Discusses how conceptualizing anger control as a necessary survival skill for angry and aggressive youth is more productive than diagnosing these youth with labels like conduct disorders. Anger management programs should promote the ideas that angry persons need to trust others and that they have the ability to control their lives. (RJM)

Addresses a paradigm shift taking place in the field of substance-abuse prevention for youth. Introduces the youth development and empowerment (YD&E) approach, an innovative program for treating substance abuse and other problem behavior. Discusses the process of implementing the YD&E program. (MKA)

A review of 14 studies of students with disabilities in general education settings found moderate to strong improvement in students' performance following self-management training. Descriptive summaries for each study are provided, as well as suggestions and resources for researchers and teachers who seek to promote self-management in inclusive…

A four-year study evaluated how establishing, teaching, and reinforcing schoolwide rules and routines and systematically responding to disruptive behavior affected the number of formal office disciplinary referrals in one elementary school. Results revealed that establishing clear standards and having in place a systematic response to disruptive…

Examines client level of spirituality as a potential moderator for the effectiveness of including spiritual process in the counseling process. Results suggest that a spiritual intervention was perceived similarly to a cognitive-behavioral intervention for all respondents. Those respondents who self-reported higher levels of spirituality rated the…

A survey concerning treatment of children with posttraumatic stress disorder was completed by 77 child psychiatrists and 82 nonmedical therapists. Medical responders reported most preferred treatments included pharmacotherapy, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Nonmedical respondents preferred cognitive-behavioral, family, and…

A study examined sensitivity to reinforcement in two boys (ages 7-10) with attention deficit hyperactivity using the matching law and evaluated effects of methylphenidate. In the medicated condition, the matching function for both subjects resulted in higher asymptotic values, indicating an overall elevation of behavior rate under these…

This article provides two views of the software package "First Step KidTools". This computer program was designed to help elementary students use self-management skills and develop strategies for controlling their behavior. Goals and objectives of this program are outlined and information on how to obtain the program is provided. (CR)

Describes treatment containing positive components of effective instruction delivery (EID) and time-in (TI) for achieving acceptable levels of child compliance in clinic and home settings. Mothers were able to master components of both EID and TI in the clinic. Skill mastery increased at home for EID but varied for TI. Discusses benefits of…

Describes a feasibility study conducted to define essential competencies and training methods for diabetic counseling, and to assess whether this approach was practicable in a diabetes resource center. Findings suggest that stages of the change model, motivational interviewing, and behavioral teachings were relevant to working in this area.…

This article comments on a study that used functional assessment to reduce behavior problems in a child with multiple disabilities (Kern and Vorndran, 2000). It suggests additional principles need to be incorporated into an expanded model if functional assessment is to have a truly positive influence on naturalistic treatment planning. (Contains…

This study compared three methods of stimulus preference assessment for four verbal children (ages six to nine) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specifically evaluating the utility of a verbal choice procedure for assessing relative reinforcer value. Verbal and pictorial stimulus-choice assessments identified high- and low-preference…

This paper presents a method for distinguishing between extinction and punishment effects. In extinction and punishment, different schedules of reinforcement or punishment are in effect when a given proportion of responses is blocked. Response patterns in treatment of hand mouthing in an adult with profound mental retardation suggest that a…

Antecedent conditions involving instructor's task demands and social comments were evaluated for three students with severe disabilities who exhibited problem behavior. An instructor emitted high rates of social comments and gradually faded in task demands. Social validity assessments indicated that substantial improvements were perceived in…

Describes treatment activities at the Boys Town Emergency Shelter Program for runaway and homeless youths. An examination of data collected from 100 shelter users indicated a high number of teaching interactions between staff and youths high levels of youth satisfaction with the staff; and a low frequency of youth disruptive behaviors in the…