I tested the effects of an observational intervention on observing responses, denial responses, and audience appropriate behaviors in 9 preschool children with developmental and language delays. The participants were 8 males and 1 female aged 3-5 years, who were selected from a preschool program that implemented a behavior analytic approach to all instruction. All participants had fluent listener and speaker repertoires and emitted mands, tacts, and sequelics with adults. The children were selected to participate because they displayed little to no awareness of, or interactions with their peers during free play and social settings. I conducted probes for a) peer observing responses, b) responses to denial of non-preferred stimuli being delivered to peers, c) social initiations to peers, d) responses to peers’ social initiations, and e) other socially appropriate behaviors. Pre-intervention probes showed that all participants emitted low peer observing responses in free play settings, and did not consistently initiate or reciprocate peer interactions across different social settings. Five out of nine participants emitted responses to denial prior to the intervention. The independent variable was an observational intervention using non-preferred stimuli and a denial condition that was used in prior studies to establish conditioned reinforcement by observation. The participant and peer confederate sat side-by-side at a table, and were separated by an opaque partition. They were both presented with a performance task. The participant observed the peer confederate receive the non-preferred stimuli but could not observe the peer’s responses to the task. The intervention continued until the participants emitted responses to denial of the non-preferred stimuli across two sessions. Post-intervention data suggest that peer observing responses in free play settings, as well as audience appropriate behaviors in social settings increased as a function of the observational intervention in 8 out of 9 participants. Responses to the denial of non-preferred stimuli delivered to a peer increased in 4 out of 4 participants who did not respond during pre-intervention probes.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology) --University of Limpopo, 2007 / Disruptive Behaviour Disorders are often associated with high rates of school drop outs, academic skills deficits and low achievement, drug abuse, low self esteem, depression, delinquency and incarceration. The main aim of the study was to establish whether children with DBDs are cognitively and/or neurologically impaired. The study investigated (1) whether children with DBDs show deficiencies in cognitive and motor functions and (2) whether gender and subtype influence cognitive and motor functions. Method: The sample of 137 children with DBDs (ADHD, ODD and CD) and those without a diagnosis of DBDs was drawn from children aged between 8 and 15 years. They were assessed using instruments that were selected to be measures of Executive Functions, cognitive functioning, and motor functions. The scores obtained from the administration of these measures were compared for significant differences between the DBD subtypes and a non-DBD control group as a possible function of gender. Results: The findings indicate that children with symptoms of DBDs performed poorer than the control group on all tests with the exception of the Digits backward. EF and motor impairments are associated with ADHD-C and ADHD-PI, and not with ADHD-HI, ODD and CD. Although among the DBDs, neuropsychological and cognitive impairments have been found to be severe in children with ADHD-PI and ADHD-C, the ADHD-C subtype showed qualitatively larger differences with the normal control group on most measures. There were no differences found between the genders in the performance on all tests that were administered. Conclusion Children of the ADHD-C and ADHD-PI subtypes are significantly more impaired on measures of Executive, cognitive and motor functions than those with ADHD-HI, ODD and CD and those without externalising disorders. However, the ADHD-C subtype found to be more severely impaired when compared with the ADHD-PI subtype.

Faculty of Education. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 243-286)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education [Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology] / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Current public health reports show that early childhood behavior problems have increased in magnitude and prevalence in educational settings in recent years (Brauner & Stephens, 2006). The prevalence of problem behaviors in young children in general is more than 10% for children under age 8 in the U.S. (Joseph & Strain, 2003). Challenging behaviors are those that deviate from the expected appropriate behaviors within a context (Gresham & Elliot, 1993). This study investigated the effects of positive behavior supports (PBS) on children with challenging behaviors in early childhood settings (ages 3-8 years). The implementation of multiple-component PBS interventions resulted in decreases in challenging behaviors and increases in appropriate behaviors across settings for each participant, respectively. / text

Includes bibliographies. / xiv, 233, [102] leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis examines the relationship between environmental lead exposure and later emotional and behavioural problems experienced by 11-13 year old children enrolled in the Port Pirie Cohort Study (PPCS). The PPCS is the first study to monitor prospectively the association between lifetime blood lead exposure and children's behaviour. Prenatal and postnatal measures of lead exposure are collected from birth along with a large number of biomedical, socio-environmental and familial factors that might confound the relationship between lead exposure and children's behaviour. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychiatry, 1997

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-95). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Additional advisors: Margaret Rice, Boyd Rogan, Foster Watkins, Martha Barber. Description based on contents viewed May 29, 2008; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-120).

Thesis (M.S. in psychology)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 15, 2009). "Department of Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 27-31).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-138). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.