A comparison of procedures for eliminating self-injurious behavior of retarded adolescents.

An attempt was made to eliminate the self-injurious behaviors of four institutionalized, profoundly retarded adolescents. Some of the behaviors studied were: face-slapping, face-banging, hair-pulling, face-scratching, and finger-biting. Three remediative approaches to self-injurious behavior were compared. Elimination of all social consequences of the self-injurious behavior was not effective with the two subjects with whom it was attempted. The same two subjects were exposed to a procedure involving reinforcement of non-self-injurious behavior which was ineffective under no food deprivation and was effective with one of the two subjects under mild food deprivation. Electric-shock punishment eliminated the self-injurious behaviors of all four subjects with whom it was attempted. The results suggested that punishment was more effective than differential reinforcement of non-self-injurious behavior which, in turn, was more effective than extinction through elimination of social consequences. However, the effects of the punishment were usually specific to the setting in which it was administered. In order to eliminate the self-injurious behaviors of severely retarded children, it is apparently necessary to carry out the treatment in many of the settings in which it occurs.

Use of colony morphology to characterize carriage profiles of coagulase negative staphylococci.

The absence of a reliable method to distinguish among coagulase negative staphylococcal strains in mixed culture hinders elucidation of colonization traits and precise tracking of colonization. This study examined whether colonial morphology could be used to correctly identify coagulase negative staphylococcal strains in mixed cultures. Staphylococci were isolated from nasal and hand cultures of ten subjects at 0 and 3 months. Samples were initially screened for the predominant coagulase negative staphylococcal strain by colonial morphology. The strains were subsequently identified by phenotypic and biochemical testing. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis demonstrated that the morphologic criteria correctly grouped the strains in 91.1% (41/45) of samples. This study suggests that colonial morphology is a reliable method for the initial characterization of coagulase negative staphylococcal strains. This approach has potential value for epidemiological studies that involve establishing links between commensal flora and their potential role as pathogens in subsequent clinical infections.

Clinical responses to psychopathology of mentally retarded persons.

Effects of the label "mentally retarded" on clinical judgment were examined. Doctoral level psychologists of varying orientations and levels of experience with mentally retarded persons were exposed to a brief therapy transcript that was labeled or unlabeled. Analyses of variance revealed that the mentally retarded label resulted in ratings of less severity of psychopathology, first treatment choices that were more behavioral in nature, and attributions of greater importance to the client's level of intellectual functioning in the assessment process. The results were interpreted as representing diagnostic labeling bias.

Task monotony and performance efficacy of mentally retarded young adults.

Mildly mentally retarded young adults were exposed to one of three training arrangements for vigilance performance, a monitoring task that some professionals consider uniquely appropriate for such persons because they are assumed to be less susceptible to boredom. Evidence indicated that accuracy generally declines over time. Training approaches used in this study allowed component analysis of procedures used in a previous study in which accuracy did not decline. Replication of the divergent study's procedures and alternate arrangements produced the characteristic vigilance decrement that was unrelated to on-task errors but varied with certain off-task behavior. Accuracy levels mirrored the degree of tangible reinforcement but, like nonretarded observers, retarded monitors found the task boring or otherwise unrewarding.

A community survey of self-injurious behavior among developmentally disabled children and adolescents.

The extent, nature, and treatment of self-injurious behavior was surveyed among 2,663 developmentally disabled children and adolescents in a large metropolitan school district during the 1984-85 school year. Sixty-nine, or 2.6 percent, of the students exhibited at least one type of self-injurious behavior during the preceding 12 months; 59 percent of these students were males and 41 percent were females. Most of the self-injurious students were either severely or profoundly retarded, and their mean age was 10.2 years. Although almost three-quarters of the students exhibited self-injurious behavior at least daily, only a third were engaged in formal treatment programs for the problem. More than half (53.6 percent) had been restrained during the preceding 12 months for such behavior, and 8.7 percent had received psychotropic medications. The authors believe that the development of effective treatment strategies for self-injurious individuals living in the community may help them avoid institutionalization.

Treatment strategies for self-injurious behavior in a large service-delivery network.

Despite pressures in recent years to discourage reliance upon pharmacological interventions, psychoactive drugs continue to be utilized extensively with institutionalized mentally retarded persons. In the present study the scope and pattern of psychoactive drug use within a state-wide institutional service-delivery network were examined, with a focus upon its role in the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) and other aberrant behavior patterns. Correlates to psychoactive drugs and alternative intervention approaches were examined. Lack of treatment, insufficient utilization of behavioral technology, and use of physical and chemical restraints as adjuncts to positive behavioral programs were indicated.