Objective: To assess the prevalence and frequency of medical marijuana diversion and use among adolescents in substance abuse treatment and to identify factors related to their medical marijuana use. Method: This study calculated the prevalence and frequency of diverted medical marijuana use among adolescents (n = 164), ages 14-18 years (mean age…

The purpose of the present investigation was to refine and validate an assessment procedure to identify instructional variables influencing acquisition of conditional discriminations in children diagnosed with autism. An assessment was implemented with eleven individuals to identify the specific instructional variables influencing the individual's…

The atypical antipsychotic medication aripiprazole was evaluated using a randomized AB multiple baseline, double-blind, placebo-controlled design for the treatment of severe problem behavior with 4 children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Functional analysis (FA) was conducted concurrent with the medication evaluation to…

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of reading racetracks and direct instruction flashcards with two students with behavior disorders. A token economy with a response cost component was also implemented to increase on-task behavior during data collection. Method: The participants were two eight-year-old males.…

Objective: To present estimates of the lifetime prevalence of "DSM-IV" mental disorders with and without severe impairment, their comorbidity across broad classes of disorder, and their sociodemographic correlates. Method: The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement NCS-A is a nationally representative face-to-face survey of…

The majority of FBA research has focused on identifying and developing interventions based on the function or consequences of problem behavior; however, increased attention has recently been focused on the effects of antecedent variables on problem behavior in natural settings. This study examined the functional antecedent-based process in early…

We investigated the extent to which clinician-assigned diagnoses of emotional and behavioral disorders and clinicians' perceptions of client change are consistent with structured measures of youth clinical functioning and parent/family characteristics within the context of usual care or "real world" psychotherapy. A total of 54 therapists from two…

A medication efficacy graph was developed, revised, and applied in a case study to effectively monitor progress of a client with profound mental retardation and maladaptive behaviors. The graph enables clinicians to measure and display not just incidents of maladaptive behaviors but weighted maladaptive behaviors, adaptive behaviors, potency of…

Controversy exists regarding appropriate methods for summarizing treatment outcomes for single-subject designs. Nonregression- and regression-based methods have been proposed to summarize the efficacy of single-subject interventions with proponents of both methods arguing for the superiority of their respective approaches. To compare findings for…

This study used a data-based assessment to identify reinforcers and punishers for successful treatment of two children with severe destructive behaviors. Results suggested that empirically derived consequences may be useful in decreasing destructive behavior when a functional assessment is inconclusive or suggests that internal stimuli are…

A study conducted functional analyses of the pica of three young children. The pica of one participant was maintained by automatic reinforcement; that of the other two was multiply-controlled by social and automatic reinforcement. Preference and treatment analyses were used to address the automatic function of the pica. (Author/CR)

Discusses issues and challenges inherent in early research in the field of intervention and prevention of conduct disorders, including recruiting and working with parents who are stressed by the effects of poverty; designing appropriate interventions for young children; and using outcomes measures that reflect developmental continuities, subject…

Functional analysis of destructive behavior of a four-year-old boy with autism and oppositional defiant disorder was able to delineate the specific form of verbal attention that was responsible for behavioral maintenance. Treatment based on the analysis reduced the behavior to near-zero levels. (DB)

The atypical antipsychotic medication risperidone was evaluated using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design to treat destructive behavior in two males (ages 6 and 24) with autism. Destructive behavior during the demand condition was significantly reduced during the medication phases, whereas it continued to occur to obtain tangible items and…

Discusses problems of using applied behavior analysis for individuals with mental retardation who have behavior disorders and presents a sensitivity model of motivation that stresses analysis in terms of aberrant environments, aberrant contingencies, and aberrant motivation. Describes implications for communication theory, assessment, and…