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Applied behavior analysis and school psychology
328
Book Reviews
and other professionals who work with autistic or severely handicapped individuals. Also, parents with some familiarity in the field could benefit from this book.
Danielle Smith Louisiana State University
Applied Behavior Analysis and School Psychology. Edited by H. A. Chris Ninness and Sigrid S. Glenn. Westport, 1988,286 pp.
CT Greenwood
Press,
Applied Behavior Analysis and School Psychology is a research guide to principles and procedures that are to be used inside and outside the classroom in treating behavioral disorders. These principles and procedures include behavioral contracting, self-management, token economics, group-oriented contingencies, and time-out contingencies. Implementing these procedures has proven to increase appropriate ontask performance and decrease aggressive, hyperactive disorders in the classroom as well as decrease depression withdrawal, and suicidal tendencies. Ninness and Glenn emphasize the hyperactive, aggressive disorders along with the most effective procedures used to treat these disorders. Hyperactivity, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-ZZZ-R, is categorized as Disruptive Behavior Disorder and renamed “314.01 Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD). It is the most common reason for referral to school psychologists and continues to be the main problem in the classroom, especially among males. Emphasis on treating this disorder is placed on pharmaceutical intervention, mainly methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine and chlorpromazine. However, very little is said about decreasing hyperactivity by teaching appropriate social skills and implementing reinforcement procedures as an alternative treatment. It should be noted however, that psychostimulants are the most prescribed drug in America among school aged children and that the side effects are often more severe than the disorder itself. Aggression is another behavior disorder that is typical among school aged males. Studies presented by Ninness and Glenn have shown that time-out contingencies serve to be a simple and effective means in eliminating aggressive behaviors. In chapter five, McGinnis describes how using social skills through rehearsal actually counteracts aggressive disorders. Such skills include modeling, role playing, feedback, and planned generalization. McGinnis refers to these skills as the “structured learning approach.” Although the greater portion of this book emphasizes problems most commonly found in the classroom, it does include withdrawal, depression, and suicidal tendencies which tend to occur over a period of time outside of the classroom. Bornstein, Bellack, and Hersen (1977) point out that “poor competency as a child may set the stage for inappropriate interpersonal functioning as an adult, accentuating the potential for psychiatric disorder.” A number of studies are discussed concerning depression and the prevention of suicidal tendencies. All agree that enhancing social skills does in fact increase the frequency of positive social interaction with peers and
329
Book Reviews
thus lead to a decrease in the number of suicidal tendencies among varied age groups. This research guide is written and intended for teachers and school counselors who are unskilled in maintaining and controlling appropriate classroom behaviors of elementary and adolescent school children, especially in resource or special education classes where behavioral disorders are often magnified.
Christine Linarello Louisiana State University
Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development. Edited by S. Chess, 1989,686 pp.
A. Thomas,
and M. E. Hertzig.
New York: Brunner/Mazel,
As the title suggests, this book reviews the progress made in the areas of child psychiatry and child development over the past year. The editors have compiled journal articles which are representative of the progress that has been made in a variety of subtopics within these areas of research. This volume presents research of different theoretical viewpoints including behavioral, biological, and cognitive points of view. Part I is entitled “Developmental Studies” and includes articles pertaining to the involvement of children in a social network, the effects of early experience on development, and the influence of prenatal hormonalization of the brain on sexual orientation. Also covered in this section of the book are articles which discuss the effect of cognitions on an individual’s quality of life and reaction to life experiences, the influence of learning and biological factors on temperament (specifically, on inhibition), and the importance of studying the neonatal state for more accurately predicting very early development. Part II is labelled “Child Care Issues.” One study presented in this section indicates that the child care program director’s experience and the amount of verbal interaction between children and caregivers were most consistently predictive of the social development of children in child care programs. Additionally, the issue of enrolling 4-year-olds in early education is addressed and refuted in the section’s next article. Finally, another study indicates that child characteristics have an effect comparable to demographics in predicting the mother’s entrance into the labor force. Part 111, called “Methodological Issues,” is comprised of two articles. Both articles discuss a new and elaborate statistical model called Structural Equation Modeling or SEM. Since coping with the stressors of life is considered to be an important characteristic of human development, a section entitled “Special Stress and Coping” is included in the volume. Included in this section is a review of the specific types of stress to which children can be exposed and the different coping resources, styles, and strategies they develop to cope. Also included is a study examining the relationship between stress, temperament, and behavior and two longitudinal studies of offspring of schizophrenics, a high-risk group likely to experience stress. Another review re-
Book Reviews
and other professionals who work with autistic or severely handicapped individuals. Also, parents with some familiarity in the field could benefit from this book.
