Discusses the special problems that arise in a children's institution when the death of a staff member occurs and describes the events of one such case. (MS)

Described is a program in which adolescent institutionalized handicapped girls are rewarded with money for improved academic performance, behavior, and participation. (CL)

Responsibilities of residents of long term care facilities are central to their autonomy and also set limits on their autonomy. It is important to assist residents to assume responsibilities and to express autonomy. Nursing home rules affecting residents need revision to accurately reflect resident responsibilities. Recognition of responsibilities…

Comparison of 22 home and 21 institutional three-month-olds' interaction with their primary caregivers revealed that biological mothers differed from institutional caregivers in three behaviors. Mothers more frequently rocked their infants while holding them, touched them affectionately, and talked to them in a face-to-face manner. (RH)

Presents innovative method of using research findings to improve quality of life in long-term care institution. Describes impact of action research in developing service. Examines program implementation in terms of how groups of residents, staff, and families worked to enhance their social environment by strengthening supportive relationships,…

Compared self-images of 20 delinquent punk rockers and 20 delinquent nonpunk rockers. Results revealed no significant differences between the groups, suggesting that even though punk rockers may look and act unusual, they may actually be similar to other groups. Findings did suggest that there may be differences between groups in terms of family…

Compared effects of different visiting programs (people, people and pets, pets, no visit) on behaviors of nursing home residents. Found all three visiting programs increased behaviors of smiling and alertness in comparison to control conditions. Close proximity to person-alone visitor was associated with greatest number of positive resident…

The scope of psychoactive drug use within a statewide (Texas) institutional service delivery network was examined, with a focus on its role in the treatment of self-injurious behavior and other aberrant behaviors in the retarded. Insufficient use of behavioral technology and overuse of physical and chemical restraints were indicated. (Author/DB)

Six profoundly retarded institutionalized adolescents were taught two tasks of comparable difficulty using different prompting procedures (either an antecedent or consequent procedure). Results showed greater gains were made with the antecedent prompting procedure. (Author/DB)

Develops a perspective for studying conversational behavior in geriatric institutions. Considers why conversation is a theoretically significant focus for communications researchers concerned with the aged and presents data from ethnographic studies of two nursing facilities. Data highlight the importance of conversational behavior for…

Ratings on Adaptive Behavior Scale factors obtained for 47 children and adolescents in eight trainable mentally retarded classrooms were compared with data from direct classroom observations sampled over a four-day period. Findings indicated significant relationships between Ss's adaptive behavior in a residential environment and acutal observed…

Neutralization theory was tested with questionnaires administered to a random sample of public high school students (N-298) and institutionalized male delinquents (N-53). Neutralization acceptance technique patterns were similar across subsamples; however, correlations between each technique and each type of delinquency were statistically…

The study examined the efficacy of reinforcement and response cost in the elimination of an institutionalized severely mentally retarded individual's food stealing and scavenging behavior during mealtimes. Through the use of discriminative stimuli and positive reinforcement, food stealing was virtually eliminated. (Author/CL)

Discusses sex differences in the relocation patterns of 37 institutionalized patients interviewed prior to and following relocation. Trends indicated that while males scored slightly higher levels of mental alertness, females appeared to be better suited to life in the institution. (JAC)

Implementation of "24-hour" and classroom Reality Orientation procedures resulted in improved orientation to environment and behavioral functioning for confused and disoriented residents of an institution for the elderly. This study used a pretest-posttest control group design with 12 residents in the experimental group and 13 residents…