Assessed child behavior, maternal depression, and family socioeconomic status and observed mother-child interactions for 376 first graders and their mothers. Found that the quality of mother-child interactions mediated the relationship between maternal depression and child behavior problems for boys, girls, and Caucasians but not for African…

Three groups of Canadian secondary school students ("high risk" or "high achievers" junior high students and training school students) completed the Jesness Inventory, developed to study delinquency. The high-risk students' scores were more similar to the training school students' scores than to the high achievers', except on…

Schools must increasingly deal with children who brandish weapons and exhibit antisocial or violent behavior. Psychologists agree that young children are very susceptible to violence and that stored violent images can warp their interpretation of reality. To combat youth violence, many schools have adopted antiviolence curricula and conflict…

Four studies analyzed eye poking behavior of a youth with profound disabilities. Results demonstrated substantive reductions in the frequency of eye poking when goggles were worn and when a video game was provided as a competing source of visual stimulation and as a reinforcer. Music was less effective in reducing eye poking. (Author/DB)

A urine alarm, typically used to treat nocturnal enuresis, was effectively used to treat diurnal enuresis in a 15-year-old female with depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorder. The study indicated that the alarm eliminated wetting in both treatment phases and that continence was maintained at three-month and…

This comment on an article by A. J. Cooper rejects the suggestion that a mentally retarded youth's playing of a "sexual game" with a child may be innocuous. Cooper reaffirms that such "sex offending" is usually merely a crude attempt to fulfill normal sexual impulses in the context of poor adaptive behavior skills, sexual naivety, and social…

Mothers' and fathers' subjective distress and self-restraint when their sons were preadolescents were related to 14 measures of sons' outcomes 4 years later. Subjects were 82 adolescent boys. Sons of fathers prone to low self-restraint were uniformly found to have subsequent difficulties across domains, including poor academic achievement, poor…

This study assessed patterns of parental responding to five children (ages four through seven) whose principal problem was noncompliance. Assessment data on parental error response patterns formed the basis for individualized instruction of parents. Results indicated the parent-instruction training procedure was effective in creating appropriate…

Investigated the relationships of problem behavior, emotions, and psychosocial factors using a three-dimensional model of three elements: positive/negative coping resources, rebellion from/ conformity to adult norms, and secretive/obvious behavior. Found that the model fit for both genders. Results suggest that males who do not have positive…

Discusses five environmental dimensions (hardness/softness, open/closed, simple/complex, intrusion/seclusion, and high mobility/low mobility) that affect the experiences of children in day-care centers, demonstrating how to consider these dimensions in solving typical problems in child care settings. (MDM)

Explores how journal writing in a free form--without consideration of grammar, punctuation, or other mechanics and without the guidance of an assigned topic--may lead to trusting relationships with teachers and students' increased understanding of their own needs and motives. Suggests that behavior of troubled students improves as a result of this…

Assessment and intervention of an eight-year old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who displayed disruptive behaviors during academic instruction involved three phases: (1) a brief functional analysis; (2) a curriculum-based assessment; and (3) an intervention derived from the assessments. Results showed an immediate reduction in…

Incorporating statistical process control (SPC) methods into applied behavior analysis is discussed. It is claimed that SPC methods would likely reduce applied behavior analysts' intimate contacts with problems and would likely yield poor treatment and research decisions. Cases and data presented by Pfadt and Wheeler (1995) are cited as examples.…

Nine mothers of children with physical disabilities in Ireland participated in a 10-week training program that focused on social learning theory and identification and modification of undesirable child behaviors. Evaluation indicated reduced maternal stress and substantial reductions in identified problem behaviors. (DB)

Examined relations of acute and chronic life stressors and stable social resources to disease-related and psychosocial functioning among adolescents with juvenile rheumatic disease, and the mitigating impact of parental resources. Found that life stressors and social resources were unrelated to disease outcomes. However, adolescents with more risk…