Predictors of premature withdrawal from a 12-week program of behavioral conditioning for childhood nocturnal enuresis were examined for 47 children (ages 5-14). The function containing number of previous techniques used, presence of child behavior problems, and parent tolerance of enuresis was a significant predictor of early termination of…

A study of the patterns of behavior disorders, hyperactivity, and emotional disturbances and classroom environments in 13 social adjustment classes, 3 day treatment programs, and a psychiatric outpatient program is reported. Results concerning occurrence of the disorders and the instruments used for characterizing these children and environments…

A survey on the preparation preservice health educators receive in the ethics of health education revealed that required courses involving ethics, morals, or values were offered infrequently. Suggestions are made for incorporating ethics instruction in the health education curriculum. (JD)

Describes Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, a behavioral family therapy approach for the psychological treatment of preschool children and their parents that emphasizes the integration of traditional child play therapy techniques within a behavioral framework of parent-child therapy. Implications for the treatment of a broad range of childhood…

The "Education of the Developmentally Young" course is an inservice training course for staff using behavioral techniques in their work with persons with severe learning difficulties. Evaluation of the course by trainees and instructors found that the course is highly valued and develops important skills, but has some deficiencies. (Author/JDD)

Evaluated behavioral and cognitive methods, relative to control condition, for treating 27 elderly insomniacs. Both treatment methods produced significant improvement on main outcome measure of awakening duration. Stimulus control yielded higher improvement rates than either imagery training or control condition on awakening duration and total…

The study evaluated the effects of a time-efficient reinforcer assessment package with three preschoolers with autism. Systematic assessment of children's reinforcers for correct responding virtually eliminated nontargeted maladaptive behaviors, and yielded expected improvements in accuracy. (Author/DB)

The literature on the use of physical restraint with adults and children with mental retardation is reviewed, including person-to-person restraint, mechanical devices, and voluntary self-restraint. Conclusions regarding outcomes of contingent and noncontingent restraint, maintenance, reinforcing effects of restraint, and risk of injury are…

Two case examples (a toddler with severe developmental delays and a 7-year old with severe mental retardation) illustrating effects of meal schedule and food quantity on displays of problematic behavior are offered. Brief functional analyses of aberrant behavior provided useful information for interpreting distinct patterns of behavior. (DB)

Seven parents conducted assessments in an outpatient clinic using a prescribed hierarchy of antecedent and consequence treatment components for their children's problem behavior. Brief assessment of potential treatment components identified variables controlling children's appropriate behavior. Experimental control was achieved for six of the…

This commentary summarizes methodological and conceptual issues in functional analysis methodologies and offers some suggestions for their resolution. Considered are increasing complexity, absence of contingencies during assessment, use of subtle manipulations, alternative assessment strategies, analysis of antecedent influences on behavior,…

This study examined how 3 students (ages 14-18, with emotional or behavioral disorders) allocated their responding across 2 concurrently available tasks associated with unequal rates and equal versus unequal qualities of reinforcement. It found that time allocated to concurrent response alternatives was approximately proportional to obtained…

This study examined the acceptability ratings of positive reinforcement procedures recommended to parents (n=50) in a pediatric behavior management clinic. Results indicated differences in acceptability ratings as a function of behavior problem severity. Significant correlations occurred between acceptability variables and compliance at each of…

This commentary on the use of gentle teaching with individuals with developmental disabilities examines the method's assumptions, describes its use of behavioral techniques, and criticizes its ineffectiveness. (JDD)

This paper reviews the functional properties and procedural variations of differential reinforcement for the reduction of behavior disorders in individuals with developmental disabilities. The paper proposes that limited success may be a result of the arbitrary relationship that exists between reinforcers and target behaviors when behavioral…