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1.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 34(3): 353-6, 2001.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11678533

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effect of tic-related talk on the vocal and motor tics of 2 boys with Tourette's syndrome. Using ABAB withdrawal designs, the boys were alternately exposed to conditions with and without talk of their tics. For both boys, vocal tics markedly increased when talk pertained to tics and decreased when talk did not pertain to tics, but motor tic covariance was less consistent.


Subject(s)
Tics/psychology , Tourette Syndrome/psychology , Verbal Behavior , Child , Habits , Humans , Male , Observer Variation , Severity of Illness Index , Tics/diagnosis , Tics/epidemiology , Tourette Syndrome/diagnosis , Tourette Syndrome/epidemiology
2.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 33(2): 239-42, 2000.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10885531

ABSTRACT

We studied how rewarding youth in residential care for publicly reporting positive social behavior influenced the social interactions and acceptance of their most socially isolated peers. Results showed that the intervention resulted in substantial improvements in social interactions by the previously isolated peers. Peer acceptance ratings also improved for 2 of the target youths.


Subject(s)
Interpersonal Relations , Peer Group , Residential Treatment , Social Isolation/psychology , Adolescent , Child , Humans , Male
3.
J Abnorm Child Psychol ; 28(3): 277-86, 2000 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10885685

ABSTRACT

We administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) two times to a group of youth (222 boys, 147 girls) entering residential care, once at their time of entry and once 1 year later. We then compared their DISC outcomes on Conduct Disorder (CD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) against changes in independent direct observations of diagnostically relevant behavior obtained over the course of that year. Results from hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed significant discriminative relationships between results from the DISC and the independent observations. Specifically, observations of symptomatic behaviors (CD or ODD) decreased for youth who met diagnostic criteria at the first administration of the DISC but not at the second, increased for youth who did not meet criteria at the first administration but did at the second, and did not change for youth who met criteria at both administrations. These results extend the data on the validity of the DISC and support continued research efforts to determine its clinical utility.


Subject(s)
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Conduct Disorder/diagnosis , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Adolescent , Child , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity
5.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry ; 39(7): 904-7, 2000 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10892233

ABSTRACT

Using recently refined diagnostic criteria, the authors hypothesized that the frequent touching of others by a 16-year-old male adolescent with Tourette's syndrome was a compulsion and not a tic. Consistent with the study's hypothesis, the authors applied exposure and response prevention, a procedure empirically supported for treatment of compulsions but not for tics, to the touching. Results showed a significant decrease in touching attempts, overt anxiety, and subjective anxiety across time.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Compulsive Behavior/therapy , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/complications , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/therapy , Tourette Syndrome/complications , Adolescent , Humans , Male , Tourette Syndrome/therapy , Treatment Outcome
7.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 33(4): 507-9, 2000.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11214026

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effects of a "transitional object" (surgical cloth) on the thumb sucking of a 3-year-old boy in two conditions: while sitting in the lap of his physical therapist and while alone in his crib. Sucking occurred when the cloth was present and did not occur when it was absent, regardless of condition. These results are discussed in terms of establishing operations, object attachment, and application.


Subject(s)
Conditioning, Operant , Fingersucking/psychology , Object Attachment , Child, Preschool , Habits , Humans , Male , Reinforcement, Psychology
8.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med ; 153(10): 1027-9, 1999 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10520609

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a novel intervention for bedtime problems. DESIGN: We used an ABAB withdrawal-type experimental design. SETTING: The intervention was prescribed in an outpatient primary health care context and evaluated in the home setting. PARTICIPANTS: Two normally developing boys aged 3 and 10 years were the primary participants. Twenty parents and 23 practicing pediatricians rated the acceptability of the intervention. INTERVENTION: A bedtime pass, exchangeable for 1 excused departure from the bedroom after bedtime. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: For both primary participants, instances of crying and/or coming out from the bedroom after bedtime; for the 20 parents and 23 pediatricians, comparative ratings of acceptability for the pass and 2 other commonly used approaches to bedtime problems (ignoring crying and letting children sleep with their parents). RESULTS: Crying and coming out from the bedroom reduced to zero rates in both children. Pediatricians rated using the pass as significantly more acceptable than letting children sleep with parents and equivalent to ignoring. Parents rated the pass as more acceptable than either alternative. CONCLUSION: The bedtime pass provides pediatricians with a readily usable, potentially effective, and highly acceptable novel intervention for bedtime problems, one of the most common complaints in outpatient pediatrics.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Parenting , Sleep Wake Disorders/therapy , Adult , Attitude , Child , Child, Preschool , Extinction, Psychological , Female , Humans , Male , Nebraska , Pediatrics , Philadelphia
9.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 32(1): 95-8, 1999.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-10201105

