Child abuse and neglect by parents with disabilities: A tale of two families

Two families, in which the children had been placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect by parents who had disabilities, were studied. In the first case, the mother was instructed in skills that our assessment suggested were important for her child's survival. The mother readily acquired and applied these skills, a fact reflected both in changes in her behavior and in changes in the child's well-being. In the second case, the parent's incremental resumption of child custody was made contingent upon completion of relevant parenting tasks. Initially, improvements in the completion of such tasks were evident, but over time and with the onset of militating factors, no further progress was made and all parental rights were terminated. The implications of these cases for behavior analysis and the effort to reunite and preserve families are discussed.     

Trauma and abuse in the case of Little Hans: a contemporary perspective

Newly available interviews with Max and Herbert Graf describe the severe pathology of Little Hans's mother and her mistreatment of her husband and her daughter, who committed suicide as an adult. Reread in this context, the text of "A Phobia in a Five-year-old Boy" provides ample evidence of Frau Graf's sexual seduction and emotional manipulation of her son, which exacerbated his age-expectable castration and separation anxiety, and her beating of her infant daughter. The boy's phobic symptoms can therefore be deconstructed not only as the expression of oedipal fantasy, but as a communication of the traumatic abuse occurring in the home. Through subliminal, indeed unconscious, injunctions conveyed in abusive behavior, parents can confirm the child's worst imaginings and immature views of the world and thereby render the child's oedipal conflicts and fantasies pathogenic.     

The control of "classroom attention": a group contingency for complex behavior

Cumulative time measures of classroom attention, as delineated by the teacher, were taken of four elementary classes (kindergarten, third, fifth, and sixth grades) and of 16 randomly chosen students in these same classes. Each class of students was viewed as an individual responding organism. Base rates showed considerable variability. Explicit instructions alone concerning student attention produced temporary increase for some students and for some grades. Adding group contingencies (i.e., contingencies dependent on the attention of every student in the class) and token-mediated reinforcement to class achievement of a gradually increasing attention criterion raised group measures to a consistent 70 to 85% level of time attending to task as instructed, and raised individual student measures to a stable 90 to 100% level. Reversals and other data indicate that the elementary teacher can, by herself and with little effort, maximize what she considers the "paying-attention behavior" of all her students by her less-than-precise measure and consequation of the attention of the class as a whole.     

Teenage depression: a cultural-interpersonal-intrapsychic perspective

The "crossroads families" are caught between old value systems and American mainstream goals. Traditional family and sex-related roles and orientations conflict with those of the new social system. In turn, neither of the teenager's orientations--toward home or toward peer activity--is validated. In the clinical case presented, Anna, at adolescence, wants to relinquish many of her household chores and enter her social world more fully. She needs unconflictual support for such a move. If this does not take place, her autonomous movement represents an unconscious betrayal of her depleted and controlling mother as well as an abandonment of the parental coalition. This leaves her feeling resentful, guilty, and ultimately unlovable. Attitudes marked by helplessness and confusion are thus significant to the depressed affect that brings this teenager into family therapy. Teenagers of non-Hispanic background who enter family therapy reveal gross overlap with teenagers of the Hispanic "crossroads" family model. Here, the family gives mixed messages for homebound and intimate closeness as well as accomplishment in the societal mainstream. A primary difference between ethnic groups involves the freer expressions of anger and pain between husband and wife in the non-Hispanic families. This is not similar to the backgrounds of the more individuated Hispanic teenagers. While more open expressions of anger within the family do indicate higher levels of autonomy, the hostility that is expressed by the parents presents serious complications when this includes "triangulating" the child into the family tension. Here, as cited, the mother often uses her daughter as a confidant and ally at times of severe parental discord. This places additional strain on the child's conflict with separation. Importantly, the daughter experiences renewed rejection and betrayal when the mother "submits" to her spouse. These are significant family processes that heighten mixed messages around autonomy. Milagros, a depressed (more individuated) adolescent, is consistently entangled into her parent's abrasive relationship. Her interpersonal family struggles have become intrapsychic and, ultimately, transferential.     

