The Preferred Items and Experiences Questionnaire (PIEQ) is a new instrument to assess reinforcer preferences in adolescents and adults. Research was conducted with college and high school students to develop the PIEQ, to examine its reliability with test-retest and internal consistency methods, and to test its validity. This research provides…

When used within a comprehensive positive behavioral support program, the CPI Postvention model can serve as a facilitation tool, guiding staff through functional behavioral assessment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Challenging behavior is defined as behavior of such intensity, frequency, or duration that the physical safety of the…

The exhibition of stereotypic and self-injurious behavior (SIB) combined with a lack of work engagement makes it very difficult to place a person with severe disabilities in an integrated work environment. The purpose of this research was to examine use of a positive procedure to increase engagement on-task and reduce self-injurious slapping and…

This pilot study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and the impact of a smoking-cessation program that would meet the specific needs of high school students. Feedback from focus groups conducted with adolescent smokers at a Connecticut high school was used to develop a tailored intervention. Intervention components included commonly used…

Current research supports the effectiveness of self-monitoring strategies for addressing academic and behavioral challenges within educational settings. Although variations in procedures exist, frequently implementation of self-monitoring involves some form of adult feedback as a method of establishing accurate self-monitoring. To date, however,…

Although many of the pioneers of behavior analysis thought on a large scale and encouraged others to do so, most behavior analytic projects have remained small scale. The intent of this article is to urge the application of behavior analytic principles on a large scale. This article begins with a brief history of applied behavior analysis. It then…

This study examined partner violence before and after behavioral couples therapy (BCT) for 303 married or cohabiting male alcoholic patients and used a demographically matched nonalcoholic comparison sample. In the year before BCT, 60% of alcoholic patients had been violent toward their female partner, 5 times the comparison sample rate of 12%. In…

A social story is a short story that describes social situations in terms of relevant cues and often defines appropriate responses for children diagnosed with autism. Limited empirical evidence has been found to support the effectiveness of social story intervention. The authors of this article attempted to quantitatively and qualitatively…

The authors have found no study that addressed the influence of religious practices, biblical texts, and a spiritual environment on the dynamics of coping with crises often experienced by couples who are infertile and who transition into childlessness. Twenty-five couples from the greater New York area who were referred by religious leaders…

Methodological characteristics and outcomes of 14 controlled clinical investigations of integrated psychosocial and opioid-antagonist alcohol dependence treatment were evaluated. The 14 studies were identified through computerized bibliographic and manual literature searches. Clients receiving integrated psychosocial and opioid-antagonist…

This article introduces methods for increasing and improving play skills in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Behavioral techniques that are reviewed include discrete trial training, use of stereotyped behaviors to increase play skills, pivotal response training, reciprocal imitation training, differential reinforcement of appropriate…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present an exploration of some of the issues surrounding adherence to vocal behavioral change in voice therapy within the context of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and to explore MI's potential for integration into voice therapy (MI-adapted voice therapy). MI is a style of interpersonal communication in…

For decades, scholars have worked to understand the precise manner in which messages affect attitudes and ultimately behaviors. The dominant paradigm suggests that there are two methods or routes to attitude change, one based on careful consideration of the messages and the other based on simple decision rules, often referred to as heuristics…

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral therapy (GCBT) and of sertraline in treatment-naive children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Method: Between 2000 and 2002, 40 subjects between 9 and 17 years old were randomized to receive GCBT (n = 20) or sertraline (n = 20). GCBT consisted of a…

A socially optimized learning approach, which integrates diverse theoretical perspectives, places men who have sex with men (MSM) in an interactive virtual environment designed to simulate the emotional, interpersonal, and contextual narrative of an actual sexual encounter while challenging and changing MSM's more automatic patterns of risky…