Objective: This article systematically reviews evidence for interventions that change attitudes toward homosexuals. Method: In all, 17 empirical studies using college and/or university student samples and interventions intended to improve heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals are reviewed. Characteristics of the…

Background: Concerns about the pharmacological management of the behaviour of individuals with intellectual disability have resulted in the development of legislative and procedural controls. Method: This Australian study provided a comparison of 873 reported cases where drugs were administered to manage behaviour in March 2000, with 762 cases…

Background: When phenylketonuria (PKU) is not diagnosed and long-term treatment commenced within the first few weeks of life, permanent brain damage will occur. There is some evidence to show that late diagnosed or untreated people with PKU who have severe challenging behaviours may benefit from a low phenylalanine diet [Harper & Reid (1987)…

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental syndrome that persists into adulthood for the majority of children with ADHD. Other individuals may not experience the full negative effects of undiagnosed ADHD until they face the demands of adult life. College counseling centers in particular are seeing a rise in the number of…

The 2004 Supreme Court of Canada decision in "Auton" concerns the right of autistic children to access services held by their parents to be essential to their children's ability to participate as members of a democratic society. It is argued that the child's right to have his or her basic developmental needs met is a constitutionally…

For more than 50 years, adolescent peer group treatment has been both glorified and criticized. Quality control has been a problem for the Positive Peer Culture (PPC) treatment modality throughout its history. The following article includes observations and commentary on the history, strength-based elements, and criticism of PPC.

Programs desiring to offer true alternatives for troubled children and youth can focus efforts through a developmental lens. Adults who focus their intervention decisions through beliefs based on healthy social-emotional developmental theory and practice provide a strength-based alternative, a sturdy foundation, and an oasis of hope for youth to…

Prevention science is moving from a narrow emphasis on cataloging success to a broader research agenda that takes aim at the difficult gap between research-based efficacy and community-based effectiveness. This article analyzes the preceding articles in this volume which demonstrate "lessons learned" from youth violence prevention programs that…

Despite the positive long-term physiological and psychological effects of exercise, many young adults between the ages of 12 and 21 years do not participate in regular physical activity. With the time constraints and other challenges in teaching and assessing students, physical educators need realistic strategies that will help in their efforts to…

Few studies have evaluated efficacy of psychotherapies for pathological gambling. Pathological gamblers (N = 231) were randomly assigned to (a) referral to Gamblers Anonymous (GA), (b) GA referral plus a cognitive-behavioral (CB) workbook, or (c) GA referral plus 8 sessions of individual CB therapy. Gambling and related problems were assessed…

We evaluated the influence of child location on the occurrence of self-injurious behavior (SIB) during functional analyses conducted in home settings. An initial functional analysis conducted with 2 children who had developmental disabilities showed undifferentiated patterns of SIB. Analyses of behavior during free play suggested that the child's…

Using a multitreatment withdrawal design, this study evaluated the differential effects of publicly posted plus verbal feedback, goal setting plus verbal feedback, and publicly posted feedback, verbal feedback, and goal setting together on the performance of 3 collegiate football players in practice scrimmages. Also assessed was whether the…

This study examined the outcomes of a competing activities intervention to decrease skin picking exhibited by a 9-year-old student with comorbid diagnoses. Results of an ABCBAB design revealed that the use of student-selected manipulatives resulted in reduced skin picking. (Contains 1 figure.)

Many children with autism display reactions to auditory stimuli that seem as if the stimuli were painful or otherwise extremely aversive. This article describes, within the contexts of three experimental designs, how procedures of systematic desensitization can be used to treat hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli in three young children with…

The Stoplight Task, a procedure involving a computer analog of a stoplight, was evaluated for assessing risk taking in humans. Seventeen participants earned points later exchangeable for money by completing a response requirement before the red light appeared on a simulated traffic light. The green light signaled to start responding; it changed to…