An evaluation of three methods of saying "no" to avoid an escalating response class hierarchy

We evaluated the effects of three different methods of denying access to requested high-preference activities on escalating problem behavior. Functional analysis and response class hierarchy (RCH) assessment results indicated that 4 topographies of problem behaviors displayed by a 13-year-old boy with high-functioning autism constituted an RCH maintained by positive (tangible) reinforcement. Identification of the RCH comprised the baseline phase, during which computer access was denied by saying "no" and providing an explanation for the restriction. Two alternative methods of saying "no" were then evaluated. These methods included (a) denying computer access while providing an opportunity to engage in an alternative preferred activity and (b) denying immediate computer access by arranging a contingency between completion of a low-preference task and subsequent computer access. Results indicated that a hierarchy of problem behavior may be identified in the context of denying access to a preferred activity and that it may be possible to prevent occurrences of escalating problem behavior by either presenting alternative options or arranging contingencies when saying "no" to a child's requests.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION BETWEEN A BEHAVIORALLY DISORDERED PRESCHOOL CHILD AND HER CLASSROOM PEERS1

The social interaction between a behaviorally disordered preschool child and her classroom peers was measured under two conditions of contingent adult attention: (1) verbal praise and physical contact directed to the target subject's peers for appropriate interaction with the target subject, and (2) verbal praise and physical contact directed specifically to the target subject for engaging in appropriate interaction with peers. Continuous measures of interactive behavior were made during baseline, intervention, and return to baseline conditions. Results indicated that application of experimental contingencies to peers (Condition 1) rapidly increased appropriate social behaviors by the peers and also by the target subject. When experimental contingencies were applied to the target subject (Condition 2), a similar increase in appropriate social behaviors was noted for both the target subject and the peers. Additionally, during Conditions 1 and 2 the recipient(s) of contingent adult attention initiated more appropriate social contacts than did the interacting partner(s).     

Teachers and parents as researchers using multiple baseline designs

Two teachers and a parent used three basic multiple baseline designs to investigate the effects of systematic reinforcement and punishment procedures in the classroom and at home. (1) A fifth-grade teacher concurrently measured the same behavior (tardiness) in three stimulus situations (after morning, noon, and afternoon recesses). Posting the names of pupils on a chart titled "Today's Patriots" was made contingent on being on time after the noon recess, then successively also the morning and afternoon recesses. Tardiness was reduced to near zero rates at the points where contingencies were applied. (2) A highschool teacher recorded the same behavior (daily French-quiz grades) of three students. She then successively applied the same consequences (staying after school for individual tutoring for D and F grades) for each student. At the points where the contingency was applied, D and F grades were eliminated. (3) A mother concurrently measured three different behaviors (clarinet practice, Campfire project work, reading) of her 10-yr-old daughter. She successively applied the same contingency (going to bed early) for less than 30 min spent engaged in one after another of the behaviors. Marked increases in the behaviors were observed at the points where the contingency was applied.     

The generalization of newly acquired behaviors by parents and child across three different settings

The generalization of newly learned behaviors to different settings on the part of an autistic child and his parents was investigated by means of a multiple baseline design. Contingency management techniques were taught to the parents while they interacted with their child in a training apartment equipped with observation facilities. In order to assess whether the parents generalized the use of these techniques, data were gathered at their own home. Data were also gathered in the child's school in order to ascertain whether changes brought about in the child's behavior in the training apartment generalized to the school situation. It was concluded that the child's behavior was responsive to the contingencies of each particular environment. Generalization did not occur until the contingencies and stimulus cues were specifically designed to promote a change in behavior in each setting.     

Adolescent vicissitudes and medical judgement: a case study

Professional concern about the widespread occurrence of adolescent pregnancy is based upon its negative impact on the social, developmental, and economic prospects of the mother and her infant. The usual presumption is that the pregnant adolescent is in good health but suffers from socioeconomic and cultural disadvantages, which the pregnancy will exacerbate. The problems of the pregnant adolescent are more complex when she also has a severe medical handicap. We draw upon such a case to illuminate the issues which arise when medical problems interact with the vicissitudes of adolescence. Although it is clear that the patient's own behavior contributed substantially to the tragic outcome of this case, we believe that greater professional anticipation of the contingencies of adolescent development might have produced a more favorable result.     

Training parents as behavior modifiers: self-recording of contingent attention

Two mothers of deviant young children were instructed to count their episodes of attention to appropriate child behavior in their homes, using wrist counters. Attention and appropriate child behavior were defined before counting began. Independent observations of parent-child interactions showed that, for each mother-child pair, the percentage of maternal attention given following appropriate child behavior increased, as did the child's appropriate behavior. Removal of the counters did not produce a reversal of the behaviors; instead the increased level stabilized. One mother was then instructed to count her attention to inappropriate child behavior and to decrease it. This instruction had little effect on her attention, and her child's behavior did not change. When both parents were again instructed to count their episodes of attention to appropriate behavior, further improvements in both mothers, and in their children resulted. These results were obtained despite inaccurate parent self-recording. Follow-up observations made over the next five months showed these behavioral gains to be durable. A third parent and his child were unaffected by this training procedure. Thus, there are instances in which self-recording may function as an effective and economical parent-training technique for effecting improvements in child behavior.     

