The effectiveness of written instructions was compared with the effectiveness of direct instructions for training in the application of four behavior change processes with 12 undergraduates. Both instructional techniques were effective. Direct instruction was more consistently effective immediately, with both techniques producing similar effects…

This commentary discusses how existing technology and application of functional assessment can be expanded to improve the lives of more people with severe disabilities. It emphasizes how functional assessment can enhance life quality in typical settings in which people with severe disabilities and challenging behavior live, work, and play.…

Traces a school social worker's development of an in-class intervention for reducing self-stimulating and self-injurious behaviors that interfered with the school functioning of an adolescent with autism. The study provides a model for innovative school social work practice. (JPS)

The effectiveness of a video feedback and self-management package was assessed with various inappropriate behaviors exhibited by six adolescents with mild mental retardation. Participants evaluated their own videotaped behavior. Results showed a statistically significant decrease of the percentage intervals of inappropriate behavior when the…

Thirty-eight children with autism were given movement therapy in small groups led by a trained movement therapist. After two months of biweekly sessions, the children spent less time wandering, more time showing on-task behavior, less time showing negative responses to being touched, and less time resisting the teacher than those in the control…

Purpose: Prevalence estimates of healthy behaviors and preventive care among older adults have not received sufficient attention, despite important health benefits such as longevity and better quality of life. Moreover, little is known about general population prevalences of older adults' efforts to change behavior, motivations to improve health…

Introduction: This study investigates the use of a commitment to change (CTC) instrument as an integral approach to continuing medical education (CME) planning, implementation, and evaluation and as a means of facilitating physician behavior change. Methods: Descriptive statistics and grounded theory methods were employed. Data were collected from…

When measuring participant-reported attitudes and outcomes in the behavioral sciences, there are many instances when the common measurement assumption of unidimensionality does not hold. In these cases, the application of a multidimensional measurement model is both technically appropriate and potentially advantageous in substance. In this paper,…

Numerous theories in social and health psychology assume that intentions cause behaviors. However, most tests of the intention- behavior relation involve correlational studies that preclude causal inferences. In order to determine whether changes in behavioral intention engender behavior change, participants should be assigned randomly to a…

This study examined the role that the social support component of simplified habit reversal (SHR) plays in the treatment of body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (nail biting) in college-aged individuals. This study compared 2 versions of the SHR procedure, the first consisting of awareness training, competing response training, and social…

Prevention science is moving from a narrow emphasis on cataloging success to a broader research agenda that takes aim at the difficult gap between research-based efficacy and community-based effectiveness. This article analyzes the preceding articles in this volume which demonstrate "lessons learned" from youth violence prevention programs that…

Despite the positive long-term physiological and psychological effects of exercise, many young adults between the ages of 12 and 21 years do not participate in regular physical activity. With the time constraints and other challenges in teaching and assessing students, physical educators need realistic strategies that will help in their efforts to…

Using a multitreatment withdrawal design, this study evaluated the differential effects of publicly posted plus verbal feedback, goal setting plus verbal feedback, and publicly posted feedback, verbal feedback, and goal setting together on the performance of 3 collegiate football players in practice scrimmages. Also assessed was whether the…

The current study explored how graduate students in education, school psychology, and counseling are being prepared to help ensure an equal and safe learning environment for youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT). Focus groups were conducted with graduate students in a school of education that has made social justice…

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been identified as an effective and efficient method to teach students prosocial skills. It requires both effective behavior support practices and systems that will support these changes, including data-based decision making among the school leadership team. There are many practical and systemic…