Parent training, utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis to teach effective parenting skills, is a widely used intervention to decrease child behavior problems. The extent to which these interventions are successful in improving behavior, and the degree to which the effects are maintained, relies heavily on the behavior of the parent after the completion of the training. Research suggests that parents' ability to use the skills taught during training diminishes over time. One variable suggested to contribute to parent nonadherence is negative reinforcement. To further investigate, the current study first taught parents correct implementation of a time out procedure, then through a series of practice sessions, manipulated role-player behavior in an attempt to directly observe and measure the effects of negative reinforcement on parent integrity. However, due to lack of responding and contact with the contingency, the effects of negative reinforcement could not be assessed. The investigation did corroborate previous evidence on the effectiveness of the parent-training model used to teach participants the time out protocol. Several areas of future research are presented for parent training and collecting in-home naturalistic observations to assess parent and child behavior.

Past research has investigated parameters of time-out such as duration, mostly with individuals with developmental disabilities. Existing research and popular parenting sources do not coincide in terms of the suggested duration of time-out. The current study sought to find the shortest effective duration(s) of time-out necessary to reduce sibling aggression in eight typically developing girls ages 3-7. The intervention took place in participants’ homes using a minute-by-minute incremental increase and reversal design. All participants reached a minimum reduction in sibling aggression of 60% after experiencing a 1-min time-out. The majority (75%) of participants also demonstrated clear reversals of behavior when returned to the baseline condition. The current findings suggest that a 1-min time-out may be sufficient for children as old as 7— contrary to the common 1-min per year of age rule. Limitations include the presence of a graduate assistant during sibling play and some loss of experimental control in the natural setting. Future research should seek to replicate the current methodology with the same population and populations of different ages and developmental levels.