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Group contingencies (GCs) are an effective intervention for improving student outcomes in general education school settings but their use in alternative education has historically been limited. However, researchers have recently begun to build a substantial literature base demonstrating the potential of GCs in alternative education. This is notable because these settings are often under-resourced and typically support students who engage in persistent and severe problem behaviors that present substantial challenges to teachers and school staff. Thus, the purpose of this review was to synthesize the evidence for GCs in alternative education to determine their (1) effectiveness, (2) level of empirical support, (3) primary behavior targets, and (4) social validity. Twenty articles were individually coded and indicated that GC interventions are effective, can be considered "promising" evidence-based practice, target a range of student problem behavior, and that teachers and students rate them favorably on social validity metrics.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) and a common variation referred to as the Caught Being Good Game (CBGG) are two well-established group contingency classroom management procedures. However, there have been few comparison studies of the two procedures, and none have been conducted with students older than kindergarten or those who engage in severe classroom disruption. Given the popularity of the GBG, its variations in the literature, and the likelihood for differences in contextual fit, more comparison studies are needed. In addition, education researchers frequently rely on topographical measures of on-task behavior that do not provide information on student work completion or accuracy. In the current study, the GBG and CBGG were implemented in a classroom of at-risk middle-school students who met criteria for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and engaged in severe classroom disruption and infrequent on-task behavior. Data were collected on disruption, on-task behavior, work completion, and work accuracy for three target students. Both the GBG and CBGG substantially reduced disruption and increased on-task behavior. The GBG produced greater reductions in disruption for all students and the CBGG produced greater increases in on task for two students and work completion for all students. However, these differential effects were modest and neither intervention affected student work accuracy. A correlation analysis indicated moderate positive correlations between on task and work completion, and weak to moderate negative correlations between disruption and on-task behavior. The classroom teacher indicated preference for the GBG over the CBGG and student preferences were mixed.

We implemented a rapid protocol to train teachers in a school for detained juvenile offenders to implement the Good Behavior Game, an empirically supported group contingency procedure, in their classrooms. Data were collected on both teacher (i.e., two measures of treatment integrity) and student behavior (i.e., disruptive behavior). Results indicated clear treatment effects in three of five classrooms and low levels of disruption but unclear effects in the other two. Most students and teachers preferred the intervention and found it effective.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a well-documented group contingency designed to reduce disruptive behavior in classroom settings. However, few studies have evaluated the GBG with students who engage in severe problem behavior in alternative schools, and there are few demonstrations of training teachers in those settings to implement the GBG. In the current study, 3 teachers were trained to implement the GBG in a restrictive setting for students with histories of emotional and behavioral disorders and delinquency. The teachers used the GBG to produce substantial reductions in problem behavior despite low treatment integrity. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.

Group contingencies have been indicated to be effective in reducing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement in school settings. Previous research has demonstrated their efficacy with a wide range of student ages, but there have been few studies with older students who engage in severe disruptive behavior. In the current study, we implemented an interdependent group contingency in three high school classrooms of students aged 14-19 years with histories of delinquency, emotional and behavioral disorder diagnoses, or both. Results indicated that interdependent group contingencies can be effective in reducing the disruptive classroom behavior of these students. Implications for future research and special considerations for this population are discussed.

Research has demonstrated that latency is a reasonable index of response strength in the functional analysis and treatment of behaviors targeted for reduction. The literature contains numerous examples of functional analyses emphasizing latency informing effective treatment for problem behavior in various scenarios. Latency measurement can improve the versatility of functional analyses by allowing researchers and practitioners to examine behaviors that are not amenable to a traditional functional analysis arrangement and conduct assessments in challenging environments. Although there have been several reviews of the functional analysis literature, to date none have specifically addressed functional analyses emphasizing latency measurement. Given the unique advantages of latency‐based functional analyses, a systematic review could be beneficial to researchers and practitioners in behavior analysis. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review of research on functional analyses using latency to measure target behaviors. Our review included 79 cases across 27 empirical research articles. We present a summary of the extant literature, highlight strengths and limitations of the empirical foundations, provide clinical implications, and discuss future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom behavior management procedure that has been shown to be effective in reducing disruptive behavior across many settings and populations (Flower, McKenna, Bunuan, Muething, & Vega, 2014). We investigated the effects of the GBG on student and teacher behavior in two classrooms containing fourth- to eighth-grade students in an alternative school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Results indicated the GBG reduced disruption and increased the teacher's use of praise relative to reprimands. Social validity measures, collected from both teachers and students, indicated strong approval of the GBG.

Children are interviewed to provide information about past events in various contexts (e.g., police interviews, court proceedings, therapeutic interviews). During an interview, various factors may influence the accuracy of children's responses to questions about recent events. However, behavioral research in this area is limited. Sparling et al. (2011) showed that children frequently provided inaccurate responses to questions about video clips they just watched depending on the antecedents (i.e., the way a question was asked) and consequences (i.e., the response of the interviewer to their answers). In the current study, we replicated and extended the procedures reported by Sparling et al. and found that two of five children were sensitive to the various antecedents and consequences that we manipulated. Our findings indicate a need for more research in this area to determine the relevant environmental variables that affect children's response accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for behavioral services is currently outpacing the availability of trained and certified behavior analysts. This need might be felt most acutely in rural communities, where educational funds often do not allow for hiring full-time behavioral staff. This article outlines a model for behavioral consultation that has been successful in several rural school districts. Strategies to build rapport, recommendations for assessment and treatment planning, and methods of expanding the role of the behavior analyst within the school are discussed. Finally, resources for teachers and administrative staff to access behavioral services and pertinent research are included.

Direct assessment was used to evaluate quality of care in 2 secure residential treatment facilities for criminal offenders with intellectual disabilities. This population and type of setting have not been previously studied in this context. Observations were conducted of environmental condition, resident condition, resident activity, and staff member activity at various times of day over a period of 3 weeks in Facility 1 and 2 days in Facility 2. An additional analysis was conducted to determine the optimal number of observations needed to obtain a representative sample. Results indicated high levels of quality in terms of environmental condition and resident condition in both facilities. Data on resident and staff activities were more variable but generally consistent with previous research. Implications for the optimal number of observations are discussed, as well as limitations and future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]