Project 12-ways: Measuring outcome of a large in-home service for treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect

Described here is Project 12-Ways, a large service project employing an ecobehavioral approach to the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. By ecobehavioral it is meant that multifaceted in-home services are provided to clients, and that in-home data are collected on as many variables related to these services as possible. Four levels of research, data collection, and assessment are used to evaluate these services: Included here is a discussion of these levels of assessment. They are: data collected for clinical purposes; data from single-case experiments; research through the use of single-subject design logic applied to several subjects or groups of subjects, or by group statistical research designs; and program evaluation. The particular focus here is the program evaluation data which compare incidents of abuse and neglect during and after treatment between 50 families served by Project 12-Ways and 47 comparison protective service families. The data showed significantly fewer combined abuse and neglect incidents among the families served by Project 12-Ways. Suggestions for additional program evaluation data are provided along with a discussion of the limitations of the current analysis.     

A McCarthy short form for rapid screening of preschool,kindergarten, and first-grade children

A short form of the McCarthy was developed primarily to help meet the needs for a well-normed brief instrument to be used for the rapid screening of preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade children. The proposed short form comprises 6 of the 15 tests in the General Cognitive Scale: Puzzle Solving, Word Knowledge, Numerical Memory, Verbal Fluency, Counting and Sorting, and Conceptual Grouping. The abbreviated form was specifically geared to the 3–6 year age range, although equations to convert short-form score to estimated General Cognitive Index were provided for children across the entire span of $\text{2}\text{1}\text{2}$ to $\text{8}\text{1}\text{2}$ years. The short form was shown to have a standard error of estimate of about 6 points and to have excellent psychometric properties in general.     

The use of peers in classroom behavior change

The development of research in the use of children to control the behavior of other children in classroom settings is discussed. Several studies utilizing peers are shown to be effective and scientifically sound. In addition, ethical problems which may arise when using peers to change the behavior of other children, such as possible detrimental effects on the pupil contingency manager, are discussed. Suggestions are made for future research using peers as agents of behavior change in the classroom.     

Effects of instructions for on-task behavior and academic behavior: Two case studies

The effects of daily teacher instructions to “work hard” for the on-task behavior of two special education students during a math period were examined in a multiple-baseline design. The results indicated that teacher instructions could increase such behavior. Generalization to work output (the rate of correct math problems) was observed. Follow-up data revealed that the effects of the instructional procedure were of lasting duration. It was suggested that instructions could be an effective, inexpensive, easy to implement, and socially acceptable classroom intervention procedure.     

Qualitative differences in concrete and formal operational tasks

Five concrete and five formal tasks were administered to 64 second-, fourth-,sixth, and eighth-grade subjects. A significant grade effect (p ? .01) but no significant sex effect or interaction was found. A cluster analysis indicated that four of the five formal tasks grouped together, two of the five concrete tasks grouped together, and the rest of the tasks remained isolated. These results were interpreted as supporting both Piaget's qualitative hypothesis and the structural characteristics of the concrete and formal stages.     

Self-concept assessment for young children: Development of a self-report, peer comparison measure

The present investigation concerned the development of the Primary Self-Concept Inventory (PSCI), a group-administered self-report self-concept inventory for children of ages 5 through 8. Replicated analysis of the factor structure of the PSCI data indicated that a seven-component pattern provides an appropriate fit. As a result of this analysis, seven subscales were formed. Acceptable test—retest reliability estimates were obtained for administrations separated by a 6-month interval. On the basis of these results, the PSCI was accepted as a research tool, and recommendations for further investigation of the inventory were made.     

