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    The impact of school-based Aggression Replacement Training on emotion regulation and aggressive behaviour : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Smith, Freya
    This research evaluates the effectiveness and implementation of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) with a group of New Zealand (NZ) students aged 13-15 years (n=18). Aggression is a significant problem in NZ schools and despite recent progress with school-wide and individually targeted interventions, there are few evaluations of interventions with these adolescents. Deficient emotion regulation is a major risk factor in youth aggression. Although emotion regulation skills are targeted by many aggression interventions, outcome measures less frequently assess these skills than other social information processing abilities. This thesis links research evidence of the role of emotion in aggression, to the techniques taught in ART, to support the hypothesis that ART improves emotion regulation and reduces aggression. Analyses of the change in mean group scores and individual-level analyses indicate improvements in ART participants’ emotion regulation, anger control and social skills over the course of intervention and follow-up. These analyses also indicate reductions in ART participants’ externalising, problem behaviours and cognitive distortions. These findings support the use of ART as effective in reducing the risk of aggressive behaviour, and as an alternative to exclusionary discipline, in NZ schools. ART appears to be culturally acceptable and may offer a less resource intensive intervention than individual intervention plans. Keywords: aggression, emotion regulation, adolescence, social information processing, aggression replacement training.
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    The efficacy of Aggression Replacement Training on interpersonal deficits and aggressive subtypes in New Zealand high school students : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Mills, Jessica
    Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a three component intervention that targets the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural deficits associated with antisocial behaviour. Despite the growing number of outcome studies demonstrating the efficacy of ART in reducing antisocial behaviours, gaps in our understanding of how ART operates to create positive change remain. The current research aimed to reduce some of these gaps by trialling ART with three groups of high school students in New Zealand schools. Improvements in interpersonal competence that the intervention is claimed to target, empathy, and the proactive and reactive tendencies of aggression were investigated. This research also aimed to show the added value of the Moral Reasoning Training (MRT) component, over and above that of the Anger Control Training (ACT) and Social Skills Training (SST) components, by delivering the MRT component last and assessing change in variables over the course of the intervention. Overall the current research found multiple improvements from pre-test to follow-up, across a range of measures, consistent with theoretical expectations. Findings particularly suggest that ART may be a useful intervention for reducing reactive aggressive tendencies. However, little evidence was seen to suggest the ART is effective for reducing proactive aggression. This research also found changes across the course of the intervention that suggest the MRT component is a valuable addition to the overall intervention: particularly in reducing the cognitive distortions associated with overt antisocial behaviour, as well as increasing global stage moral reasoning. ART seems to be an acceptable intervention for students that warrants further investigation for use with students in New Zealand.
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    Behavioural therapy success and the effect of socialisation on subsequent behaviour in dogs : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2003) Ward, Mathew Roger
    The success of a three-week "in-clinic" behaviour modification program for the treatment of behaviour problems in dogs was investigated. This form of therapy was found to be an effective treatment for a variety of canine behaviour problems. The practicality of the consultant's recommendations for continuing therapy at home was the factor most closely associated with therapy success. Improvement in obedience was linked with therapy success for dogs that attended the clinic for problems other than obedience. The use of a remote-activated electronic collar was found to be very effective for the treatment of undesirable behaviour. There was some regression to pre-therapy behaviour once use of the collars was discontinued. Use of electronic collars did not result in any negative changes to behaviour or personality for most dogs, although negative effects were reported in some dogs. Use of electronic collars was found to be very effective in stopping inappropriate predatory behaviour towards sheep in the long term; this was not the case for predatory behaviour towards cats. The early socialisation experience of dogs was compared with their adull behaviour. The mean level of socialisation before 12 weeks of age was found to be 3 to 4 new people a week, 1 new dog a week, and 2 to 3 new environments a week. The amount of social and environmental exposure a puppy receives was found to be positively correlated with measures of sociability, and negatively correlated with measures of fear and aggression. The amount of socialisation "in general" was the measure of early experience found to be most closely associated with desirable behaviour in adulthood. Socialisation with other species was negatively correlated with inappropriate predatory behaviour. Dogs that attended puppy socialisation class were found to be less fearful, less aggressive, and more social. No differences were found between attendees and non-attendees of socialisation classes in measures of obedience, or fear of novel stimuli, novel environments or veterinary clinics. Dogs that attended puppy socialisation classes before 10 weeks of age were less fearful of strange dogs than dogs that attended after 10 weeks. Female dogs were more aggressive and less sociable. Spayed female dogs were more likely than entire females to snap at familiar dogs. The data highlights the importance of early socialisation in the development of a well-adjusted dog.