ABSTRACT

We assessed the academic performance of a 14-year-old boy with insect phobia in the context of feared stimuli. The dependent measure was math calculation rate across three conditions that varied therapist statements about the presence of crickets and the actual presence of live crickets. Subsequent treatment consisted of graduated exposure and contingent rewards for math problem completion. Assessment results indicated that the boy's performance was consistently low in the presence of live crickets but not when he was spuriously informed that crickets were present (the primary referral concern). Treatment results indicated no effect from exposure alone and a dramatic effect when exposure was combined with contingent rewards.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Insecta , Phobic Disorders/diagnosis , Phobic Disorders/therapy , Adolescent , Animals , Humans , Male
10.
J Adolesc ; 21(4): 407-14, 1998 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9757405

ABSTRACT

Some type of suicidal communication precedes 80% of attempted and completed suicides in adolescents. This study investigates the relationship between the number of suicidal communications prior to an attempt and the lethality of the attempt in a sample of adolescent youth residing in a residential treatment facility. The sample consisted of 46 youth who had a suicide attempt while in a large group home residential facility over a 9-year period. Results indicated that attempters who made fewer suicidal communications beforehand tended to use more lethal methods in their attempts. Attempters with two or more preceding suicidal communications had significantly lower lethality in their attempts than did those with fewer suicidal communications. Few differences emerged between the groups in regards to demographic or psychosocial variables.


Subject(s)
Communication , Residential Treatment , Suicide Prevention , Suicide, Attempted/prevention & control , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Motivation , Risk Factors , Suicide/psychology , Suicide, Attempted/psychology
11.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med ; 152(6): 537-9, 1998 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9641705

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine if primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE) is accompanied by significant behavioral comorbidity. DESIGN: A survey design using a standardized behavioral rating scale. SETTING: Behavioral pediatric clinics in the Midwest. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects with PNE (n=92) were selected from 122 consecutive referrals for enuresis. Criteria included age 5 years or older, PNE status, and wetting frequency of at least once per week. The clinical sample without PNE (n=92) was randomly selected from 429 consecutive referrals to the same pediatric clinics, stratified for age and sex. The nonclinical sample (n=92) was randomly selected by strata from the standardization sample (N=614) of the behavioral checklist used in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), a standardized parent report scale, was used to measure the degree of behavioral comorbidity. The ECBI yields 2 scores, Problem Intensity and Problem Number. RESULTS: Results from 2 separate 3 (group) x 2 (sex) analyses of variance indicated a significant main effect for group on Problem Intensity and Problem Number (P<.001). For Problem Intensity, post hoc comparisons indicated the mean of the PNE sample was significantly higher than the mean of the nonclinical sample (P<.05), but the mean scores of the clinical sample were significantly higher than those of both the PNE and nonclinical samples (P<.05). For Problem Number, post hoc comparisons revealed the means of the PNE and nonclinical samples did not differ from each other (P>.05) but were lower than the mean of the clinical sample (P<.05). CONCLUSION: Primary nocturnal enuresis does not present with significant behavioral comorbidity in most cases. The results suggest that, with the exception of an extraordinary clinical presentation, pediatricians should treat PNE as a common biobehavioral problem without a psychiatric component.


