Simplified Habit Reversal Plus Adjunct Contingencies in the Treatment of Thumb Sucking and Hair Pulling in a Young Child

ABSTRACT

The authors examined the effectiveness of a simplified habit reversal treatment (SHR) consisting of awareness training, competing response training, and social support procedures for a 6-year-old girl who exhibited thumb sucking and covarying hair pulling. Initially, the implementation of SHR plus booster sessions for thumb sucking produced minimal reductions in thumb sucking and hair pulling. However, additional treatment phases involving differential reinforcement and response cost resulted in near zero levels of the behavior when implemented with thumb sucking and then hair pulling. Thereafter, hair pulling was treated with the same procedure, resulting in near-zero levels of behavior. Covariation of thumb sucking and hair pulling, limitations of SHR, and directions for future research involving the use of external contingencies are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Habit reversal
• thumb sucking
• child hair pulling