The purpose of the Time-Out Parent Inventory (TOPI) is to provide an objective and quantitative assessment of a parent's self-reported use of time-out procedures to manage a child's behavior. The TOPI is intended to be a tool for researchers as well as professionals who help parents and children. The professional asks the parent a series of 12…

In an urban/rural area with a high demand for children's services but limited resources, an outreach service using standardized treatment strategies was evaluated. The basic intervention strategies consisted of three elements: (1) establishment of specific goals; (2) use of Time-Out; and (3) use of praise and attention to increase desireable…

Sixteen studies were analyzed that employed single-subject designs focusing on conduct disorders in preschoolers. Results indicated that reinforcement produced most positive outcomes, followed by punishment, timeout, and differential attention. Subject characteristics such as sex, handicapping condition, and target behavior typically bore little…

Paradoxical strategies appear to provide a change in the dynamics of the teacher-child relationship and are thus a more systemic way of viewing problem behavior than time-out procedures. Three case studies are presented in which the paradoxical strategies have varying degrees of success. (Author/ABB)

Litigation and the issues surrounding the use of behavioral procedures to handicapped persons are reviewed. Attention is directed to the use of aversive techniques, e.g., corporal punishment, electric shock, timeout, and restraint. (SEW)

A parent training program which is highly effective in the treatment of child noncompliance and other behavior problems of 3- to 8-year-old children is described and data on the program's effectiveness are presented. (PHR)

Effects of brief time out on the biting behavior of a 21- month-old boy enrolled in a day care setting was examined. The Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS; Durand, 1983) was used to determine the function of the child's biting. A parent report survey, the MAS assesses disruptive behavior using a Likert-type scale and discriminates the function of a…

The effects of a simple timeout procedure on the eye gouging and head wagging behavior of a totally blind, seven-year-old child were studied. Parent and staff reports suggested that the reduction in manneristic behaviors was associated with the emergence of more acceptable and age appropriate social behavior. (SEW)

Treatment of a child-abusing mother that used parent skill training and videotape feedback eliminated the physical abuse and provided a more appropriate relationship. (Author/SS)

The study compared the effectiveness of (1) reinforcement of other behavior, (2) verbal reprimands, and (3) movement suppression time-out in eliminating self injury and aggressive behaviors in two severely mentally retarded adult males. Improvements were only apparent when movement suppression was paired with either or both of the other…

This study evaluated effects of noncontingent and contingent protective equipment as treatment for self-injurious hand mouthing by two women with profound mental retardation. Behavior change appeared to be effected in both conditions. Results suggest either a punishment or a timeout interpretation, rather than an extinction interpretation, for the…

Preschool children (n=32) were evaluated in an unstructured play session, matched for levels of appropriate or inappropriate social behavior, and assigned to a treatment or control condition. The treatment group conditions involved positive reinforcement, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and time out. Although prosocial behaviors were successfully…

This study describes the uses of several disciplinary practices in American public schools. They include positive reinforcement, tokens, assertive discipline, timeout, values clarification, life span interviews, behavior charts, conferences, detention, remaining after school, inschool suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and exclusion. Three…

Parents' and grandparents' ratings of alternative treatments for children with behavior disorders were assessed. Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), time-out, response cost, spanking, and medication were applied to noncompliance, aggression, tantrums, and hyperactivity. DRO, response cost, and time-out were found significantly more…

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…