Subject(s)
Child Behavior Disorders/complications , Enuresis/complications , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male
12.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 31(1): 65-78, 1998.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9532751

ABSTRACT

The present investigation evaluated the utility of classroom-based functional and adjunctive assessments of problem behaviors for 2 adolescents who met diagnostic criteria for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). For children with ADHD-ODD, environmental classroom variables, when systematically manipulated by teachers, were related to the occurrence and nonoccurrence of problem behaviors. Classroom interventions derived from information that was obtained during functional and adjunctive assessments and from subsequent analyses resulted in substantial reductions in problem behaviors. Teacher and student consumer satisfaction ratings indicated that the interventions were effective and feasible in the classroom setting.


Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/therapy , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/therapy , Behavior Therapy/methods , Education, Special , Personality Assessment , Proactive Inhibition , Adolescent , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Feasibility Studies , Humans , Mainstreaming, Education , Male , Social Behavior , Token Economy , Treatment Outcome
13.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 31(1): 137-56, 1998.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9532758

ABSTRACT

Historically, anxiety has been a dominant subject in mainstream psychology but an incidental or even insignificant one in behavior analysis. We discuss several reasons for this discrepancy. We follow with a behavior-analytic conceptualization of anxiety that could just as easily be applied to emotion in general. Its primary points are (a) that languageable humans have an extraordinary capacity to derive relations between events and that it is a simple matter to show that neutral stimuli can acquire discriminative functions indirectly with no direct training; (b) that private events can readily acquire discriminative functions; (c) that anxiety disorders seem to occur with little apparent direct learning or that the amount of direct learning is extraordinarily out of proportion with the amount of responding; and (d) that the primary function of anxious behavior is experiential avoidance. We conclude that the most interesting aspects of anxiety disorders may occur as a function of derived rather than direct relations between public events and overt and private responses with avoidance functions. Implicit in this conclusion and explicit in the paper is the assertion that anxiety is a suitable subject for behavior-analytic study.


Subject(s)
Anxiety/psychology , Behavior Therapy/education , Emotions , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Anxiety Disorders/therapy , Association Learning , Avoidance Learning , Conditioning, Psychological , Humans , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
14.
Behav Modif ; 21(4): 470-86, 1997 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9337602

ABSTRACT

An intervention for disruptive boys in residential care involving increases in positive to negative interactional ratios is described. The target of the intervention was daily problem behavior. Results from a pooled time series analysis of the data revealed a significant decrease in behavior problems (one problem per boy per day) during the intervention for the boys as a group. Results from comparisons of mean behavior problems during baseline and intervention revealed decreases for five of the six boys. Results from a multiple baseline across boys revealed experimental control for three of the six. The results are discussed in terms of response contingent reinforcement and systemic behavior analyses. The benefits of combined group and single subject data analyses are also discussed.


Subject(s)
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/therapy , Behavior Therapy/methods , Motivation , Reinforcement, Psychology , Residential Treatment , Adolescent , Aggression/psychology , Antisocial Personality Disorder/psychology , Antisocial Personality Disorder/therapy , Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Token Economy
15.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 30(4): 697-9, 1997.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-9433793

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the effectiveness of an abbreviated habit reversal procedure to reduce maladaptive oral self-biting in an adolescent boy in residential care. Treatment involved a combination of relaxation and two competing responses. Results of a withdrawal design and two posttreatment medical evaluations indicated that the intervention eliminated the biting and the tissue damage it caused.


Subject(s)
Anxiety/therapy , Behavior Therapy , Bites and Stings/prevention & control , Child, Institutionalized , Habits , Self-Injurious Behavior/therapy , Adolescent , Anxiety/complications , Behavior Therapy/methods , Behavior Therapy/standards , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Relaxation Therapy/standards , Self-Injurious Behavior/etiology , Treatment Outcome
16.
J Abnorm Child Psychol ; 24(3): 299-324, 1996 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-8836803

