Karen Heseltine

Bio: Karen Heseltine is an academic researcher from University of South Australia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Prison & Anger. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 13 publications receiving 356 citations.

Brief anger management programs with offenders: Outcomes and predictors of change

Abstract: Anger management interventions with offenders, particularly violent offenders, are a common form of rehabilitative activity. The rationale for addressing anger problems is clear-cut and there is good evidence that anger management can be effective with some client populations. Information relating to effectiveness with serious offenders, however, is sparse. An intervention study is reported in which offenders receiving anger management were compared with waiting list controls on a range of dependent measures. In general, the degree of pre-treatment/post-treatment change was small and experimental versus control differences were not statistically significant. The degree of improvement was found to be predictable from pre-treatment measures of anger and treatment readiness. Explanations of the low impact of anger management on violent offenders are discussed and recommendations made for improving outcomes.

Prison-based correctional offender rehabilitation programs: The 2009 national picture in Australia

Abstract: Offender rehabilitation is one of the central purposes of correctional services around Australia and yet it not always easy access information about which programs are available in each state or territory. This report not only provides an overview of prison based programs, but also offers a commentary on the current status and quality of programs and the directions in which they are likely to develop in the future. It is likely to be a valuable resource for those who are interesting in understanding more about the current status of offender rehabilitation in Australia.

Anger management and violence prevention : improving effectiveness

Abstract: After reviewing the findings of previous studies of anger management programs, this paper discusses the findings of a study of 200 male offenders (mainly prisoners) in South Australia and Western Australia before and after they participated in an anger management intervention. The study found that the overall impact of the anger management interventions was small and no significant differences were observed for community versus prison participants. The paper discusses the question of who benefits most from anger management programs, concluding that those high in anger and low in anger control at the outset, and those who were motivated to work on their anger problems, showed greater improvement on a wide range of anger measures. The paper also discusses the reasons for the low impact of offender anger management programs, and makes recommendations for improving anger management outcomes.

Correctional offender rehabilitation programs : the national picture in Australia

Abstract: This is a report of a study funded by the Criminology Research Council. The report provides a descriptive picture of the nature of offender rehabilitation programs offered to adult clients of correctional services throughout Australia. The information contained in the report was obtained from face-to-face interviews with representatives from each State/Territory correctional administration, as well as from existing documentation and program manuals supplied by each jurisdiction. The first part of the report provides an outline of the legislative guidance and/or mandates given to jurisdictions in the delivery of rehabilitation programs, followed by a description of the nine different types of offender rehabilitation program that are currently offered in Australia. These are programs which aim to target the following areas: cognitive skills, drug and alcohol, anger management, violence, domestic violence, sex offending, as well as programs for specific populations: special needs, female offenders and Indigenous offenders. The report then discusses the strengths of offender rehabilitation programs in Australia, including good practice principles, and future challenges in delivering these. The second part of the report provides a more detailed description of programs offered to offenders, reported by jurisdiction. This provides information that may be used to compare and contrast the types of programs offered in each State/Territory.

THE PREDICTION OF VIOLENCE IN ADULT OFFENDERS A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Instruments and Methods of Assessment

Abstract: Using 88 studies from 1980 to 2006, a meta-analysis compares risk instruments and other psychological measures on their ability to predict general (primarily nonsexual) violence in adults. Little variation was found amongst the mean effect sizes of common actuarial or structured risk instruments (i.e., Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management Violence Risk Assessment Scheme; Level of Supervision Inventory‐Revised; Violence Risk Assessment Guide; Statistical Information on Recidivism scale; and Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised). Third-generation instruments, dynamic risk factors, and file review plus interview methods had the advantage in predicting violent recidivism. Second-generation instruments, static risk factors, and use of file review were the strongest predictors of institutional violence. Measures derived from criminological-related theories or research produced larger effect sizes than did those of less content relevance. Additional research on existing risk instruments is required to provide more precise point estimates, especially regarding the outcome of institutional violence.

Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence

Abstract: AARON T. BECK: Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York, 1999, 354 pp., $26.00, ISBN 0-06-019377-8. This volume offers an exceptionally broad-based look at manifestations of anger and hostility, integrating individual psychopathology, the psychology of small group interactions, and wider sociopolitical considerations. Written by one of the foremost innovators and scholars of psychotherapy in the last 50 years, it provides the reader with a comprehensive look at one of the most important problems of contemporary society, i.e., the diagnosis and management of inappropriate anger. In addition, for the reader unschooled in the concepts and techniques of cognitive therapy it serves as an introduction to an increasingly important treatment modality The latter of these purposes, i.e., a brief explication of the basic tenets of cognitive therapy, is realized immediately in the introduction. If one were looking for a brief (6 pages) summary of the entire theory of cognitive treatment, it would be found here. All of the major concepts-automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, thought as a determinant of mood and affect, the value of correcting one's distortions, and so on-are laid out in a casual, conversational tone that completely belies the profound and radical nature of these constructs. Having reviewed his metapsychology in this way, Beck then goes on to discuss the pathogenesis of hatred within individuals. He describes a number of mental steps often covered by persons becoming angry, beginning with loss and fear and eventuating in blame and rage. His schematic diagrams are always clear without being oversimplistic, and each chapter flows into the next in a straightforward manner. Of interest to the student of comparative metapsychology is the degree to which Beck's concepts relate to those of psychoanalysis. Beck of course began in that tradition, so this in and of itself is not surprising, and he freely acknowledges his debt to Karen Horney (as well as to Albert Ellis). But it is still fascinating to read about projection and unconscious functioning in a cognitive-therapy textbook. Dynamic theorists will also appreciate Beck's speculations on the relationship between anger and low self-esteem. This kind of cross-theorizing is not the primary purpose of this book, so that these leads are scattered and not followed up in any systematic way, but they still tantalize the reader interested in psychotherapy integration. The second portion of the book shifts the focus from anger to violence. Here Beck lays out the application of his basic types of cognitive distortions, e. …

Aggression and violent behavior

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Protective Factors for Violence Risk in Forensic Psychiatric Patients: A Retrospective Validation Study of the SAPROF

Abstract: The Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors for violence risk (SAPROF) has recently been developed as a strengths-based addition to the assessment of risk for future violent behavior (de Vogel, de Ruiter, Bouman, & de Vries Robbe, 2009). Following the Structured Professional Judgment (SPJ) model, the positive and predominantly dynamic factors in the SAPROF were designed to counterbalance the assessment of risk as measured by risk assessment instruments, such as the HCR-20. The present retrospective study provides a first validation of the SAPROF in a Dutch sample of 126 forensic psychiatric patients. Analyses showed good interrater reliability, good predictive validity for non-recidivism of violence after clinical treatment for both the SAPROF total score and the SAPROF Final Protection Judgment and good predictive validity for violent recidivism for a combined HCR-20 - SAPROF total score. The predictive validity of the combined HCR-20 - SAPROF measure significantly outperformed the predictive validit...