Danielle Smith Louisiana State University
Applied Behavior Analysis and School Psychology. Edited by H. A. Chris Ninness and Sigrid S. Glenn. Westport, 1988,286 pp.
CT Greenwood
Press,
Applied Behavior Analysis and School Psychology is a research guide to principles and procedures that are to be used inside and outside the classroom in treating behavioral disorders. These principles and procedures include behavioral contracting, self-management, token economics, group-oriented contingencies, and time-out contingencies. Implementing these procedures has proven to increase appropriate ontask performance and decrease aggressive, hyperactive disorders in the classroom as well as decrease depression withdrawal, and suicidal tendencies. Ninness and Glenn emphasize the hyperactive, aggressive disorders along with the most effective procedures used to treat these disorders. Hyperactivity, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-ZZZ-R, is categorized as Disruptive Behavior Disorder and renamed “314.01 Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” (ADHD). It is the most common reason for referral to school psychologists and continues to be the main problem in the classroom, especially among males. Emphasis on treating this disorder is placed on pharmaceutical intervention, mainly methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine and chlorpromazine. However, very little is said about decreasing hyperactivity by teaching appropriate social skills and implementing reinforcement procedures as an alternative treatment. It should be noted however, that psychostimulants are the most prescribed drug in America among school aged children and that the side effects are often more severe than the disorder itself. Aggression is another behavior disorder that is typical among school aged males. Studies presented by Ninness and Glenn have shown that time-out contingencies serve to be a simple and effective means in eliminating aggressive behaviors. In chapter five, McGinnis describes how using social skills through rehearsal actually counteracts aggressive disorders. Such skills include modeling, role playing, feedback, and planned generalization. McGinnis refers to these skills as the “structured learning approach.” Although the greater portion of this book emphasizes problems most commonly found in the classroom, it does include withdrawal, depression, and suicidal tendencies which tend to occur over a period of time outside of the classroom. Bornstein, Bellack, and Hersen (1977) point out that “poor competency as a child may set the stage for inappropriate interpersonal functioning as an adult, accentuating the potential for psychiatric disorder.” A number of studies are discussed concerning depression and the prevention of suicidal tendencies. All agree that enhancing social skills does in fact increase the frequency of positive social interaction with peers and
329
Book Reviews
thus lead to a decrease in the number of suicidal tendencies among varied age groups. This research guide is written and intended for teachers and school counselors who are unskilled in maintaining and controlling appropriate classroom behaviors of elementary and adolescent school children, especially in resource or special education classes where behavioral disorders are often magnified.
Christine Linarello Louisiana State University
Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development. Edited by S. Chess, 1989,686 pp.
A. Thomas,
and M. E. Hertzig.
New York: Brunner/Mazel,
As the title suggests, this book reviews the progress made in the areas of child psychiatry and child development over the past year. The editors have compiled journal articles which are representative of the progress that has been made in a variety of subtopics within these areas of research. This volume presents research of different theoretical viewpoints including behavioral, biological, and cognitive points of view. Part I is entitled “Developmental Studies” and includes articles pertaining to the involvement of children in a social network, the effects of early experience on development, and the influence of prenatal hormonalization of the brain on sexual orientation. Also covered in this section of the book are articles which discuss the effect of cognitions on an individual’s quality of life and reaction to life experiences, the influence of learning and biological factors on temperament (specifically, on inhibition), and the importance of studying the neonatal state for more accurately predicting very early development. Part II is labelled “Child Care Issues.” One study presented in this section indicates that the child care program director’s experience and the amount of verbal interaction between children and caregivers were most consistently predictive of the social development of children in child care programs. Additionally, the issue of enrolling 4-year-olds in early education is addressed and refuted in the section’s next article. Finally, another study indicates that child characteristics have an effect comparable to demographics in predicting the mother’s entrance into the labor force. Part 111, called “Methodological Issues,” is comprised of two articles. Both articles discuss a new and elaborate statistical model called Structural Equation Modeling or SEM. Since coping with the stressors of life is considered to be an important characteristic of human development, a section entitled “Special Stress and Coping” is included in the volume. Included in this section is a review of the specific types of stress to which children can be exposed and the different coping resources, styles, and strategies they develop to cope. Also included is a study examining the relationship between stress, temperament, and behavior and two longitudinal studies of offspring of schizophrenics, a high-risk group likely to experience stress. Another review re-