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Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®)

Topic Areas
Scientific Rating
Child Welfare Relevance
Disruptive Behavior Treatment (Child & Adolescent)
3  — Promising Research Evidence
Medium

About This Program

Target Population: Aggressive and violent adolescents, 13 to 18 years of age

For children/adolescents ages: 13 – 18

Program Overview

Aggression Replacement Training® is a cognitive-behavioral intervention that targets aggressive and violent adolescent behavior. The program consists of three components: Social Skills Training; Anger Control Training; and Moral Reasoning. The components are specifically matched across each week and integrated for content and process. Each week builds upon the week before. Clients attend a one-hour session in each of these components (meeting the same time and same day each week).

Program Goals

The goals of Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) are to:

  • Reduce aggression and violence among adolescence
  • Increase prosocial skills
  • Decrease angry impulsive behavior
  • Increase moral reasoning and development through open-ended meetings
  • Increase perspective taking
  • Decrease recidivism rates among incarcerated youth

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®).

Essential Components

The essential components of Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) include:

  • Action-oriented, multimodal cognitive-behavioral intervention that uses 3 components to address those contributors that can cause aggressive and violent behaviors in at-risk youth:
    • Structured Learning Training (SLT):
      • First component of ART®
      • Objective of SLT is to provide clients the skills to use in anger-producing situations
      • May be used with peers, authority figures such as parents, teachers, significant others, and even police
      • Technique used to teach social skills is similar to any other learning situation:
        • Adolescents shown the ideal way to use the skill
        • Encouraged to try it
        • Given feedback where they are told what they did and how well they did
        • Assigned homework to practice the new skill
      • Ten skills that are designed to be useful in mitigating against aggression and violent behaviors are taught
    • Anger Control Training (ACT):
      • Second component of ART®
      • Based upon the A - B - C Model of Aggression
        • A stands for Antecedents
        • B stands for Behavior
        • C stands for Consequences
        • Trains young people in concepts and techniques based upon each of these three concepts
    • Moral Reasoning (MR):
      • Third component of ART®
      • Aimed at dealing with choosing to use prosocial skills over aggressive and violent behavior
      • Cognitive component of the program
      • Integrates cognitive restructuring principles into ART®
      • Individuals increase their view of their world, as they develop to more fair, equitable, and just perspectives
        • A moral dilemma is presented to a group of no more than 12 group members who are asked to give their opinion about the situation.
    • Group Facilitators foster discussions among group members so that they are able to take different perspectives other than their own on the presented problem situations
    • It is not necessary to reach group consensus or discuss every question of each problem situation
    • The process of sharing one's viewpoint and learning to take perspectives of others ideally:
      • Enhances moral development
      • Creates a more fair and equitable view of the world
  • Program summary:
    • Multi-modal intervention
    • Ten-week Program
    • Three sessions per week, one in each of the components
    • Curriculum must be followed as designed and developed without deviation as to sequence or order
  • For clarification, ART® is not:
    • Traditional psychotherapy, whether it be psychoanalysis, client-centered, or behaviorism
    • Group guidance or advice giving
    • Values training or clarification
    • Content specific

Program Delivery

Child/Adolescent Services

Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:

  • Skill deficits, impulsive anger, aggression and violence, stunted moral development, lack of perspective taking
Services Involve Family/Support Structures:

This program involves the family or other support systems in the individual's treatment: While not a requirement of the program, the presence of significant others involved in the client's routine is highly recommended. These include direct caregivers, whether parents, siblings or care takers (such as youth aides, correctional officers, probation/parole workers, etc.). These individuals are involved in enhancing transfer training from the group session to the client's real life. As such, they may reinforce the work the client is doing when they are using the social skill or anger control skill they learned in group that week or assist the client in completing homework.

Recommended Intensity:

One group in each of the three components each week which equals three 1-hour sessions a week; each session should be scheduled on the same day and at the same time each week

Recommended Duration:

Ten weeks

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

  • Hospital
  • Outpatient Clinic
  • Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
  • Group or Residential Care
  • School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)

Homework

Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) includes a homework component:

The Social Skills and Anger Control components have a structured single sheet that the client must complete after they perform the social skill and anger control skill learned that week in a real live situation that was identified in group.

