Impulsivity may be conceptualized as the choice of a smaller, sooner reward (SSR) at the cost of a larger reward available after a delay. Progressive delay training (PDT) has been used to teach people with a variety of developmental characteristics (e.g., intellectual and developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries, typically developing children) to select the larger, later reward (LLR) in this choice paradigm even when delays are relatively lengthy (e.g., several minutes). However, PDT has not been evaluated for its efficacy for treating impulsive choice making in children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Given that impulsivity often co-occurs with EBD, PDT may be an avenue for treatment worth investigating for this particular population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of PDT with a classroom rule-following requirement on the impulsive choices of six first- and second-grade children with EBD. We implemented a number of research-based approaches to progressive delay training, and found that participants were generally resistant to treatment. However, PDT with a rationale and rule for selecting the LLR increased delays at which three of our six participants made self-controlled choices (i.e., selected the LLR). Our results differ from those of previous evaluations of PDT in which a variety of approaches to PDT were effective across most participants. We discuss potential explanations and implications of our discrepant results, as well as directions for future research on treating impulsivity in children with EBD that are indicated by our findings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-05042017-151628 |
| Date | 11 July 2017 |
| Creators | Staubitz, Johanna Lee |
| Contributors | Blair P. Lloyd, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Joseph M. Lambert, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Derek D. Reed, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Joseph H. Wehby, Ph.D., Paul J. Yoder, Ph.D. |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-05042017-151628/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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