Describes the three major influences on theme-oriented groups: theme-centered interactional, structured, and behavioral groups. Provides a comparison of the composition and structure of theme groups during the current decade. Summarizes the general principles thought to be important in the construction and development of theme-oriented groups.…

Examined effectiveness of cognitive intervention to help adolescents cope with stress and negative emotional arousal. Compared youth receiving training (N=9) with waiting list control group (N=12) in hypothetical stress situations. Results showed significant reductions in levels of anxiety and anger, improvement in self-esteem, and increase in…

Three severely mentally retarded adolescents who exhibited repetitive hand movements were assessed during baseline (reinforcement for on-task behavior) and sensory change (rings on fingers of both hands, rings and reinforcement, and faded rings) conditions. Sensory change effectively reduced the target responses for up to four hours. (Author/JDD)

This position paper discusses aversive conditioning and other behavior reduction procedures. Environmental modification, differential reinforcement, timeout, overcorrection, and corporal punishment are discussed in terms of current applications, with arguments for and against their inclusion in behavior modification. Eight guidelines are offered…

The paper argues that behavioral research with children might have more impact if experimenters paid more attention to assessment of long term maintenance effects, dissemination, and social validity of behavioral programs. Selected illustrative studies from the child behavior modification literature are reviewed and suggestions offered. (DB)

Reports on a movement conducted by social workers to decrease the infection of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome by changing human behavior through public education. Stresses that the focus is to draw attention to behavior modification. (RT)

Investigated extent to which information within context of regular coursework affects acceptability ratings by prospective teachers of four behavioral interventions (differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors, home-based reinforcement, ignoring, time-out). Prelecture acceptability ratings showed no differences between experimental…

The study of staff acceptability of behavioral interventions for self injurious behavior (SIB) in persons with severe/profound mental retardation indicated that: accelerative interventions were more acceptable than reductive treatments; acceptability of treatments varied as a function of SIB severity; and client status and type of work setting did…

An alternating treatments design was used to compare gentle teaching, visual screening, and a task-training condition in the reduction of high-level stereotypy of three persons (aged 7, 21, and 28) with mental retardation. Visual screening produced the greatest and most consistent decrease, while gentle teaching was found to have limited…

Participants were 206 low-to-middle-income Mexican-American and non-Hispanic families (623 individuals) recruited through their children's elementary school. Half the families undertook yearlong programs to decrease high salt and fat food intake and increase exercise. Two years later, experimental groups gained more knowledge of dietary and…

Results are reported from a study in which Cognitive Behavior Modification (CBM) was used successfully to modify the behavior of students (N=55) with mild behavior problems. This method teaches individuals to reinforce or rebuke themselves for their own behavior. Also outlined are steps in implementing a CBM program. (IAH)

Saint Louis University's efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive sexual harassment training program as the foundation for a cultural influence process is described. The use of the training program as the foundation of a normative-reeducative process of change is described. (MLW)

Observed the accuracy of self-recording of on-task behavior by five special education students. Found high accuracy when reinforcers were used, but accuracy declined sharply in the self-reinforcement condition after repeated exposure. (FMW)

Assigned test-anxious fourth and fifth graders (N=66) to a cognitive monitoring training or a control group. Pretreatment, posttreatment, and six-week follow-up measures revealed no significant differences between groups on either the self-report measure of test anxiety or the Metropolitan Achievement Test. (Author/ABL)

A forward graduated guidance procedure was used to increase the independent dressing skills of two profoundly multihandicapped adolescents living in a noninstitutional environment. One subject reached criterion and treatment gains generalized to other settings. The other subject failed to reach criterion but required fewer prompts after training.…