Languages

Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) has materials available in languages other than English:

Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish

For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

A dedicated room with tables and chairs in a specific configuration. LCD Projector or Overhead Projector, two easels, Chart Paper, markers, masking tape, two trained Group Facilitators

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

High School Diploma or above with basic understanding of the program. ART® Group Facilitators who implement the program must be trained to deliver the program with integrity and fidelity.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Glick, B., & J Gibbs. (2011). Aggression Replacement Training: A comprehensive intervention for aggressive youth (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Research Press.

There is a Participants' Training Manual but is only available at authorized training institutes.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:
Training Type/Location:

Training is conducted at the agency's training site.

Number of days/hours:

The ART® Training Institute is 40 hours; five consecutive days, eight hours each day. There is technical assistance provided to those trained following the Institute.

Implementation Information

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®).

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) as listed below:

As part of the training contract, there is three months of participant-initiated technical assistance (TA) in the form of program and clinical supervision while the trained ART® Group Facilitators implement the program the first time. This TA is not required, but the service is available should it be needed by the individuals.

Fidelity Measures

There are fidelity measures for Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) as listed below:

Fidelity measures (checklists) are available for each of the three components of ART®, as well as assessing fidelity to the process for each component. These are available in an Appendix of the ART® book. Checklists are completed by supervisors, administrators, and/or trained peer ART® Group Facilitators.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®).

Implementation Cost

There have been studies of the costs of implementing Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) which are listed below:

Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2002, June). Washington State's implementation of Aggression Replacement Training for juvenile offenders: Preliminary findings. Retrieved from https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/787/Wsipp_Washington-States-Implementation-of-Aggression-Replacement-Training-for-Juvenile-Offenders-Preliminary-Findings_Full-Report.pdf

Aos, S., Phipps, P., Barnoski, R., & Lieb, R. (2001). The comparative costs and benefits of programs to reduce crime (Version 4.0). Retrieved from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy's website at: https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/756/Wsipp_The-Comparative-Costs-and-Benefits-of-Programs-to-Reduce-Crime-v-4-0_Full-Report.pdf

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has been conducted on how to implement Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) as listed below:

Gundersen, K., & Svartdal, F. (2005). Evaluation of a Norwegian postgraduate training programme for the implementation of Aggression Replacement Training. Psychology, Crime & Law, 11(4), 435-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160500256610

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

Glick, B., & Goldstein, A. P. (1987). Aggression Replacement Training. Journal of Counseling and Development, 65(7), 356–362. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1987.tb00730.x

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: Study 1: 60; Study 2: 51

Population:

  • Age — 1: 14–17 years (Median=15 years); Study 2: 13–21 (Median=18 years 8 months)
  • Race/Ethnicity — Study 1: 50% Black, 40% White, 8% Hispanic, and 1% Native American; Study 2: 30 Black, 18 Hispanic, 2 Asian, and 1 White
  • Gender — 100% Male
  • Status — Participants were adolescents in juvenile detention facilities.

Location/Institution: Annsville Youth Center and MacCormick Secure Facility, New York

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) on adolescents with severe disruptive behaviors. Participants were randomly assigned to ART (Condition 1), brief instruction (Condition 2), or to the no-treatment control group (Condition 3). Measures utilized include the Kendall-Wilcox Self Control Scale. Results indicate for Study 1 that youngsters completing ART, when compared with those having either a motivation-enhancing experience without training or no training alone, changed more significantly on all study outcome criteria. Results also indicate for Study 2 that participants in the ART treatment condition changed significantly more on all study outcomes. Limitations include the small sample size, generalizability due to gender, reliance on self-reported measures, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Coleman, M., Pfeiffer, S., & Oakland, T. (1992). Aggression Replacement Training with behaviorally disordered adolescents. Behavioral Disorders, 18(1), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874299201800101

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 39

Population:

  • Age — 13–18 years (Mean=15 years 9 months)
  • Race/Ethnicity — 67% Anglo, 25% Black, and 8% Hispanic
  • Gender — 29 Male and 10 Female
  • Status — Participants were adolescents in residential treatment.

