BEHAVIOR THERAPY WITH CHILDREN - A REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PAPERS ARE CLASSIFIED IN TERMS OF THE THERAPIST'S GOALS IN TREATMENT INCLUDING: (1) DECELERATION OF MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR, (2) ACCELERATION OF PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR, AND (3) COMBINED PROMOTION OF ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR AND CONTROL OF PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOR. ALTHOUGH A NUMBER OF THE STUDIES REVIEWED CONVINCINGLY DEMONSTRATE THE EFFICACY OF BEHAVIORISTIC TREATMENT APPROACHES, THE MAJORITY WERE INADEQUATELY CONTROLLED AND INCOMPLETELY RECORDED CASE STUDIES. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT WHEN INDIVIDUAL SS ARE USED FOR THERAPY-EVALUATION STUDIES, E SHOULD PROVIDE: (1) ADEQUATE BASE-LINE MEASURES OF THE TARGET BEHAVIOR, (2) SYSTEMATIC VARIATION OF REINFORCEMENT CONTINGENCIES OR OTHER PROCEDURES DEMONSTRATING CONTROL OF S'S BEHAVIOR, (3) EVIDENCE THAT BEHAVIOR OBSERVATIONS ARE UNBIASED, AND (4) RIGOROUS FOLLOW-UP EVALUATIONS. (3 P. REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.