Self-Management of On-Task Homework Behavior: A Promising Strategy for Adolescents With Attention and Behavior Problems

Students with attention and behavior problems oftentimes experience difficulty finishing academic work. On-task behavior is frequently cited as a primary reason for students' failure to complete homework assignments. Researchers have identified self-monitoring and self-management of on-task behavior as effective tools for improving homework completion rates among students who experience difficulty attending to tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a 30-min naturalistic, home-based, self-management intervention for students with attention problems and behavioral disorders. Specifically, the current study set out to investigate differences in on-task behavior between baseline and intervention when self-monitoring intervals were set at 3 and 10 min. For all participants, on-task behavior improved significantly over baseline. Furthermore, the improvements in on-task behavior were evident for both the 3- and 10-min intervals, suggesting that shorter intervals did not enhance the intervention's effectiveness. Finally, based on school records, the frequency of completed homework assignments increased.