BIBLIOTHERAPY WITH SYSTEMATIC TELEPHONE CONSULTATION IN CHANGING NON-PRODUCTIVE CHILD BEHAVIOR

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if parental exposure to an Adlerian-based bibliotherapy program combined with systematic telephone consultation would change the rate of their child's non-productive behavior. The subjects in this study were eight volunteer parents from the Tucson metropolitan area with at least one child (the target child) between the ages of six and 11. The target child engaged in non-productive behavior that the subject wished to modify. The dependent variable was the rate of non-productive behavior engaged in by the target child. Non-productive behavior was defined as either class I type (home maintenance) or class II type (non-compliant). The independent variable was bibliotherapeutic material (Parent's Handbook, S.T.E.P. program, Dinkmeyer and McKay, 1976) and a systematic format for telephone consultation. The reading materials were separated into a series of units to be read at the rate of two units weekly. Telephone consultation took place on a prearranged schedule at the rate of twice a week. A single subject multiple baseline across subjects design with random staggered intervention was utilized. Total time across all experimental phases wa 64 days. Average treatment lasted approximately three weeks. Observational data were collected by the subjects, with reliability checks being made by another individual available within the natural environment. All data were collected from the natural environment. The correlational method of estimating reliability was used yielding figures ranging from a low of .74 to a high of 1.00. During the course of the research one subject withdrew and three other subjects showed no change during treatment. For those subjects showing no change at treatment, certain design factors were pointed out as possible explanation (low baseline rates, limited data points during treatment phase). Statistical analysis was performed on four subjects meeting the requirements for Revusky's R(n) procedure (1967). Results yielded R(n) = 5, p .05 (one tailed test). Possible response generality was assessed in prepost- fashion through administration of the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Scale. Analysis of results yielded t = 6.88, p .005 (one tailed test, df = 6). While conclusions are discussed within the limitations of the study, results allowed the acceptance of all three hypotheses. Hypothesis 1, indicated that the target child would decrease rate of non-productive behavior. Hypothesis 2 stated the target child would increase rate of productive behavior. Hypothesis 3 stated parents would perceive the target child's behavior as significantly more positive as measured by the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Scale. The adherence to a strict telephone consultation format is discussed. It is suggested strict adherence is unrealistic in actual counseling practice. Actual mean telephone contact between researcher and subject was 35 minutes per week. It is concluded that the proposed intervention strategy can be an effective and efficient treatment modality for selected clients.