., Haney-Caron, E., Peterson, L., Serico, J., Kemp, K., Romaine, C. R., Zelechoski, A. D., Holliday, S. B., Kalbeitzer, R., Kelley, S. M., Hinz, H., Sallee, M., Pennacchia, D., Prelic, A., Burkard, C., Grisso, T., Heilbrun, K., Núñez, A., . . . & Lochman, J. (2018). Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Psychological Services, 15(4), 386–397. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000184

Information source