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The effects of meal schedule and quantity on problematic behavior
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The effects of meal schedule and quantity on problematic behavior

David P Wacker, Jay Harding, Linda J Cooper, K Mark Derby, Stephanie Peck, Jennifer Asmus, Wendy K Berg and Kimberly A Brown
Journal of applied behavior analysis, Vol.29(1), pp.79-87
1996
DOI: 10.1901/jaba.1996.29-79
PMCID: PMC1279875
PMID: 8881346
url
https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1996.29-79View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

We present 2 case examples that illustrate the effects of meal schedule and quantity on displays of problematic behavior. In the first example, self-injury displayed by a toddler with severe developmental delays was maintained by parent attention, but only when he was satiated for food. When he was food deprived, self-injury decreased but did not appear to be differentiated across low or high social conditions. In the second example, crying and self-injury displayed by an elementary-aged girl with severe disabilities were correlated: Both behaviors were associated with food quantity, and neither behavior was responsive to social stimuli. These results replicate and extend previous findings demonstrating that meal schedule or food quantity can affect problematic behavior. In the present studies, brief functional analyses of aberrant behavior provided useful information for interpreting distinct patterns of behavior displayed by each child. We discuss these results in terms of the concept of establishing operations.
 Behavior Therapy Satiety Response Humans Child, Preschool Feeding Behavior Male Crying Disabled Persons - psychology Reinforcement Schedule Motivation Female Intellectual Disability - psychology Self-Injurious Behavior - rehabilitation Child

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