Location/Institution: Devereux Foundation-Texas Center in Victoria, Texas

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) on adolescents with behavioral disorders in residential treatment. Participants were randomly assigned to ART or to the control group. Measures utilized include the Direct Situations Test (DST), the ART Checklist, the Sociomoral Reflections Measure (SRM), the Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS), the Behavior Incident Report (BIR), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the Index of Personality Characteristics (IPC). Results indicate that subjects in the treatment group improved over controls only on one measure: knowledge of social skills. Exploratory analyses indicated that skill knowledge increased across the personality dimensions of self-concept, locus of control, and psychopathy. Limitations include the small sample size, reliance on self-reported measures, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Nugent, W. R., Bruley, C., & Allen, P. (1998). The effects of Aggression Replacement Training on antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Research on Social Work Practice, 8(6), 637–656. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973159800800602

Type of Study: Other quasi-experimental
Number of Participants: 522

Population:

  • Age — Mean=14.9 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 77% White, 18% African American, 3% Latino, and 2% Other
  • Gender — 54% Female
  • Status — Participants were adolescents living in a runaway shelter.

Location/Institution: Tennessee

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to test the effects of Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®) on antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Measures utilized include administrative case records and measures of antisocial behavior. Results indicate that the commencement of the ART® program was associated with a decrease in the rate of antisocial behavior and a decrease in the daily number of antisocial behavior incidents. Limitations include lack of a control or comparison group and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Nugent, W. R., Bruley, C., & Allen, P. (1999). The effects of Aggression Replacement Training on male and female antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Research on Social Work Practice, 9(4), 466–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973159900900404

Type of Study: Other quasi-experimental
Number of Participants: 522

Population:

  • Age — Mean=14.9 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 77% White, 18% African American, 3% Latino, and 2% Other
  • Gender — 54% Female
  • Status — Participants were adolescents living in a runaway shelter.

Location/Institution: Tennessee

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Nugent et al. (1998). The purpose of the study was to test the effects of Aggression Replacement Training®(ART) on male and female antisocial behavior in a runaway shelter. Measures utilized include administrative case records and measures of antisocial behavior. Results indicate that the implementation of the ART® program was associated with a decrease in male and female antisocial behavior in the shelter and that the effect on male antisocial behavior depended on the number of males in the shelter. Limitations include the lack of a control or comparison group, concerns regarding staff reporting of antisocial behavior and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Moynahan, L., & Stromgren, B. (2005). Preliminary results of Aggression Replacement Training for Norwegian youth with aggressive behaviour and with a different diagnosis. Psychology, Crime & Law, 11(4), 411–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160500256784

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 39

Population:

  • Age — 7–20 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 100% Norwegian
  • Gender — 29 Male and 10 Female
  • Status — Participants were children and youth with aggressive behaviors.

Location/Institution: Norway

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) with children and youth with aggressive behavior and with a different diagnosis. Participants were put into either ART or a control group. Measures utilized include the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Results indicate that there was no significant change from pretest to posttest for the adolescents in the ART group in either domain, although there was a small improvement in mean scores on both domains. The control group showed a nonsignificant reduction in social skills and problem behavior mean scores. There was a significant change from pretest to posttest for the children in the ART groups on the social skills domain and on the problem behaviors domain. The social skills improved for the ART participants and their problem behaviors decreased. The control groups showed a nonsignificant reduction in social skills and problem behavior mean scores. Limitations include the lack of randomization of participants, small sample size, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Gundersen, K., & Svartdal, F. (2006). Aggression Replacement Training in Norway: Outcome evaluation of 11 Norwegian student projects. Scandanavian Journal of Educational Research, 50(1), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830500372059

Type of Study: Other quasi-experimental
Number of Participants: 65

Population:

  • Age — Male: Mean=12.6 years; Female: Mean=14.1 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
  • Gender — 49 Male and 16 Female
  • Status — Participants were children and young people with varying degrees of behavioral problems.

Location/Institution: Norway

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to assess the efficacy of Aggression Replacement Training® (ART®). Participants were put into either ART or a control group. Measures utilized include the Child Behavior Checklist for 6-18 (CBCL/6-18), the Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavior Inventory 2.3 (CADBI), the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), the How I Think Questionnaire, and a project-developed problem behavior questionnaire. Results indicate that the ART® group had significant improvement following the intervention, both in terms of increased social skills and reduced behavioral problems. In contrast, the comparison group did not generally indicate improvement. Limitations include small sample size, incomplete randomization of participants, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Gundersen, K., & Svartdal, F. (2010). Diffusion of treatment interventions: Exploration of ‘secondary’ treatment diffusion. Psychology, Crime & Law, 16(3), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160802612924

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 145

Population:

  • Age — ART Group: Mean=11.1 years; Control: Mean=10.9 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — 56 Female (overall total)
  • Status — Participants were children and youth from elementary and intermediate schools, kindergartens and special schools.

