Child-Focused Behavioral Assessment and Modification

Abstract

Argues that behavioral principles have been translated into practice with children too literally and that a more integrative framework is required to guide assessment and treatment. The framework advocated is Staats's (1996) psychological behaviorism. This is a consistently behavioristic, positivist paradigm, using multilevel theory to emphasize the integration of social learning, developmental, and personality principles. Psychological behaviorism thus allows for a much more expansive approach than has typically been the case within child behavior therapy. Given the complexity of this perspective, I selected four broad tenets of the theory and suggested their implications for clinical contexts. The further translation from clinical models to specific clinical practices is quite difficult but may yield more flexible and substitutable practices than do unidimensional treatment outcome studies. Of special importance, the principles demonstrate how children themselves can retain the central focus of child behavioral assessment and modification. Specific practices still need to be constructed according to an understanding of the multiple sources of influence on children as well as the culture of childhood itself.