Citation

Gibbs JC, Potter GB, Barriga AQ, Liau AK. Aggress. Violent Behav. 1996; 1(3): 283-305.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Peer-group and skills-training treatment approaches are integrated in EQUIP, an innovative group program for aggressive and other antisocial adolescents. Peer group programs such as Positive Peer Culture generally have had only mixed success, perhaps because they do not sufficiently counteract the negative youth culture and the helping-skill limitations of antisocial youth. These helping-skill limitations include: (a) delay or immaturity in moral judgment and egocentric bias, (b) social information-processing deficits and distortions, and (c) social skill deficiencies. Single-component skills-training interventions addressing one or another of these limitations have also had only mixed success. EQUIP introduces "equipment meetings" to remediate these limitations by incorporating into a peer-group treatment approach multicomponent skills training (cf. Aggression Replacement Training, cognitive therapy). Equipment meetings also promote the development of a positive youth culture and hence the prosocial motivation of group members. A recent favorable study encourages continued evaluation research for multicomponent group programs that are designed to motivate and equip aggressive youth to help one another.