Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-7tdvq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-06T20:40:08.305Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Children's Perceptions of Time Out and Other Maternal Disciplinary Strategies: The Effects of Clinic Status and Exposure to Behavioural Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Mark R. Dadds ,
Fiona M. Adlington  and
Alison P. Christensen
Mark R. Dadds*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Fiona M. Adlington
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Alison P. Christensen
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
*
Department of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4067
Get access

Abstract

Behaviour therapy is now beginning to assess the social validity, along with efficacy, of its treatments. Literature dealing with the social validity of parent-training programs is reviewed. The aim of this investigation was to obtain acceptability ratings of the “time out” procedure from the perspective of behaviour problem and non-problem children. The study looked at acceptability ratings of five maternal behaviours/disciplinary techniques (permissiveness, physical punishment, directed discussion, quiet time, time out) across four different situations (non-compliance with an initiating instruction, aggression toward others, non-compliance with a terminating instruction, non-compliance with known rule) by samples of clinical (problem behaviour) children and control children. Both groups were alike in rating permissiveness as less acceptable than any of the other behaviours across most situations and rating it as unacceptable in absolute terms. Time out was rated equally acceptable with physical punishment, directed discussion and quiet time. The results support previous findings that young children prefer interventionist to permissive parents, including the use of exclusionary time out. In a second study, ratings were taken from two clinical groups, treatment and waitlist, both at pre- and post-treatment. Despite large individual differences in the treatment group, no change in acceptability ratings was found at post-treatment. Thus, experiencing time out did not change the children's evaluation of this procedure. Possible reasons for these findings and their practical implications are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , December 1987 , pp. 3 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association (1980). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) [DSM III]. Washington, DC: A.P.A.Google Scholar
Calvert, S.C., & McMahon, R.J. (1987). The treatment acceptability of a behavioral parent training program and its components. Behavior Therapy, 18, 165–179.Google Scholar
Dadds, M.R., Schwartz, S., & Sanders, M.R. (1987). Marital discord and treatment outcome in behavioral treatment of child conduct disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 369–403.Google Scholar
Daniel, A. (1983). Power, privilege and prestige. Melbourne, Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Davies, G.R., McMahon, R.J., Flessati, E.W., & Tiedemann, G.L. (1984). Verbal rationales and modeling as adjuncts to a parenting technique for child compliance. Child Development, 55, 1290–1298.Google Scholar
Elliott, S.N., Witt, J.C., Galvin, G.A., & Moe, G. (in press). Children's suggestions and acceptability ratings of classroom interventions for misbehavior. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.Google Scholar
Heffer, R.W., & Kelley, M.L. (1987). Mothers' acceptance of behavioral interventions for children: The influence of parent race and income. Behavior Therapy, 18, 153–163.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1980a). Acceptability of alternative treatments for deviant child behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 259–273.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1980b). Acceptability of Time Out from reinforcement procedures for disruptive child behavior. Behavior Therapy, 11, 329–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1981). Acceptability of child treatment techniques: The influence of treatment efficacy and adverse side effects. Behavior Therapy, 12, 493–506.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1984). Acceptability of aversive procedures and medication as treatment alternatives for deviant child behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 289–302.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E., French, N.H., & Sherick, R.B. (1981). Acceptability of alternative treatments for children: Evaluations by inpatient children, parents, and staff. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49, 900–907.Google Scholar
McMahon, R.J., & Forehand, R.L. (1983). Consumer satisfaction in behavioral treatment of children: Types, issues, and recommendations. Behavior Therapy, 14, 209–225.Google Scholar
McMahon, R.J., Tiedemann, G.L., Forehand, R., & Griest, D.L. (1984). Parental satisfaction with parent training to modify child noncompliance. Behavior Therapy, 15, 295–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norton, G.R., Austen, S., Allen, G.E., & Hilton, J. (1983). Acceptability of time out from reinforcement procedures for disruptive child behaviour: A further analysis. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 5, 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nucci, L.P., & Herman, S. (1982). Behavioral disordered children's conceptions of moral, conventional and personal issues. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 411–426.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, G. R., & Reid, J. B. (1984). Social interactional processes in the family: The study of the moment by moment family transaction in which human development is embedded. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 5, 237–262.Google Scholar
Roberts, M.W. (1984). An attempt to reduce time out resistance in young children. Behavior Therapy, 15, 210–216.Google Scholar
Sanders, M.R., & Dadds, M.R. (1982). The effects of planned activities and child management procedures in parent training: An analysis of setting generality. Behavior Therapy, 13, 452–461.Google Scholar
Siegal, M., & Barclay, M.S. (1985). Children's evaluations of fathers' socialization behavior. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1090–1096.Google Scholar
Siegal, M., & Cowen, J. (1984). Appraisals of intervention: The mother's versus the culprit's behavior as determinants of children's evaluations of discipline techniques. Child Development, 55, 1760–1766.Google Scholar
Singh, N.N., & Katz, R.C. (1985). On the modification of acceptability ratings for alternative child treatments. Behavior Modification, 9, 375–386.Google Scholar
Smetana, J.G., Kelly, M., & Twentyman, C.T. (1984). Abused, neglected, and maltreated children's conceptions of moral and social-conventional transgressions. Child Development, 55, 277–287.Google Scholar
Turco, T.L., & Elliott, S.N. (in press). Children's acceptability judgments of teacher initiated interventions. Journal of School Psychology.Google Scholar
Walle, D.L., Hobbs, S.A., & Caldwell, H.S. (1984). Sequencing of parent training procedures: Effects on child noncompliance and treatment acceptability. Behavior Modification, 8, 540–552.Google Scholar
Witt, J.C., Elliott, S.N., & Martens, B.K. (1984). Acceptability of behavioral interventions: The influence of amount of teacher time, severity of behavior problem, and type of intervention. Behavioral Disorders, 10, 95–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witt, J.C., Martens, B.K., & Elliott, S.N. (1984). Factors affecting teachers' judgments of the acceptability of behavioral interventions: Time involvement, behavior problem severity, and type of intervention. Behavior Therapy, 15, 204–209.Google Scholar
Witt, J.C., & Robbins, J.R. (1985). Acceptability of reductive interventions for the control of inappropriate child behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 13, 59–67.Google Scholar
Wolf, M.M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214.Google Scholar
Wolfe, D.A., Katell, A., & Drabman, R.S. (1982). Parents' and preschool children's choices of disciplinary childrearing methods. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3, 167–176.Google Scholar