Blog 6

Blog 6:



Read the posted article, Excerpt from Preventing Violence Through Anger Management (Drecktrah & Wallenfang) and the information provided in Chapter 9 – Addressing Aggressive Behaviours to complete this blog.

Envision a student with anger issues in your elementary, middle school OR high school (choose 1) classroom. Briefly describe an incident or series of incidents the student has engaged in, identify a probably cause (you make it up) from the chart on pg 273 of the text and identify the type of intervention YOU would most likely use and why. Use the article and/or text for the intervention. See chart above.

Jamie Dennison is a grade 11 student from an upper-middle class household. He is well liked by his peers, excels academically, and is a pitcher for the school baseball team. Jamie has taken piano lessons since kindergarten, and loves to draw. In October, Jamie was caught (by school surveillance cameras) throwing a rock through a school window. This resulted in a one week suspension, and a fine to offset the cost of replacing the window. In February, Jamie masterminded a prank where he and two other students killed a rat, skinned it, and displayed it in the boy’s locker room. Prior to these incidents, Jamie’s art teacher had referred him to the school counsellor, as many of his paintings included dark and disturbing imagery. He was further referred to an outside youth psychologist, but stopped visiting after two sessions because the drive was too far. Jamie’s parents are strict perfectionists who work long hours.

While there could be multiple causes for Jamie’s behaviour, the most probably cause is mismanagement of contingencies. Jamie’s aggressive behaviours are being reinforced, and alternatives are extinguished. When Jamie threw the rock at the window, he likely received positive attention from his peers and negative attention from school authorities. The incident with the skinned rat was also reinforced by attention from his peers, and possibly a sense of power from causing chaos in the school environment. Prior to engaging in violent behaviour, Jamie was using art as an alternative for expressing emotions and communicating non-verbally. As he is no longer using painting as an activity to release his frustrations, Jamie has resorted to aggression to voice his feelings.

I would be more likely to use an intervention plan, rather than one specific intervention strategy to deal with Jamie’s behaviour. The main goal I would have with Jamie is to intervene as early as possible, before the onset of further violent behaviour. While Drecktrah and Wallenfang suggest that intervening in elementary school is the most effective, in Jamie’s case the violence did not have a known history. As a result, it would be important to intervene early in the cycle of violence, before the behaviour escalates to dangerous, harmful levels. I would begin an intervention with a functional behaviour assessment to determine what motivates the behaviour and what benefits are derived from the violent acts. Knowing that his parents are not constantly present, I would hypothesize that Jamie’s goals for misbehaviour are attention and power. I would also consider possible environmental factors associated with the exhibition of Jamie’s aggressive behaviours, such as violence in the home or from other role models. For Jamie, I feel that providing desirable activities, such as art, might help him work out alternative solutions for some of his problems. Jamie might benefit from art therapy or anger notes to help him express feelings that are difficult to verbalize. As well, Jamie could be provided with a more accessible therapist to help him recognize and communicate his emotions.

Works Consulted:

Drecktan, M, & Wallenfang, A. Preventing violence through anger management (excerpt).

Ker, M.M., & Nelson, C.M. (2010). Strategies for addressing behavior problems in the classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.