This research investigated problems commonly experienced by children and young adolescents, and the strategies they use to cope with these events. Six hundred seventy-six children, ages 9-13 years, were asked to identify a problem they recently experienced and to describe the strategies they used to cope with it. In addition, they were also asked to complete a scale describing how they coped with a common problem (being grounded by parents). In general, we found that children reported four common Stressors: parents, siblings, school, and friends. These Stressors were the same across age and sex; however, the coping strategies employed differed by age and type of problem. Both age and sex effects were found in reported use of coping strategies to deal with being grounded by parents. The results of this study suggest that more research must be performed to offset the lack of data in the area of children's normative coping. The implications of the findings for clinical assessment and treatment of children are discussed.

Attributions reported by 115 mothers and 122 adolescents were examined as they related to family conflict. Subjects completed measures of parent-adolescent conflict (Issues Checklist, Conflict Behavior Questionnaire) and the Mother-Adolescent Attribution Questionnaire. The results revealed that parent-adolescent conflict correlated with mothers' and teenagers' negative attributions. Specifically, self-reported conflict was positively correlated with mothers' and teenagers' beliefs that one another's negative behavior was intentional, selfishly motivated, and blameworthy.

The ketogenic diet, a treatment for intractable epilepsy, is rarely initiated because it requires strict compliance with a diet that is perceived to be unpalatable. In a case study of a 15-year-old girl with uncontrolled epilepsy, we used a stimulus-choice procedure to assess relative preferences of 33 foods from the diet and to develop two treatments based on Premack's principle. The results of a multielement analysis showed that both treatments increased dietary compliance. Compliance was maintained with generalization of treatment across settings, and was associated with a 40% reduction in seizures.DESCRIPTORS: ketogenic diet, epilepsy, diet compliance, Premack's principle, behavioral pediatrics, preferencesThe ketogenic diet can effectively treat some cases of intractable epilepsy, but it is rarely used because physicians and caregivers view the diet as unpalatable and assume that compliance will be low (Kinsman, Vining, Quaskey, Mellits, & Freeman, 1992). Strict adherence to restrictions on types and amounts of food that can be consumed is essential, because even minor deviations (e.g., sugar in toothpaste) can compromise treatment efficacy. In this case study of a 15-year-old girl with uncontrolled epilepsy, we used a stimulus-choice procedure (Fisher et al., 1992) to assess relative preferences of 33 food items from the diet. We then (a) compared the results from the stimulus-choice assessment with predictions about food preferences made by caregivers and (b) developed and compared two treatments based on Premack's principle (Premack, 1962), wherein higher preference ketogenic foods were presented contingent upon consumption of lower preference foods. The case adds to the growing body of literature on using operant methods to improve compliance with medical treatments (Christophersen, 1994).METHOD: Tasha, a 15-year-old female with severe retardation, was hospitalized for the treatment of aggression and a seizure disorder that was not adequately controlled with anticonvulsants. Tasha's caregivers were given a list of 33 ketogenic foods and asked to rank Tasha's preferences for these items. Next, we directly assessed Tasha's preferences for these foods by using the stimulus-choice procedure described by Fisher et al. (1992). During each trial, we presented Tasha with two food items from the diet. She chose one item from each pair and then consumed the selected item. An observer recorded her choice during each trial. We presented each item 32 times, once with every other item, for a total of 528 trials. Items were then ranked according to the percentage of trials in which Tasha selected a particular food. Interobserver agreement data were collected during 57.1% of the trials. Occurrence and nonoccurrence agreement coefficients averaged 91.3% and 94.6%, respectively.Assessment results were used to develop two treatments based on Premack's (1962) principle. In baseline, we provided Tasha with free access to all ketogenic foods presented during a given meal. In Treatment A, we gave her a bite-sized amount of on...

Assessment and treatment of covert self-injurious behavior are complicated because it is difficult to quantify and apply differential consequences to covert responses. In this study, both tangible and social reinforcers were identified using reinforcer assessment methods. These reinforcers were then provided contingent upon the absence of tissue damage identified during physical examinations, resulting in near 100% success in physical assessment checks that was maintained over 10 months.