Eric W. Boelter

An Investigation of Relationships Between Social Behavior and ADHD in Children and Youth Construct Validity of the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales

This article describes two related studies focusing on the relationship of social behavior and ADHD characteristics of children and youth.The primary purpose of these studies was to empirically investigate the construct validity of the Home and Community Social Behavior Scales (HCSBS), a new behavior rating scale for use by parents in assessing social and antisocial behavior of children and youth. A secondary purpose was to examine in detail relationships between ADHD characteristics and social behavior in children. Results of these studies indicated that as ADHD symptoms increased, antisocial behaviors increased and positive social behavior decreased. Overall, the results indicated an exceptionally strong link between social behavior and ADHD, and provide strong evidence in support of the validity of the HCSBS. Practical applications of these findings are discussed.

AN EVALUATION OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN QUALITY OF ATTENTION AND NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT WITH CHILDREN WHO DISPLAY ESCAPE-MAINTAINED PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

The choice-making behavior of 2 typically developing children who engaged in problem behavior maintained by negative reinforcement was evaluated within a concurrent-operants assessment that varied the quality of attention across free-play and demand conditions. The results demonstrated that it was possible to bias responding towards academic demands for both participants by providing high-quality attention, despite the continuous availability of negative reinforcement. The current study extended brief clinical methods with typically developing children and demonstrated how different qualities of attention provided across concurrent schedules could bias responding.

Analysis of Mand Selection across Different Stimulus Conditions

We conducted a three-phase study to evaluate the use of mands and the occurrence of problem behavior for 2 children with developmental disabilities. During Phase 1, a functional analysis identified the variables maintaining problem behavior. During Phase 2, functional communication training was implemented within a concurrent schedules design. The children were reinforced for using either a novel mand (communication card) or other existing mands (vocal speech, manual signs) that were not specifically trained but were observed to be part of the childrens existing repertoire. We then conducted an assessment of mands and problem behavior across different stimulus conditions (card absent, card present) within an ABAB design (Phase 3). Results showed that during Phase 2, problem behavior decreased and participants used the card more frequently than they used other existing mands. Phase 3 showed that problem behavior remained low across both stimulus conditions. When the card was absent, the children used other existing mands; when the card was present, they primarily used the card. These results suggested that the presence of a communication card may function as a discriminative stimulus for a specific topography of manding, but that training with the card did not inhibit the use of other mands when the card was absent.