Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills for men with anger problems in Aotearoa

Eleven men of Maori, Indian, Fijian, Samoan, South African and Pakeha descent (37% Pakeha or European) participated in a 6-month DBT skills group focused on reducing anger and emotion dysregulation. Two men withdrew early, and two additional men joined for the last 8 weeks. Adjusting for multiple comparisons, scores showed significant decreases on the Total Trait Anger domain of the Spielberger State-Trait Anger Inventory-2 between pre and post-treatment. Feedback from a post-treatment focus group indicated participants found the DBT skills group acceptable and useful, with skills from the distress tolerance and mindfulness modules used most often. Recommendations for improvement included reducing the time for homework review and increasing it for teaching. This paper offers considerations for responding to aggression in research contexts, and adds to growing evidence for DBT skills as a promising intervention for problems related to anger for men.