This paper reviews the effects of maternal distress on several aspects of parent—child interactions that were identified in the course of a parent training program for child non-compliance. Distress was measured by a number of self-report questionnaires examining depression, anxiety, marital relations, and extrafamilial relationships. The parent training program is initially reviewed. Subsequently, pretreatment relationships between maternal distress and parent—child interactions were examined. Distress appears to be related primarily to measures of parent perceptions of child maladjustment. Several relationships between distress and treatment outcome also were noted. A recent study designed to enhance parent training by modifying maternal distress factors is presented. Finally, implications and limitations of the data are discussed.

The sparse empirical research on maintenance of treatment effects in behavior therapy is reviewed and a practical maintenance program for phobic clients is presented. Preliminary results with the program for 32 agoraphobic patients showed that the treatment effects had been maintained 6 months after conclusion of treatment.

Developments in behavioural group therapy over the past decade are described, with particular reference to a change in focus from administering individual treatment techniques to teaching coping skills for the management of anxiety. In spite of this growing interest there has been little empirical research reported. The current study was an attempt to develop a coping skills package and to evaluate it against the more traditional approach of group relaxation training. Three experiments were conducted, comprising a total of seven groups and they were run in either an N.H.S. psychiatric hospital outpatient setting or in General Practice.

Results were equivocal, both experimental and control groups showed treatment gains. These were superior in the coping skills group on one measure. Reasons for these findings are discussed in the light of the curriculum and the experimental design. And ways of making the coping skills package more potent are suggested.

The present study examined the effect of a bedtime management programme which incorporated both stimulus control and contingency management procedures on the level of bedtime disruption in children. Using a multiple baseline across subjects design each of four children (ranging in age from 2–5 years) were sequentially introduced to the treatment program, which was implemented by the child's parents each night. In addition the study sought to determine whether direct treatment of bedtime disruption would be associated with any negative side effects. Systematic observational data revealed that the Bedtime Management Program was effective in reducing bedtime disruptions in all subjects and the improvements sustained during a 2-month follow-up. No evidence suggests that treatment resulted in negative side effects. The implications of the results for behavioural parent training are discussed.

This paper describes five measures of behavioural skill that apply to the “generalist” level of therapy sophistication. This level was trained in a group of 65 qualified psychiatric nurses working in the rehabilitation sector of a large N.H.S. hospital. Three of the measures were administered before and after a 5 day in-service training course, followed by two measures of proficiency in using behaviour therapy on the ward. The results indicated that reliable and valid measurements could be made in this crucial domain. Also, a discriminant analysis showed that one test, a video-presented functional analysis task, accounted for most of the variance and predicted utilisation. It is therefore possible to use this brief assessment device to dependably gauge a vital area of behavioural skill.

This study was carried out in a residential school for 46 junior boys ascertained as maladjusted. Some of the dissatisfactions with the more conventional classroom based economies are expressed and the “Levelled Economy” is put forward as an alternative model. The levelled system is described in detail and the economy evaluated over a 3-month period. The results showed a dramatic reduction of inappropriate behaviour and also a large increase in the acquisition of skills.

A profoundly mentally handicapped woman was reported to be a major management problem for staff in the residential home where she lived, especially at mealtimes. Following a constructional approach the subject's appropriate behaviour was targeted. A multiple baseline design with reversal was used to investigate the effects of a contingent contact procedure on the subject's level of engagement. Results showed the procedure to be effective in increasing the amount of time the subject spent engaged in appropriate mealtime behaviour. Continuing problem behaviour at other times of day is discussed within the context of the overall living environment.

Treatment programmes involving a very brief period of Restitution and/or Positive Practice as derived from the overcorrection rationale, coupled with differential reinforcement of other behaviours, were successfully implemented with six severely mentally handicapped children who displayed either self-injurious or self-stimulatory behaviours. The reduction in the period of time devoted to Restitution and/or Positive Practice from the 20 min traditionally used to approximately 1 min is seen as beneficial in that it reduces demands on direct care-givers' time and stamina, while concurrently allowing an increase in the number of times the child associates the undesirable behaviour with its aversive consequences. The importance of positive reinforcement, the care necessary when using punishment procedures, however brief, in an institutional setting and the attitudes of direct care-givers are discussed.