A comparison of self-recording and self-recording plus consequences for on-task and assignment completion

The purpose of the present experiment was to compare the effects of providing backup reinforcers for accurate self-recording on both attending and academic output. Twelve behaviorally disordered special education students were randomly placed in one of three groups: self-recording (N = 4); self-recording + backups (N = 4), and a control group (N = 4). The outcomes revealed significantly different performance for on-task behavior and assignment completion. On-task and academic responding was significantly higher for both the self-recording and self-recording + backups groups when compared to a control group. Additional comparisons indicated that the performance of the two groups who self-monitored were not statistically different for either measure. Maintenance of treatment effects was higher for two groups (self-recording and self-recording + backups) than for the control group. These differential outcomes were discussed in terms of (a) accuracy of self-recording, (b) nature of the dependent variables employed, (c) ceiling effects, and (d) possible vicarious effects. The advantages of using self-recording with and without consequences were noted.     

Locus of control, academic achievement, and Follow Through in Appalachia

The present study explored the development of locus of control in rural Appalachian Follow Through participants and in lower and middle-class comparison groups. The IAR was administered to 249 first-, third-, and sixth-grade children along with standardized achievement tests. Contrary to previous research, participation in Follow Through did not enhance internality; no social class differences were revealed. A significant social class by sex interaction was found. Strong support was not found for a developmental trend. The patterns of correlations between locus of control and achievement indicated a stronger relationship for the lower-class samples rather than for the middle-class as has been previously reported. Implications concerning different developmental antecedents in Appalachian homes as a function of sex-role socialization as well as the nature of future intervention research are discussed.     

Children's learning as a function of variation in stimulus characteristics and motor involvement

Results of two artificial letter learning experiments are reported. In Experiment 1, 229 preschool children were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: Two-dimensional small print size (2DS), two-dimensional large print size (2DL), two-dimensional large where subject traced stimuli mounted on cards (3DL), or three-dimensional large stimuli where subject was directed to manipulate stimuli during the first study trial (3DLM). Errors in the 3DLM condition were significantly less than in 2DS, 2DLT, and 3DL. Also, errors in the 2DL condition were significantly less than in 2DS. A replication experiment with kindergarten children failed to show any differences among the treatments. Results are discussed in terms of stimulus dimensions and motor involvement in children's letter learning. Implications for instruction and future research are noted.     

Performance characteristics of retarded and normal students on pattern recognition tasks

The purpose was to compare the performance of normal and educable mentally retarded children on pattern recognition tasks. Pattern recognition was assessed by the administration of 96 pattern tasks which measured the ability of children to find: (a) duplicate patterns and same elements as presented in model pattern sequences; (b) opposite patterns and same elements as presented in model pattern sequences; and (c) duplicate patterns but different elements than presented in model pattern sequences. The normal and mentally retarded children were matched on mental age derived from individual and group intelligence tests. Results indicated significant differences in performance measures between groups and various pattern tasks. The data support the suppositions that: (a) mentally retarded children and normal children show the same type of progression through the hierarchical arrangement of pattern tasks; and (b) mentally retarded children show a slower progression through the hierarchy than normal children when matched on mental age. Educational implications from this study are discussed.     

The development of pattern recognition ability in children

Pattern recognition development was studied in high and low ability preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade youngsters. Pattern recognition was assessed by the administration of 96 pattern tasks which measured the ability of a youngster to find: (a) duplicate patterns and elements to a model; (b) the opposite pattern to a model; and (c) duplicate patterns but different elements than in the model. Aside from main effects for grade level, ability level, and pattern task, a significant three-way interaction was noted. This interaction was analyzed in terms of its component simple effects. The implication of these simple interaction effects for Piagetian theory and educational practice were discussed.     

Individual differences in young children's recall and clustering of pictures

Children's incidental recall of pictures was examined in two related experiments. Extrapolating from adult research, it was predicted that categorizing pictures with respect to their semantic properties would yield greater recall than categorizing them according to their physical properties. In Experiment 1, second-grade children were exposed to 16 line drawings cross-classified to represent four taxonomic categories and four shape categories, with four instances per category. Control subjects simply looked at pictures. Semantic subjects identified each picture's semantic category, and Physical subjects identified each physical category. In Experiment 2, first graders freely sorted the pictures and were classified as Semantic or Physical sorters based on their predominant bases for sorting. Following exposure (Experiment 1) or sorting (Experiment 2), all subjects were asked to recall the picture names. Results of both experiments show that semantic classification yields greater recall than physical classification. Experiment 2 also shows that semantic sorting yields greater semantic clustering in recall and that sorting by physical category yields greater physical clustering. It was suggested that children's preferences for a mode of processing (Experiment 2) may constitute an individual difference dimension with fairly clear-cut instructional implications.     

