Severe School-Related Behavior Problems in Adolescents: The Use of a Home-Based Interpersonal Treatment Model with Parents as Mediators

Abstract

The causes and treatment of behavior problems in the school setting have attracted considerable attention since the inception of applied behavior analysis. Although the research literature in this area covers a wide range of problems, the focus of the vast majority of these studies has been on solving the problems of pre-adolescent children. For example, if one examines all the articles that involve the treatment of behavior problem(s) manifested in a regular school setting by nondevelopmentally-delayed subjects appearing in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis between 1968 and 1988, only 15% involved adolescents. Furthermore, none of these involved the treatment of severe behavior problems. This finding may seem surprising, given the high percentage of adolescents exhibiting behavior problems in school settings (DiPretem, Muller, & Shaeffer, 1981).