As researchers have examined the so-called "behavioral phenotypes" of different genetic mental retardation conditions, the measurement of behavior becomes increasingly important. From earlier, more global examinations of noteworthy behaviors or profiles, recent researchers have moved from reliance on a single, all-encompassing questionnaire to…

Systemic analyses of psychological functioning in families of children with autism have typically shown that parents report different experiences (e.g., stress) and that siblings may also be affected. The purpose of the present research was more explicitly to address relationships between child, partner, and parent variables. Parents of 48…

This study examined preschoolers' self-reported coping strategies in response to several stressor contexts, the relations of coping and family environment to children's problem behavior, and the extent to which coping moderates the relation between family environment and preschoolers' psychological adjustment. Fifty-eight preschool children and…

This study compared the fears and behavior problems of 25 children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 43 children with Down syndrome (DS), 45 mental age (MA) matched children, and 37 chronologically age (CA) matched children. Children's fears, phobias, anxieties and behavioral problems were assessed using parent reports. Significant…

It has been argued that group treatment of antisocial adolescents may increase rather than decrease conduct problems. One mechanism that has been suggested to underlie this effect is "deviancy training," wherein during group sessions deviant peers reinforce each other's antisocial actions and words. These 2 hypotheses have important implications…

The mainstream inclusion of pupils who have emotional and behavioural difficulties presents a challenge to teachers and other related staff in schools. This challenge takes on greater significance when a school has been put into Special Measures following an unsuccessful OFSTED report where behaviour has been cited as a key area for improvement.…

In an effort to understand the reasons that young children might be referred for psychological services, ratings provided by mothers who had contacted a psychology clinic were compared to those provided by mothers who were college students. Results of this study suggested that children who were referred for psychological services were rated as…

Interviews were conducted with 336 mother--child dyads (children's ages ranged from 6 to 17 years; mothers' ages ranged from 20 to 59 years) in China, India, Italy, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand to examine whether normativeness of physical discipline moderates the link between mothers' use of physical discipline and children's adjustment.…

Analogue functional analysis methodology was used to assess potential maintaining contingencies of episodic self-injurious behavior (SIB) of a 4-year-old child diagnosed with autism. Analogue conditions were presented within a multielement design when the child did, and did not exhibit signs of a possible sinus infection, and when the participant,…

This article explores a form of separation that is neither the result of physical disconnection between child and caregiver nor the product of emotional separation associated with parental psychopathology. Underscoring the central role that language and communication play in the development and maintenance of positive parent-child …

Overt-relational and reactive-proactive subtypes of aggression have demonstrated a reliable network of relationships with social-adjustment variables and these variables have been shown to be effective predictors of future behavior problems and social maladjustment. In this study, the two measures representing these classification systems were…

How do school-aged and adolescent youngsters without disabilities think about and act toward their peers who have disabilities, chronic health conditions, or other developmental or behavioral differences? And what would it mean for program operators, coaches, volunteer leaders, and after-school caregivers to help shape their thinking in a…

The teenage years can be particularly challenging due to the multitude of developmental and environmental changes that occur in tandem. It is a crucial time for mental health intervention because several behavioral and emotional difficulties increase from childhood to adolescence. The mental health of adolescents depends heavily on the ways they…

The fundamental feature that distinguishes positive behavior support (PBS) from previous generations of applied behavior analysis is its focus on the remediation of deficient contexts that are determined to be the source of the problem. Determining this source involves conducting a functional assessment. This innovative practices article presents…

Problem behavior is a primary barrier to successful community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities and therefore a major priority for intervention efforts. Recently, researchers and clinicians have begun to focus on the systematic assessment of a broad range of contextual variables that purportedly affect problem behavior. In the…