Students' reactions after cheating: An attributional analysis

The hypothesis that students who cheat will externalize the cause of this behavior was tested by contrasting the causal inferences of cheating students and noncheating students. The results supported Kelley's attributional model, for cheaters tended to note the high distinctiveness, high consensus, and low consistency of their actions, while noncheaters noted the low distinctiveness, low consensus, and high consistency of their morally commendable actions. Comparison of the students' attributions with inferences formulated by uninvolved observers also indicated that students tended to formulate self-serving attributions, suggesting that external attributions—in providing students with an excuse for cheating—may work to limit self-concept changes after misconduct.     

Developmental effects of child abuse: A review

Most research investigating the effects of physical child abuse on children's development has been based on uncontrolled or poorly controlled studies having small samples, no long-term follow-up, and weak instrumentation. These studies, as well as some which have been more carefully designed, have generally suggested seriously detrimental developmental consequences in physical, intellectual, behavioral, and emotional areas. Some recent controlled follow-up studies challenge such a negative picture of abuse. In particular, a study by Elmer, which is probably the most carefully conducted study yet done, found that the harmful effects of abuse dissipated years after the abusive incident and that socioeconomic status (SES) and related factors may be more important than abuse in determining the course of child development. To improve the quality and clarity of future research on developmental effects of child abuse, this paper discusses, in four major areas, problems which plague the research. Definition: The extent, type, and frequency of abuse should be more carefully defined to allow studies to be compared. The types and amounts of social service interventions should also be specified. Generalization: Research should include more middle and upper SES children, more of the mildly and moderately abused, and more neglected children to allow generalization to the total population of maltreated children. Causality: Since developmental deficits may be the cause as well as the effects of abuse and because outside factors such as SES may lead to both the abuse and the deficits, there is a need for large-scale longitudinal studies which can untangle the cause and effect web of abuse by following children from birth and measuring many factors which might affect development (e.g., SES, birth abnormalities, abuse). Statistical Analysis: Future studies should always use statistical analysis and should obtain larger samples and utilize outcome and classification measures with demonstrated reliability and validity to increase statistical power.     

Differential effects of norm-referenced and self-referenced feedback on performance expectancies,attributions, and motivation

When feedback is provided to students in a norm-referenced manner that compares the individual's performance to that of others, people who perform poorly tend to attribute their failures to lack of ability, expect to perform poorly in the future, and demonstrate decreased motivation on subsequent tasks. The present study examined the hypothesis that the deleterious effects of failure might be attenuated when failure is expressed in self-referenced terms—relative to the individual's known level of ability as assessed by other measures. In this study, subjects received feedback indicating that they did well or poorly on an anagram test, and this feedback was described as either norm-referenced (comparing the individual's performance to that of others) or as self-referenced (comparing performance to other measures of the individual's ability). As predicted, compared to norm-referenced failure, self referenced feedback resulted in higher expectancies regarding future performance and increased attributions to effort. Contrary to expectations, attributions to ability were not affected. The implications of the results for the structure of academic feedback are discussed.     

The relationship between reading level and retention in average and supra readers

Research which indicates a relationship between reading level and memory has generally focused on the performance of average and delayed readers, leaving open the question of performance by above average (supra) readers. The present study considered the performance of average and supra readers on a partial report task with a variable interstimulus interval. The results demonstrated that the two groups do not differ when the interval is less than 200 ms, but the supra readers perform better when the interval extends beyond that point. The results are interpreted as supporting the concept of a continuous relationship between memory and reading level.