Location/Institution: Norway

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to present outcome results from a randomized controlled effect study on determining the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) in reducing behavioral problems and increasing social skills. Participants were randomly assigned to either ART or a control group. Measures utilized include the Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavior Inventory 2.3 (CADBI), the Community Juvenile Accountability Act checklist (CJAA), and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Results indicate that the ART intervention was found to significantly reduce behavioral problems and increase social skills. The control group did not demonstrate comparable changes after the intervention, but still indicated improvement. Limitations include that the control-group improvement may be caused by improper treatment and control group implementation (diffusion of treatment) and/or secondary diffusion caused by participants in the treatment group affecting control group subjects by demonstrating changed behavior and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Koposov, R., Gundersen, K. K., & Svartdal, F. (2014). Efficacy of Aggression Replacement Training among children from North-West Russia. International Journal of Emotional Education, 6(1), 14–24. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/6205

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 232

Population:

  • Age — Mean=10.9 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — 121 Female
  • Status — Participants were children recruited from six schools and four social institutions.

Location/Institution: Four regions in North-West Russia

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to assess whether the Aggression Replacement Training (ART) programme was effective in increasing social skills and decreasing problem behaviour. Participants were put into either ART or a control group. Measures utilized include the Social Skills Rating Scale. Results indicate that at pre and post-test assessment, the 30-hour ART programme was associated with a significant increase in social skills when assessed by children’s self-reports. The most reliable effects of the intervention were demonstrated in the two age groups of 6–9 and 10–14 years old. When both pre and post-test were assessed by parents and teachers, children from both the intervention and control groups demonstrated more social skills and less problem behaviour. Overall results point to a significant improvement of social skills among children from the intervention groups, but an improvement in social skills and reduction of problem behaviour have also been indicated among children from the control group. Limitations include the lack of randomization of participants, and the same teacher completed the teacher’s reports for several children, which could influence the estimation accuracy when providing the assessment.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 1 week.

Kaya, F., & Buzlu, S. (2016). Effects of Aggression Replacement Training on problem solving, anger, and aggressive behaviour among adolescents with criminal attempts in Turkey: A quasi-experimental study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(6), 729–735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2016.07.001

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 65

Population:

  • Age — 14–17 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 100% Turkish
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status — Participants were incarcerated adolescents.

Location/Institution: Istanbul, Turkey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training (ART) on problem solving, anger, and aggressive behavior among adolescents with criminal attempts in Turkey. Participants were put into either ART or a control group. Measures utilized include the Aggression Questionnaire, the Social Problem Solving Inventor - Revised Short Form (SPSI-RS), and the Trait Anger (T-Anger) and Anger Expression (AngerEX) Scales. Results indicate that after the intervention, the experimental group showed significantly decreased trait anger levels, increased anger control scores, decreased physical aggression scores, decreased hostility scores, and increased social problem solving scores. Increased anger control scores were found to be significant when compared with the control group. Limitations include the lack of randomization of participants, small sample size, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Additional References

Glick, B., & Gibbs, J. (2011). Aggression Replacement Training®: A comprehensive intervention for aggressive youth. (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Glick, B. (2006). ART®: A comprehensive intervention for aggressive youth. In B. Glick, Cognitive behavioral interventions for at-risk youth. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.

Goldstein, A.P., & Glick, B. (1996). Aggression Replacement Training: Teaching prosocial behaviours to antisocial youth. In R. Ross, D. H. Antonowicz, & K. Dhuluval (Eds.), Effective delinquency prevention and offender rehabilitation. Ottawa, Canada: AIR Training and Publications.

Contact Information

Dr. Barry Glick, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, LPCC
Agency/Affiliation: G & G Consultants, LLC
Website: www.g-gconsultants.com
Email:
Phone: (518) 229-7933

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: November 2024

Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: October 2019

Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: December 2013