Abstract:
The present study was designed to indigenously adopt Novaco's model of anger management and to
look at its efficacy for individuals having psychiatric problems in Pakistan. The study was carried
out in four phases. The first phase was to develop an indigenous model for anger management, so
Novaco's model was integrated with an indigenous model grounded in Islamic teaching to manage
anger. In the second phase, assessment scales, such as the Novaco Anger Inventory (NAI) and the
Anger Self-Report Questionnaire (ASR) were translated into Urdu by using the back translation
method. An Urdu version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) was used to double check
the diagnoses of patients. In the third phase, a pilot study was conducted to compute the
psychometric properties of the translated scales. Results of test-retest reliability (p < .01) showed
that the translated versions of the scales were psychometrically strong and appropriate to the
cultural content. The fourth phase was the main study; it was a quasi-experimental research, which
includes a sample composed of two groups: a treatment group (received the indigenous model of
anger management) and a control group (received general counseling). Initially, 100 individuals
participated in the study; however, 37 individuals in the treatment group and 39 individuals in the
control group completed the recommended package of sessions. Results of the study confirmed that
there was a significant (p < .05) positive correlation between anger and psychological disorders.
Statistics from repeated measures ANOVA indicated that, in the treatment group, individuals' scores
on the NAI and ASRQ were significantly (p < .01) decreased during three assessments. Similarly,
results of the two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that the individuals in the treatment
group significantly (p < .01) scored low on the NAI and ASRQ (at post-assessment) as compared to
the control group. Therefore, it was concluded that the indigenous model of anger management was
more effective than general counseling for anger management.
