The effects of teacher-delivered social reinforcers on the task persistent behavior of children enrolled in an intermediate class for the educable mentally retarded were studied. Increases in the level of task persistent behavior and the administration of social reinforcement were functionally related. (Author)

A company division of 72 people that had participated in an adventure training program one year earlier was surveyed to identify the longitudinal impacts of adventure training on corporate managers, attitudes toward adventure training, and changes in work behavior. Results showed positive changes that were short-lived without follow-up programs.…

One college developed a substance abuse education program involving several prevention and intervention strategies. The goal was to improve the atmosphere of the college community by intervening in the behavioral patterns of students through an educational intervention. This paper describes program rationale, development, content, and…

Describes the development and baseline evaluation data from the Ozark Heart Health Project, a community-based cardiovascular disease risk reduction program in rural Missouri that targeted smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet. Several Ozark counties participated in either intervention or control groups, and researchers conducted surveillance…

A school audit is described, based on the PeaceBuilders program, which helps to create a more peaceful school environment. A research-driven violence prevention program, PeaceBuilders has identified characteristics that help in creating this environment, such as common language, positive stories and behavior posters, daily rewards, group rewards,…

The Yes I Can Social Inclusion Program fosters the development and maintenance of social relationships of students with and without developmental disabilities by helping them to overcome negative behaviors and increase interpersonal skills. A sample lesson plan is included. Two case studies illustrate the program's effects on socially isolated…

Reviewed research on school-based obesity prevention programs to identify ways to minimize increasing obesity levels. Seven studies showed change in body mass index and differed from those not finding change in three ways: program implementers were not classroom teachers, intervention targeted middle or high schools, and inactivity reduction was…

With appropriate techniques, physicians interested in sports medicine can use their brief contacts with adolescents to address issues of violent behavior. Seizing the moment to gauge involvement and counsel appropriately can be done on any brief visit. The paper presents specific strategies for such teen violence prevention. (SM)

Family disruption, marital conflict, and disengaged parent-child relations have a decreasing effect on child behavior over time. And survey analysis shows that the pattern of decline differs for these three stressors. Analysis specifies the developmental period when declines occurred and distinguishes the decreases due to adaptation and those due…

This study used two reading programs with three students in a self-contained class for children with emotional and/or behavior disorders. Results indicated that when instruction sets students up to succeed on a daily basis and monitor their own progress, positive academic and social outcomes are likely. Single subject research results and…

In response to Horner and others (EC 232 976), this paper contrasts the constricted life of their adult son (who has mental retardation, autism, and emotional problems) when he lived in a group home and worked at a sheltered workshop where aversive techniques were used, with his present life with nondisabled housemates and competitive employment.…

Observed 2 Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups in South Wales over a 12-month period. Determined 2 broad consequences arose from encountering fellow sufferers: acceptance of diagnosis and commitment to recovery and to will of GA, or rejection of the diagnosis with the knowledge that they are returning to the outside world with a reconstituted…

The Oregon survey of 333 educators serving students with severe disabilities found their perceived prioritized inservice training needs included: (1) teaching students having specific handicapping conditions, (2) teaching functional communication, (3) teaching appropriate behavior and modifying inappropriate behavior, and 4) identifying/designing…

Reports decreases in aggressive behavior by a 13 year old, behaviorally disordered boy when his teacher used recorded phone messages to communicate the days' behavior to his parents, who applied contingencies at home. Suggests that this intervention allows greater involvement of rural parents in behavioral programs. (SV)

An experimental teacher-effectiveness intervention, a six-week training program for regular education middle school social studies teachers with mainstreamed/regular classes, produced important changes in teacher and student behavior. Forty volunteer teachers served as subjects in this one-year study. The specially designed observation code for…