ABSTRACT

To investigate the validity of five prevalent negative beliefs about residential placement, we followed adolescents from a residential program and a comparison group at 3-month intervals for 4 to 8 years. This residential program in the Midwest uses the Teaching-Family Model in which six to eight adolescents live in a family-style environment. The interviews included five scales reflecting youths' views about important aspects of their lives in placement: (1) Delivery of Helpful Treatment, (2) Satisfaction with Supervising Adults, (3) Isolation from Family, (4) Isolation from Friends, and (5) Sense of Personal Control. Hierarchical linear modeling allowed us to estimate group differences while controlling for developmental trends, demographic factors, and prior differences between groups. The two groups were equivalent on all scales before the study. During the following placement, however, the treatment group's ratings were significantly more positive than the comparison group on four of the five scales and approached significance on the fifth. These findings suggest that negative beliefs about life in residential placement for adolescents may not apply to all programs.


Subject(s)
Consumer Behavior , Residential Treatment/standards , Adolescent , Case-Control Studies , Follow-Up Studies , Freedom , Humans , Linear Models , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Social Isolation
17.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 29(2): 251-3, 1996.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-8682742

ABSTRACT

We studied how rewarding peers for publicly reporting positive aspects of a socially rejected girl's behavior affected her social interactions and acceptance. The results indicated that positive peer reports reduced negative social interactions (to near zero) and increased positive interactions (to above 70%). In addition, social acceptance ratings of the girl increased from pre- to postintervention.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy , Motivation , Peer Group , Rejection, Psychology , Adolescent , Attention , Female , Humans , Male , Reinforcement, Social , Residential Treatment , Social Behavior
18.
Pediatrics ; 96(2 Pt 1): 336-41, 1995 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-7630695

ABSTRACT

Pediatricians are often asked to advise parents who are having difficulty managing the oppositional behaviors of their toddlers and preschool-age children. A large number of articles provide advice to pediatricians and parents on effective disciplinary strategies. However, despite the fact that verbal explanations, reasoning, and instructions are commonly used by parents, few articles directly address the use of these strategies to affect children's behavior. In this paper, we review studies that explicitly investigate the ability of adults' verbal explanations or instructions to alter the behavior of young children. These studies suggest that under most circumstances, verbal explanations and instructions are not effective in changing young children's problem behaviors. We then discuss how theories in developmental and behavioral psychology help explain the limitations of using verbal reasoning and instructions to change young children's problem behaviors. Finally, we provide some recommendations for parents on the use of verbal explanations and instructions in disciplining young children.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy , Child Behavior Disorders/prevention & control , Child Behavior , Communication , Thinking , Adult , Child , Child Development , Child Language , Child, Preschool , Humans , Infant
19.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 28(1): 39-46, 1995.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-7706149

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the effects of two health education teaching methods, a pamphlet based on a task-analyzed checklist and two professionally developed films, on the completeness, accuracy, and maintenance of testicular self-examinations (TSE). Subjects (N = 48) were videotaped while performing a TSE after training and at a follow-up visit. Direct observation of the tapes showed that checklist-based training resulted in more complete and longer TSEs (p < .05). Social validation ratings, however, suggested that physicians were unable to discriminate reliably the performances of subjects taught using the two methods. Accuracy of detection of simulated lesions on plastic models was also similar for the two groups. Adherence to TSE recommendations was high during the study, but declined across the follow-up period. Further study is needed to promote adherence to TSE and to document the effects of early detection on morbidity and mortality of testicular cancer.


Subject(s)
Health Education/methods , Self-Examination , Testicular Neoplasms/prevention & control , Testis , Adolescent , Adult , Follow-Up Studies , Health Behavior , Humans , Male , Patient Compliance/psychology
20.
J Appl Behav Anal ; 28(1): 89-90, 1995.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-7706154

ABSTRACT

We report the effects of using a urine alarm, typically employed for nocturnal enuresis, to treat chronic diurnal enuresis in a 15-year-old female resident at Boys' Town. The results of an ABAB reversal design indicate that the alarm eliminated wetting in both treatment phases and that continence was maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-up.


Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/instrumentation , Circadian Rhythm , Enuresis/therapy , Residential Treatment , Toilet Training , Adolescent , Affective Symptoms/psychology , Affective Symptoms/therapy , Comorbidity , Enuresis/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans
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