Effects of stress inoculation on the anger and aggression management skills of institutionalized juvenile delinquents

Thirty-eight institutionalized male delinquents evidencing verbal and physical aggression in response to anger provocations were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: stress inoculation training, a treatment elements condition (which left out certain ingredients of stress inoculation), or a no-treatment control condition. Both active treatments reduced anger and aggression on three self-report scales. Only stress inoculation lowered verbal aggression in laboratory role-played provocations. Two demand analyses suggest that the latter difference is not artifactual. The social psychology of the institution may have been at least partly responsible for null effects on institutional behavior ratings.