Anxiety is a common mental health factor associated with school refusal behaviour. This study aims to identify different school refusal behaviour profiles and to determine whether or not these profiles differ from each other based on three anxiety dimensions (Anticipatory Anxiety, School-based performance anxiety and Generalized Anxiety).…

The present study examines language impact on anxiety in at-risk children deprived of parental care. Bulgarian children without parents (n=40) divided into 3 age groups (aged 7-10; aged 11-14; and aged 15-17) embed intervention accomplished by four volunteers using four interaction strategies: normal voice and positive language; high tone and…

Tics are rapid, repetitive, stereotyped movements or vocalizations that arise from neurobiological dysfunction and are influenced by environmental factors. Although persons with tic disorders often experience aversive social reactions in response to tics, little is known about the behavioral effects of such consequences. Along several dimensions,…

A number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of brief cognitive-behavioral interventions for treating childhood nighttime fears. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether behavior changes could be initiated and maintained with home monitoring and reinforcement alone. Sixteen children, ages 6 to 11, with severe, disruptive…

Behavioral inhibition is a temperament characterized in infancy and early childhood by a tendency to withdraw from novel or unfamiliar stimuli. Children exhibiting this disposition, relative to children with other dispositions, are more socially reticent, less likely to initiate interaction with peers, and more likely to develop anxiety over time.…

Background: Childhood maltreatment is strongly associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorder. Previous neuroimaging studies have reported atypical neural structure in the orbitofrontal cortex, temporal lobe, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum in maltreated samples. It has been hypothesised that these structural differences may relate to…

One-session treatment (OST), a variant of cognitive-behavioral therapy, combines graduated in vivo exposure, participant modeling, reinforcement, psychoeducation, cognitive challenges, and skills training in an intensive treatment model. Treatment is maximized to one 3-hour session. In this paper, we review the application of OST for specific…

In recent years, bullying seems to have become more serious and more pervasive. Research indicates that 15% to 20% of all students are victimized by bullies at some point in their school careers. Clearly, bullying is a problem that schools must recognize and address. Bullying has three distinguishing characteristics: (1) it is intentional; (2) it…

We evaluated contact desensitization (reinforcing approach responses) as intervention for specific phobia with a child diagnosed with autism. During hospital-based intervention, the boy was able to encounter previously avoided stimuli. Parental report suggested that results were maintained postdischarge. (Contains 1 figure.)

Based on a PhD thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario.

The authors discuss parental punishment practices that do not violate children's physical integrity. Physical punishment is still quite prevalent in the United States and Great Britain. Many studies indicate that not only does physical punishment not prevent the recurrence of undesirable behaviors, but it leads to psychopathology, especially…

This study of the outcomes of treatment of three children with autism, to reduce fear of dental examinations, found that the children could be trained through a combined desensitization, symbolic modeling, and reinforcement treatment package to undergo a dental exam in an analog setting, and the training could generalize somewhat to a clinical…