Objective: Aggression is common in children and adolescents admitted to psychiatric inpatient units. Few interventions for reducing aggressive behaviors have been identified. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a milieu-based behavioral management program on the frequency of aggressive behaviors in a child and adolescent mental health…

Drawing on current research and best practices, this three-part resource, "Supporting Positive Behaviour in Alberta Schools," provides information, strategies, stories from schools and sample tools for systematically teaching, supporting and reinforcing positive behaviour. This integrated system of school-wide, classroom management, and…

This Action Research Project Report was conducted at one elementary school and two different high schools from August 20, 2007 to December 14, 2007. The purpose of this research was to decrease student off-task behavior in the classroom. There were four teacher researchers and 94 students at the beginning of the research, but during the action…

Background: Positive behavioural support is increasingly viewed as the preferred service approach for people who challenge, but skills are insufficiently widespread. The need for effective staff training has been highlighted as a key factor in high quality service provision, with investigators recommending a multidimensional approach to increase…

Background: The working culture surrounding challenging behaviour may have a strong effect on staff behaviour. As a first step to influencing staff talk about challenging behaviour, the aim of the present study was to explore whether a 1-day training workshop could have an effect on staff causal explanations. Methods: Fifty-four front line staff,…

In a recent placebo-controlled comparison, behavioral activation was superior to cognitive therapy in the treatment of moderate to severely depressed adults. Moreover, a subset of patients exhibited a pattern of extreme nonresponse to cognitive therapy on self-reports of depression not evident on the clinician ratings. These patients were severely…

Transitioning between activities can pose difficulties when working with students with autism. Individuals with autism may resist transitions by exhibiting a host of problem behaviors such as aggression and tantrums. Although scant, there is available research that provides sound recommendations for assessing and intervening for problem behaviors…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) renewed the commitment to provide positive behavioral support (PBS) for students that engage in persistent problem behavior. Behavior intervention plans (also known as PBS plans) serve as legal documents that help guide the implementation of intervention strategies to encourage…

Bullying can happen to any child, especially one who is perceived as "different" or who isn't prepared to respond effectively. Children with disabilities can be especially vulnerable to bullying; in fact, sometimes children are bullied specifically because of their disability. Upon discovering that their child is being bullied, parents often feel…

Functional analyses were conducted for the problem behavior of 3 older adults in a long-term care setting. Two of the problem behaviors were maintained by attention, and a third was maintained by escape from demands. Function-based interventions were implemented that resulted in decreases in problem behavior in each case. Implications for the use…

Reports on a study in which English secondary remedial students were observed and rated in their individual levels of on-task behavior. Results indicate that group-oriented classroom management procedures may achieve their apparent success merely by raising the on-task behavior of nontroublesome pupils. (Author/BSR)

Evaluated the effects of cognitive-behavioral problem-solving skills training (PSST) and nondirective relationship therapy (RT) for the treatment of antisocial child behavior. Revealed that a significantly higher proportion of PSST children, compared with those in other conditions, fell within the normative range for prosocial behavior at…

Children in kindergarten and first grade were rewarded for telling stories about fantasy figures, then encouraged to donate their rewards to handicapped children. Main effects were found only for grade, with first-grade children donating more than kindergarten children. Type of story had a greater influence on first grader's donations. (Author/DWH)

The author explores the concept of behavior modification through self-reinforcement. This concept allows for greater responsibility for one's own behavior than other strategies. General techniques to alter behavior are presented, along with a detailed case history. (RP)