Behavior modification
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Behavior modification · Jul 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialVirtual reality exposure and imaginal exposure in the treatment of fear of flying: a pilot study.
Fear of flying (FF) is an impairing psychological disorder that is extremely common in developed countries. The most effective treatment for this particular type of phobia is exposure therapy. However, there are few studies comparing imaginal exposure (IE) and virtual reality (VR) exposure for the treatment of FF. ⋯ Participants were also asked to sit through a real flight immediately after the treatment. The results showed no differences between the two treatments in relation to reduced clinical symptomatology associated with the FF, although participants in the VR group experienced less anxiety during the real flight after treatment. Furthermore, at 6-month follow-up, danger expectations and flight anxiety continued to decrease in participants who had received the VR exposure therapy, and four of these seven participants took at least one more flight.
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Behavior modification · Jul 2013
Clinical TrialImmediate and subsequent effects of matched and unmatched stimuli on targeted vocal stereotypy and untargeted motor stereotypy.
The authors evaluated the effects of matched and unmatched stimuli on immediate and subsequent engagement in targeted vocal stereotypy (Experiment 1) and untargeted motor stereotypy (Experiment 2). Results of Experiment 1 showed that (a) matched stimulation decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for 8 of 11 participants and increased subsequent engagement in vocal stereotypy for only 1 of the 8 participants and (b) unmatched stimulation decreased immediate engagement in vocal stereotypy for only 1 of 10 participants and did not increase subsequent engagement in vocal stereotypy for this participant. Results of Experiment 2 showed that for 8 of 14 participants, untargeted stereotypy increased when the matched or unmatched stimulus was present, after it was removed, or both. The authors briefly discuss the potential clinical implications of using matched stimulation to decrease vocal stereotypy and limitations of the findings.
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Behavior modification · Sep 2009
Identifying stimuli that alter immediate and subsequent levels of vocal stereotypy: a further analysis of functionally matched stimulation.
We used a three-component multiple-schedule with a brief reversal design to evaluate the effects of structurally unmatched and matched stimuli on immediate and subsequent vocal stereotypy that was displayed by three children with autism spectrum disorders. For 2 of the 3 participants, access to matched stimuli, unmatched stimuli, and music decreased immediate levels of vocal stereotypy; however, with the exception of matched stimuli for one participant, none of the stimuli produced a clear abolishing operation for subsequent vocal stereotypy. ⋯ Detection of motivating operations for each participant's vocal stereotypy was aided by the analysis of component distributions. The results are discussed in terms of immediate and subsequent effects of preferred stimuli on automatically reinforced problem behavior.
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Behavior modification · Jul 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEvaluation of a brief parent intervention teaching coping-promoting behavior for the infant immunization context: a randomized controlled trial.
This study was designed to investigate whether a brief intervention encouraging parental coping-promoting talk within the treatment room would have beneficial effects on infant pain responses to an immunization injection. Infant-parent dyads were recruited from a 6-month immunization clinic and randomized to an intervention group (n = 25) or standard care control group (n = 25). Parents in the intervention group received an information sheet describing adult verbalizations associated with better pain outcomes for infants. ⋯ Coping-promoting and distress-promoting statements did not differ in terms of affective quality. Infants whose parents had rated them as more difficult in temperament cried longer following the injection. Teaching parents to engage in coping-promoting behaviors within the infant treatment room is an effective, low-cost intervention.
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Behavior modification · Jan 2007
ReviewPrevention and intervention strategies to alleviate preoperative anxiety in children: a critical review.
Preoperative anxiety (anxiety regarding impending surgical experience) in children is a common phenomenon that has been associated with a number of negative behaviors during the surgery experience (e.g., agitation, crying, spontaneous urination, and the need for physical restraint during anesthetic induction). Preoperative anxiety has also been associated with the display of a number of maladaptive behaviors postsurgery, including postoperative pain, sleeping disturbances, parent-child conflict, and separation anxiety. ⋯ The present article reviews the existing research on the various modes of intervention for preoperative anxiety in children. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.