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USE OF ESCAPE AND REWARD IN THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN DURING DENTAL TREATMENT
Author(s) -
Allen Keith D.,
Stokes Trevor F.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1987.20-381
Subject(s) - praise , multiple baseline design , psychology , heart rate , dental practice , applied behavior analysis , baseline (sea) , reactivity (psychology) , sight , clinical practice , developmental psychology , autism , blood pressure , dentistry , medicine , psychiatry , physical therapy , social psychology , alternative medicine , intervention (counseling) , oceanography , physics , pathology , astronomy , geology , radiology
A reinforced practice procedure was used to facilitate cooperative behavior in five children, aged 3 to 6 years, during dental treatment. In a multiple baseline design across subjects, the children were rewarded with escape, inexpensive stickers, and praise for cooperative behavior in the presence of the sights, sounds, and some sensations of the dental instruments prior to actual dental treatment. Direct observations of disruptive behavior via a 15‐s interval recording system indicated baseline levels as high as 90% were reduced to less than 15% by the final treatment visit. In addition, the procedure was effective in reducing overall heart rate and blood pressure reactivity to dental treatment. All children were rated by the involved dental professionals as more cooperative and relaxed following exposure to reinforced practice.