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Descriptive analysis of parent–child interactions in young children with or at risk for developmental delay
Author(s) -
Passey Jennifer,
Feldman Maurice
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
behavioral interventions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.605
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1099-078X
pISSN - 1072-0847
DOI - 10.1002/bin.164
Subject(s) - psychology , antecedent (behavioral psychology) , distraction , developmental psychology , task (project management) , cognitive psychology , management , economics
Children with developmental delay (DD) are at risk for behavior problems, but little is known about natural contingencies of reinforcement that these children experience. The present study used descriptive analysis (antecedent–behavior–consequence observations) to study parent–child interactions of fourty‐seven, 2–3 year‐old children with or at risk for DD. Child adaptive and inappropriate behavior as well as their antecedents and consequences were observed across four conditions (free play, parent‐directed play, mealtimes, parental distraction). When parents were engaged in another task (distraction), child appropriate behavior occurred less frequently than in the other conditions, and child inappropriate behavior occurred 63% of the time. A lack of parental attention and no activity were the most frequent antecedents for inappropriate behavior. Potential positive reinforcers appeared as consequences of inappropriate child behavior 77% of the time. These findings have implications for the development and prevention of serious behavior disorders. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.