A Controlled Single-Case Treatment of Severe Long-Term Selective Mutism in a Child With Mental Retardation

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the efficacy of combining two operant learning procedures—shaping and fading—for treating selective mutism. The participant was a 12-year-old boy with mental retardation presenting a severe long-term selective mutism. The treatment was aimed at increasing the loudness of his vocalizations in an increasingly social milieu. The treatment was conducted over the course of about 20 weeks, with four 15-minute sessions per week. A gradual increase in speech loudness was observed. Data indicated a close correspondence between the changes in speech loudness and the criteria for reinforcement successively applied by the therapist, thereby confirming the causal link between the child's progress and the changes in reinforcement contingencies. In addition, good generalization was noted during the stimulus fading phase. Six-month follow up showed that loudness of verbalizations was still satisfactory in the classroom despite a change of school and peer group. The impressive improvement of the child's verbal behavior shows that the implementation of a treatment package including both shaping and stimulus fading is a worthwhile therapeutic option, even in the case of severe long-term selective mutism associated with mental retardation.     

What happened to analysis in applied behavior analysis?

This paper addresses the current help-oriented focus of researchers in applied behavior analysis. Evidence from a recent volume of JABA suggests that analytic behavior is at low levels in applied analysis while cure-help behavior is at high strength. This low proportion of scientific behavior is apparantly related to cure-help contingencies set by institutions and agencies of help and the editorial policies of JABA itself. These contingencies have favored the flight to real people and a concern with client gains, evaluation and outcome strategies rather than the analysis of contingencies of reinforcement controlling human behavior. In this regard, the paper documents the current separation of applied behavior analysis from the experimental analysis of behavior. There is limited use of basic principles in applied analysis today and almost no reference to the current research in the experimental analysis of behavior involving concurrent operants and adjunctive behavior. This divorce of applied behavior research and the experimental analysis of behavior will mitigate against progress toward a powerful technology of behavior. In order to encourage a return to analysis in applied research, there is a need to consider the objectives of applied behavior analysis. The original purpose of behavioral technology is examined and a re-definition of the concept of "social importance" is presented which can direct applied researchers toward an analytic focus. At the same time a change in the publication policies of applied journals such as JABA toward analytic research and the design of new educational contingencies for students will insure the survival of analysis in applied behavior analysis.     

Generalization in a child's oppositional behavior across home and school settings

A 9-year-old clinic-referred boy, his mother, and his teacher were observed in 38 home and 38 school sessions on the same days. Categories of the boy's oppositional behavior and the inappropriate social attention of his mother and teacher were graphed to visually inspect changes during baseline, a parent-training phase, a follow-up phase, and a final parent-training booster phase. Parent-training phases produced reductions in the mother's inappropriate attention and in the boy's oppositional behavior, whereas the follow-up and baseline phases were associated with higher rates of these categories. Generalization occurred in the school across these home phases, as seen in the increase in rates of the boy's problem behavior, despite the lack of change in his teacher's attention. Correlational analyses of proportion scores reflecting the boy's home-school oppositional behavior and mother-teacher social attention suggested his responsiveness to relative changes in adult social contingencies across settings.     

Good behavior game: effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in a classroom

Out-of-seat and talking-out behaviors were studied in a regular fourth-grade class that included several "problem children". After baseline rates of the inappropriate behaviors were obtained, the class was divided into two teams "to play a game". Each out-of-seat and talking-out response by an individual child resulted in a mark being placed on the chalkboard, which meant a possible loss of privileges by all members of the student's team. In this manner a contingency was arranged for the inappropriate behavior of each child while the consequence (possible loss of privileges) of the child's behavior was shared by all members of this team as a group. The privileges were events which are available in almost every classroom, such as extra recess, first to line up for lunch, time for special projects, stars and name tags, as well as winning the game. The individual contingencies for the group consequences were successfully applied first during math period and then during reading period. The experimental analysis involved elements of both reversal and multiple baseline designs.     

