Young Men, Alcohol and Violence: A poisonous relationship? Dr Linda Blud, LMB Consultancy Ltd

1
Young Men, Alcohol and Violence A poisonous
relationship?Dr Linda Blud, LMB Consultancy
Ltd
2
Why an alcohol programme for prisoners?

• Alcohol misuse contributes to a variety of
  criminal behaviours and costs an estimated 7.3bn
  per year.
• Alcohol is strongly associated with crime and
  violent crime in particular.
• A large number of prisoners were under the
  influence of alcohol at the time of their offence
  and many (2/3 of male prisoners) were hazardous
  drinkers in the year prior to incarceration.

• The Government introduced an Alcohol Harm
  Reduction Strategy in 2004, and in line with this
  HM Prison Service has developed an Alcohol
  Strategy for Prisoners.
• Poly-substance users in prison have access to
  accredited programmes, but there is no programme
  available currently specifically addressing
  alcohol-related offending.

3
Why a programme specifically targeting alcohol
use and offending?

• Alcohol use, unlike illicit drug use, isnt a
  crime. People arent in prison for using alcohol
• Use of alcohol in prison is much less common than
  continued use of drugs in prison. Usually,
  problem drinkers will be abstinent during their
  sentence.

• Risk of relapse into alcohol use in open
  conditions and on release is high
• Outside prison, access to alcohol, and the
  contexts and situations in which alcohol use can
  occur, are very different from those existing in
  relation to illicit drug use.

4
Phase 1

• Literature review
• Needs analyses
• Focus Groups

5
Target Group
Male offenders

• Young men are particularly likely to engage in
  alcohol-related crime
• Drinking patterns and crime vary with age
• Younger male binge drinkers are more likely to
  commit a violent offence than other young adults

Aged 18-30
6
Target Group
Convicted for alcohol-related violent crimes

• Targeting the relationship between alcohol and
  violent crime
• Offering a choice in terms of drinking goals

Alcohol in the event Hazardous drinking rather
than dependency
7
Target Group
Short and longer-term offenders

• Modules 1-4 can be completed at any point during
  sentence.
• Module 5 can be delivered as a follow-on from
  Modules 1-4, or at a later date (prior to a move
  to open conditions or release) as a booster
  programme.

Time left to serve
8
Phase 2

• Developing the programme
• Running a pilot group

9
Model of ChangeRelationship between Alcohol and
Violence
10
Predisposing factors Personality, trait
aggression, Impulsivity, family history

• Learned behaviours
• Beliefs, attitudes and outcome expectancies
  about alcohol and violence
• Poor problem solving and decision making skills
• Poor emotional management and coping skills

Hazardous alcohol use
Violence
Hazardous alcohol use
Environment Role models, macho culture, social
contexts, type of drink, dosage (large city
centre venues, binge drinking)
Violence

• Effects of Alcohol
• Alters cognitive functioning
• (increased sensitivity to threat,
• reduced awareness of consequences, etc.)
• Increases psychomotor activity
• Reduces inhibitory effect of fear
• Acts as an analgesic (feel no pain) OR
• increases pain sensitivity and defensiveness
• Exacerbates angry aggression
• Reinforces expectations
• Excuses aggression

Increased risk of Violence McMurran et al 2006
11
Treatment Targets
Poor emotional Management and lack of skills to
deal with negative feelings

Motivation What drink problem?
Beliefs, attitudes and outcome
expectancies about alcohol and aggression
Contexts, relationships and lifestyle supporting
problematic alcohol use and violence

Poor decision-making and problem-solving skills
12
Risk-Needs Model
Dynamic risk factors associated with recidivism
are systematically targeted in treatment and the
intensity of treatment delivered is related to
each offenders assessed level of risk. Andrews
and Bonta (1998)
13
Criminogenic vs non-criminogenic needs

• Criminogenic
• (dynamic risk factors)
• Pro-criminal attitudes
• Criminal associates
• Substance abuse
• Anti-social personality
• Problem-solving skills
• Hostility-anger

• Non-criminogenic
• Self-esteem
• Anxiety
• Feelings of alienation
• Psychological discomfort
• Group cohesion

