No abstract

We investigated the effects of prompts on the recycling behavior of approximately 217 faculty, staff, and graduate students in two academic departments of a large university. During the intervention, two signs were posted in each department. One sign prompted recyding (posted above the recyding receptade), and the other sign prompted proper disposal of trash (posted above the trash receptade). Results of a multiple baseline design across the two departments indicated that the sign prompt increased recycling behavior. Installation of the sign prompts in dose proximity to receptacles in Department A resulted in a 54% improvement over baseline. Posting of sign prompts over containers 4 m apart in Department B resulted in a 17% improvement, whereas positioning the signs and receptacles in dose proximity resulted in a 29% improvement over baseline.

This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the association between experiences of childhood maltreatment and suicide behaviors in children and young adults.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) uses an interdependent group contingency to improve classroom behavior. Despite the wealth of research on the effectiveness of the GBG, some teachers may have concerns about their students' abilities to work in teams, particularly if they have a history of poor social skills. We used an alternating treatments design to compare the relative effectiveness of the GBG with interdependent and independent group contingencies in a classroom for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Our results showed that both versions of the GBG reduced verbal disruptions, inappropriate sitting, and off-task behaviors for all children. However, the majority of children preferred the interdependent arrangement. We discuss how these results may promote more widespread use of the GBG with children with substantial behavioral challenges.

Research articles published during the first 31 years of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis were assessed for reports of social validity measures. Two measures of social validity (treatment outcome and treatment acceptability) were assessed for each article. In addition, articles were assessed for the incorporation of analog versus naturalistic settings. Overall, treatment outcome and acceptability measures were reported in less than 13% of articles. In addition, studies conducted in naturalistic settings were more likely to report social validity measures than studies conducted in analog settings. Possible reasons for the deficit in the reporting of social validity measures and potential outcomes of this deficit are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

There is growing evidence to support the use of trial-based functional analyses, particularly in classroom settings. However, there currently are no evaluations of this procedure with typically developing children. Furthermore, it is possible that refinements may be needed to adapt trial-based analyses to mainstream classrooms. This study was designed to expand the trial-based functional analysis literature by implementing the procedure in 2 mainstream primary school classrooms and validating the analysis through comparison of multiple treatment options, including some that were not indicated by the functional analysis. We also extended the procedure by including a peer-attention condition and obtaining data from teachers regarding the feasibility of the procedures. For all participants, functional analysis results helped to identify effective treatments. Furthermore, relative effects among treatments were accurately predicted by the functional analysis outcomes. Teachers reported that they understood the logic of functional analysis and found both analysis and treatment procedures to be easy and effective.

In the past decade, the links between core types of childhood maltreatment and suicidal acts have become an increasingly important area of investigation. However, no meta-analytic review has examined this relationship in prisoners. We undertook the first systematic meta-analytic review examining the link between childhood maltreatment and suicide attempts in prisoners to redress this important gap. We searched Medline, PsychINFO, Embase, Web of Science and CINAHL from inception until August 2019. Meta-analyses using random effect models were applied, and heterogeneity was quantified using the I2 statistic. Publication bias and risk of bias across studies were assessed. We identified 24 studies comprising 16 586 prisoners. The rates of different types of childhood maltreatment ranged between 29% and 68% [95% confidence interval (CI) 18–81%]. The rate of suicide attempts in prisoners was 23% (95% CI 18–27%). Main results demonstrated that sexual abuse [odds ratio (OR) 2.68, 95% CI 1.86–3.86], physical abuse (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.60–2.91), emotional abuse (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.92–3.79), emotional neglect (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.69–3.10), physical neglect (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.27–1.94) and combined abuse (OR 3.09, 95% CI 2.14–4.45) were strongly associated with suicide attempts in prisoners. There was an indication of publication bias. Duval and Tweedie's trim-and-fill method was applied, which increased the odds for suicide attempts. Given the high rates of prison suicide deaths and suicide attempts, our findings suggest an urgent need for targeted suicide prevention priorities for prisoners, with a particular focus on ameliorating the effects of childhood traumatic experiences on suicidal prisoners.

Evidence to validate the use of fixed-time (FT) reinforcer delivery (i.e., noncontingent reinforcement) with typically developing populations has been relatively rare in the behavioral literature. In those studies that have provided validation, reinforcer delivery schedules appeared to be prohibitively dense for sustained implementation of procedures. This study demonstrated the efficacy of using FT reinforcer delivery to reduce off-task behavior of 2 typically developing third graders using a teacher-selected schedule (FT 4 min). Immediate reductions in off-task behavior were observed for both children. Challenges in identifying the operative mechanism of FT schedules in natural settings are discussed.