Modification of behavior problems in the home with a parent as observer and experimenter

Four parents enrolled in a Responsive Teaching class carried out experiments using procedures they had devised for alleviating their children's problem behaviors. The techniques used involved different types of reinforcement, extinction, and punishment. One parent increased the frequency of the wearing of an orthodontic device during five daily time checks by making an immediate monetary payoff contingent on wearing the device. A second parent increased the number of points earned for doing daily household tasks by providing back-ups for which the points could be exchanged. The parents of a 4-yr-old boy decreased the frequency of whines, cries, and complaints by removing social attention when such behavior occurred. A mother decreased the duration of time it took for her 5-yr-old daughter to get dressed by making permission to watch television contingent on dressing within 30 min of the time she got up in the morning. Brief reversals of contingencies were used to show causal relationships between the procedures used and the changes in behavior. Checks on the reliability of measurement were made by persons present in the home.     

The application of operant conditioning techniques in a secondary school classroom

The effects of teacher praise and disapproval on two target behaviors, inappropriate talking and turning around, were investigated in a high school English class of 25 students. The contingencies were applied to all students in the experimental class utilizing a multiple baseline experimental design in which the contingencies were aimed first at decreasing inappropriate talking behavior and then at decreasing inappropriate turning behavior. Observations were made of both student and teacher behavior. The results demonstrated that the combination of disapproval for the target behaviors and praise for appropriate, incompatible behaviors substantially reduced the incidence of the target behaviors in the experimental class. Observations of these behaviors in a control class of 26 students taught by the same teacher revealed no particular changes. The findings emphasize the importance of teacher-supplied social contingencies at the secondary school level.     

AN ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE MISPLACED PARENTAL SOCIAL CONTINGENCIES1

This study analyzed the training of a mother to modify five subclasses of her attention to her young child's noncompliance with instructions, and also displayed the changes in her child's behavior correlated with these events. Training in four subclasses consisted of teaching the mother to withhold various forms of social attention to her daughter's undesired behavior; training in the fifth subclass involved introduction of a brief room-timeout procedure for noncompliance. The effectiveness of the parent-training procedure, consisting of initial instructions and daily feedback, was demonstrated through a multiple-baseline design across the five subclasses of parent behavior. Sequential decreases in the first three subclasses of the mother's social attention to undesired child behavior resulted in incomplete improvements in some child responses; however, a decrease in the fourth subclass resulted in a significant increase in undesired child behavior. Complete remediation of all child behaviors was achieved following the training of a timeout procedure for noncompliance. Postchecks conducted up to 16 weeks later showed that these effects were durable.     

Enhancing the social skills of an unpopular girl: A social learning intervention

The use of a social learning approach to reduce the unpopularity of an 11-year-old girl, Rene, at a summer camp was studied. Two social skill deficiencies were suggested to be the cause of Rene's unpopularity by her bunk house counselors: her lack of contact with bunkhouse members during free choice times, and her negative, interfering conversational style. A multiple baseline design was used by the counselors to successively implement reinforcement contingencies on each class of social skill. Substantial improvements in performance were noted concurrent with the application of each contingency. These outcomes were maintained after reinforcement contingencies were withdrawn. Sociometric ratings of Rene's popularity by her bunkhouse mates improved after intervention. These outcomes are discussed from a social learning perspective.     

A significant "dream within a dream"

This brief clinical note is an attempt to clarify Freud's remarks regarding the significance of real occurrences of the "dream within a dream". There is affirmation of the reality of an actual event in the manifest dream (the "tickling" in adolescence). Certain representations regarding real events are alluded to in the manifest dream and are confirmed by the latent dream thoughts (the underlying homosexual theme involving the patient's mother and herself). Within the ongoing transference neurosis, a new understanding led this patient to experience intense sexual affects which were recalled for the first time during the course of an analytic session. The analyst's attention to this "dream within a dream" led to a facilitating active interpretation of the repressed sexual feelings. At the same time it was possible to observe a developmental arrest which had interfered with the consolidation of the patient's adolescent maturation begin to be undone by interpretation. The process of disengaging the patient from her unconscious bond with her mother (the undoing of the negative oedipal involvement) had been set in motion. The "dream within a dream" seems to represent a special defensive effort of the dream work to encapsulate the memory of one or more related actual events and the intense affects associated with them--affects whose pressure for discharge threaten to arouse the sleeper. The form the dream assumes is related to its hidden sexual origins and engages the active participation of both patient and analyst.