(PS11-C71) Code of Honor: What Cognitions Predict Anger in Prison Inmates?

Sunday, November 20, 2022

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST

Location: Westside Ballroom, 5th Floor

Author(s)

MW

Michael Wydo, Psy.D.

Psychologist
Albert Ellis Institute
Queens, New York
RD

Raymond DiGiuseppe, ABPP, Ph.D.

Professor
St. John's University
Jamaica, New York
AS

Annette Schieffelin, B.A.

Graduate Student
St. John’s University
Forest Hills, New York
JT

Jacqueline Torres, None

Student
St. John's University
Jamaica, New York

Co-Author(s)

AP

Ashleigh Plummer, None

Undergraduate Student
St. John’s University
Queens, New York
GB

Gianna Bolusi, B.A.

Graduate Student
St. John’s University
Queens, New York
KR

Katharine Romero, M.A.

Graduate Student
St. John’s University
Queens, New York
JB

Julia Bonanno, None

Undergraduate Stufent
St. John’s University
Queens, New York
SG

Shannon E. Gasparro, B.A.

Graduate Student
St. John’s University
Holtsville, New York

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is considered the gold standard in treating disturbed anger. However, despite CBT’s superiority, many clients do not improve. Insight into the specific cognitive constructs that are most strongly related to disturbed anger could guide the development of more effective treatments. One such construct is The Code of Honor (CoH). We observed that the CoH is rarely targeted in CBT despite evidence that it is highly related to anger and aggression. Our previous research showed that the CoH predicted aggression better than other clinical constructs targeted in CBT. The CoH is a set of attitudes about one’s reputation. Behavior that upholds the CoH includes aggression used to maintain and achieve personal status and reputation within groups. CoH’s influence on anger and aggression has not been well studied in a prison sample and there are no CBT manuals that target this in treatment. Research shows that high self-esteem serves as a protective factor in the relationship between CoH and disturbed anger. However, this only produced a small effect. We believe that self-acceptance will serve as a stronger protective factor in reducing the effect of CoH on disturbed anger. Reactive anger includes strong coercion and verbal aggression. Vengeance includes the motive of revenge and aggression towards people, passive aggression, and relational aggression. We predicted CoH will more strongly correlate with anger vengeance than it will with anger subscales. We administered the CoH scale, the Anger Disorders Scale Short Form (ADS-SF), and a self-acceptance scale which measures Ellis’ rational and irrational beliefs in a prison population. The ADS-SF consists of three factors: Anger-In, reactive anger, and vengeance. The scales used were part of a larger study that investigated anger cognitions. 71 unidentified adult male p</span>risoners completed the CoH and measures of dysfunctional anger. No other demographics were gathered because the prison prohibited the collection of such information.Pearson’s correlation showed a minor effect between self-acceptance and CoH (r = 0.225). Self-esteem was negatively correlated with CoH and had a small effect size (r = -0.132). Vengeance had a moderate correlation with CoH (r = 0.451) while reactive anger had a small correlation with CoH (r = 0.218). Results showed that self-acceptance was a protective factor and mediated the relationship between the CoH and disturbed anger better than self-esteem did. It also correlates higher with anger than does self-esteem, and self-acceptance. Vengeance correlated the highest with CoH compared to other anger subscales. We ran a mediational model, in which self-acceptance and self-esteem affected the relationship between CoH and disturbed anger. We predict that self-esteem will be a weak mediator and self-acceptance will be more negatively connected to anger. The greater self-worth and self-acceptance a person have, the less they feel the need to prove they are tough. These results suggest that increasing a client’s self-acceptance, rather than their self-esteem, could counter the negative influence of CoH beliefs.