Functional assessments were conducted for two Irish individuals with severe disabilities and aberrant behavior. A modified attention condition was introduced, which involved both parents interacting with a third person. Aberrant behavior occurred only in the modified attention condition. Successful treatment consisted of delivery of attention on a…

Reports on a group therapy program designed to enhance self-awareness, self-esteem, and body awareness among the demented elderly. Focuses on techniques of meditation, relaxation, sensory awareness, and guided imagery. Claims that the group is easily reproducible and offers benefits both to nursing home residents and staff. (RJM)

Discusses strategies for teaching social skills to children with learning and behavior problems, including how to select students for training, which social skills to use, teaching discrete skills and problem-solving routines, and helping students generalize training. Different types of social skills and assessment approaches are identified.…

Investigates changes in children's socioemotional development, achievement, and self-concept after the birth of a sibling. Data from a national longitudinal survey of preschool-aged children, over a two-year and a four-year period, indicate that a sibling's birth accompanied significant, albeit temporary, increases in children's behavior problems.…

Describes the activities and benefits of Positive Peer Groups (PPG), a Cleveland-based diocese program involving 40 schools. Designed for students with behavioral or academic problems, it focuses on school service projects that teach students to develop and implement valuable social skills. Describes the positive social and academic effects PPG…

The moderating effect of impulsivity on the relationship between anger and adolescent problem behavior (substance use and delinquency) was studied with 371 high school seniors. Overall, results provide partial support for the notion that temperament dimensions operate interactively to promote poor adjustment. (SLD)

Surveyed state preschool centers in North Queensland, Australia to identify behaviors involved in antisocial play and the range of strategies used to deal with disruptive play. Findings highlighted the practice of keeping center rules and guidelines in public view, and the need for diversity and flexibility in access to and deployment of…

Using ethnographic techniques, this article explores the complex interaction of control and caring in two alternative education programs for students resisting traditional schooling in Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools, a predominantly low-income, African-American urban school district. A community-based orientation for staff proves essential in…

Explored preschoolers' solitary-active play in the presence of peers as a marker for maladjustment among 153 children. Found that, compared to peers, children with frequent solitary-active behaviors were temperamentally less attentive, were more difficult to soothe, behaved more shyly, displayed more externalizing problems, performed more poorly…

Describes implementation of the Fight Free Classroom intervention (designed to decrease fighting and aggressiveness by helping students take ownership of their behavior) in an urban elementary school that included students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Overall, aggressive acts among students with and without EBD decreased…

Four children with language delays and emergent behavior problems and their parents participated in an intervention that taught parents to be responsive to their children's communication, model developmentally appropriate language, and provide contingent consequences for compliance and noncompliance. The complexity and diversity of the children's…

Investigates archival data of African American and Caucasian families referred for treatment of disruptive behavior problems. Following completion of pretreatment assessments, subjects and their parents received treatment using Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). No significant differences between groups were found on the pretreatment…

This article discusses the successes of behavior analysts in affecting challenging behaviors in persons with developmental disabilities. Three future issues are then addressed: the development of challenging behaviors, the role of rule-governance in challenging behavior, and the behavior of persons who directly apply functional assessment and…

A review of 33 studies of residential service outcomes found that almost all of the studies found statistically significant increases in overall adaptive behavior scores associated with deinstitutionalization of individuals with mental retardation. Three studies reported statistically significant improvements in challenging behavior associated…

Examined relationship between social support and appraisal of life events in predicting adaptive, externalizing, and internalizing behavior in 265 seven- to 13-year-olds. Found support for both the main effects and moderator models of the association between life events and global social support. Gender differences were found. Appraisal of life…