From Ogloff (2002)
14

Risk-Needs Model criticisms

• Focuses on negative/avoidant treatment goals

• One size fits all approach

• Relationship between risk and human needs

• Treatment Readiness

• Ignores facilitator factors

15
Social Context and Role Models
Attitudes, Beliefs and outcome expectancies
supporting violence/alcohol link
Victim Stance Thinking Traps Magnifying,
labelling
Entitlement Thinking Traps Shoulds and musts
Fortune Telling
Impulsivity, poor emotional management
Reinforcement
Reinforcement
Alcohol and violence
Loses/Caught punished
Wins/Gets away with it
16
The Good Lives Model
Offender Programmes should be guided by a
conception of good lives
The emphasis in treatment should be on goals and
the internal/external conditions necessary to
achieve them
Treatment needs to have a more individual focus
Ward, 2002
17
Primary Human Goods(Good Life Needs) (based on
Ward, 2002)

• Health and Life
• Usefulness
• Inner Peace
• Fun
• Independence
• Relationships
• Purpose

18
Barriers and Traps(based on Ward, 2002)

• The means used to secure primary goods (secondary
  goods goals and strategies)
• Lack of scope
• Conflict among goals
• Lack of skills/ability to adapt

19
Module 4 Reducing the risk of angry, impulsive
decisions via problem solving and social skills
training
ACTION PLAN developing relapse management
strategies
CHECK-INS Practising objectivity
WORKING TOWARDS A GOOD LIFE MODEL
Module 5 Making learning real, relevant and
realistic by offering try-outs
Alcohol-Violence Link
Living a Good Life Sessions
Living a Good Life Sessions
Module 1 Challenging beliefs attitudes outcome
expectancies supporting violence/alcohol
Module 3 Breaking free from embedded ties to
harmful social contexts and role models.
Module 2 Breaking the link between negative mood
negative thinking
Case Studies exploring the impact of alcohol
20
Throughout the programme to increase motivation
Check-ins
Key Tools
Living a Good Life Sessions
Individualised Future-oriented Focus on
important life goals
Action Plans
Case Studies
21
Living a Good Life Sessions

• 7 sessions
• At the start of each module
• At the end of the final two modules
• Motivational
• Focusing on goals and the achievement of a good
  life
• Focuses on developing an action plan for the
  future that can aid in relapse management
• Builds self-efficacy
• Challenges the positives of drunkenness and
  aggression

Alcohol Programme
22
Tools Check-ins

• A simple objective factual description of the
  situation.
• A description of the different thoughts they had
• A description of their feelings
• A factual description of how they behaved and
  what their goals were at the time.
• Teaches objectivity
• Provides a way of illustrating the role played
  by aggression and violence when alcohols not
  present

23
Additional toolsCase Studies
The same character is followed throughout the
programme Provides concrete examples Provides a
non-threatening way of illustrating the impact of
alcohol on thoughts, feelings, actions. Provides
a non-threatening method of teaching skills
24
The Pilot

• The relationship with alcohol and violence seems
  to be very resistant to change.
• Most want to continue using alcohol and they
  dont seem to want to give up violence.

25

• Cementing the Relationship
• Drinking environment?
• Social Environment?
• Cultural Environment?

26
Drinking Environment Maximum volume vertical
drinking venues
27
These men were part of a culture that encouraged
drinking, where going out drinking was an
evenings activity. Moreover there are
indications that their crime sprees were linked
to binge drinking. Fighting in bars was part of
the drinking culture as well. Sampson and
Laub, 2003, p 186 reporting on 1950s/60s America
28
(No Transcript)
29
Social Environment
What am I? What do you look at? Nothing. A
piece of shit Arthur, 65
What I done here is a success story. I have no
education whatsoever, I have no grammar school,
no high school. No nothing. In plain English. I
done all the shit jobs because I had no
education. Worked every day in my life. Whenever
I lost one job I got another. No I think I done
pretty goddamn good Michael, 63
30
Social Environment
Opportunities vs meanings Redemption or
Condemnation? Maruna (2002)
31
Cultural Environment
Climate of Distrust Get them before they get you
32
the myth of the bogeyman See Maruna, S (2000)