Family members who interact with early interventionists do so within a context of particular social, cultural, systemic, and developmental variables. To serve families optimally, early interventionists need to grasp the breadth and depth of these variables, because they may influence the receptivity of family members to our professional recommendations. The aim of the present article is to illuminate issues related to the topic of treatment acceptability by applying concepts pertaining to collaboration, cultural difference, compliance and freedom of choice, family life cycles, and systems theory. The heuristic value of research procedures for obtaining informed consent from parents and children also is recognized. A paradigm is presented for designing home-based intervention plans with families of preschoolers with behavior disorders, and an illustrative case is presented.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bandura, A. (1978). The self-system in reciprocal determinism. American Psychologist, 33, 344–358.
2.
Barnett, D.W., & Carey, K.T. (in press). Designing interventions for early learning and behavior problems.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
Bredekamp, S. (1987). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8.Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
4.
Brehm, S.S., & Brehm, J.W. (1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control.New York: Academic Press.
5.
Brinckerhoff, J.L., & Vincent, L.J. (1986). Increasing parental decision making at the individualized educational program meeting. Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 11, 46–58.
6.
Cavell, T., Frentz, C., & Kelley, M. (1986). Acceptability of paradoxical interventions: Some nonparadoxical findings. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 17, 519–523.
7.
Children's Defense Fund. (1989). A vision for America's future.Washington, DC: Author.
8.
Dubey, D.R., & Kaufman, K.F. (1982). The “side effects” of parent implemented behavior modification. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 4, 65–71.
9.
Dunst, C.J., Trivette, C.M., & Deal, A. (1988). Enabling and empowering families.Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
10.
Epstein, M.H., Matson, J.L., Repp, A., & Helsel, W.J. (1986). Acceptability of treatment alternatives as a function of teacher status and student level. School Psychology Review, 15, 84–90.
11.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
12.
Fincham, F., & Spettell, C. (1984). The acceptability of dry bed training and urine alarm training as treatments for nocturnal enuresis. Behavior Therapy, 15, 388–394.
13.
Frentz, C., & Kelly, M.L. (1986). Parents' acceptance of reductive treatment methods: The influence of problem severity and perception of child behavior. Behavior Therapy, 17, 75–81.
14.
Grabitz-Gniech, G. (1971). Some restrictive conditions for the occurrence of psychological reactance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 19, 188–196.
15.
Griest, D.L., & Forehand, R. (1982). How can I get any parent training done with all these other problems going on? The role of family variables in child behavior therapy. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 4, 73–80.
16.
Hall, C., & Didier, E. (1987). Acceptability and utilization of frequently-cited intervention strategies. Psychology in the Schools, 24, 153–161.
17.
Hanson, M.J., Lynch, E.W., & Wayman, K.I. (1990). Honoring the cultural diversity of families when gathering data. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10(1), 112–131.
18.
Harrison, A., Serafica, F., & McAdoo, H. (1984). Ethnic families of color. In R.D. Parke, R.N. Emde, H.P. McAdoo, & G.P. Sackett (Eds.), The family: Review of child development research no. 7 (pp. 329–371). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
19.
Heffer, R., & Kelly, M. (1987). Mothers' acceptance of behavioral interventions for children: The influence of parent race and income. Behavior Therapy, 18, 153–164.
20.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations.New York: Wiley.
21.
Kazdin, A.E. (1980). Acceptability of alternative treatments for deviant child behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 13, 259–273.
22.
Kazdin, A.E. (1981). Acceptability of child treatment techniques: The influence of treatment efficacy and adverse side effects. Behavior Therapy, 12, 493–506.
23.
Kazdin, A.E. (1984). Acceptability of aversive procedures and medication as treatment alternatives for deviant child behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 289–302.
24.
Kiesler, C.A. (1971). The psychology of commitment: Experiments linking behavior to belief.New York: Academic Press.
25.
Laski, H. (1919). The dangers of obedience. Harper's Monthly Magazine, 159, 1–10.
26.
Martens, B.K., & Witt, J.C. (1988). On the ecological validity of behavior modification. In J.C. Witt, S.N. Elliott, & F.M. Gresham (Eds.), The handbook of behavior therapy in education (pp. 325–341). New York: Plenum Press.
27.
Mash, E.J. (1989). Treatment of child and family disturbance: A behavioral-systems perspective. In E.J. Mash & R.A. Barkley (Eds.), Treatment of childhood disorders (pp. 3–36). New York: Guilford Press.
28.
McEvoy, M.A., Nordquist, V.M., Twardosz, S., Heckman, K.A., Wehby, J.H., & Denny, R.K. (1988). Promoting autistic children's peer interaction in an integrated early childhood setting using affection activities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 193–200.
29.
McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A.V. (1982). The relationship between parental beliefs and children's cognitive level. In I.E. Sigel (Ed.), Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children (pp. 7–24). New York: Plenum Press.
30.
Miller, G.E., & Prinz, R.J. (1990). Enhancement of social learning family interventions for childhood conduct disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 291–307.
31.
Miltenberger, R.G. (1990). Assessment of treatment acceptability: A review of the literature. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10(3), 24–38.
32.
Miltenberger, R.G., Parrish, J., Rickert, V., & Kohr, M. (1989). Assessing treatment acceptability with consumers of outpatient child behavior management services. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 11, 35–44.
33.
Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development, 56, 289–302.
34.
Mittl, V., & Robin, A. (1987). Acceptability of alternative treatments for parent-adolescent conflict. Behavioral Assessment, 9, 417–428.
35.
Norton, G.R., Austen, S., Allen, G.E., & Hilton, J. (1983). Acceptability of time out from reinforcement procedures for disruptive child behavior: A further analysis. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 5, 31–41.
36.
Paget, K.D. (1988). Early intervention: Infants, preschool children, and families. In J.C. Witt, S.N. Elliott, & F.M. Gresham (Eds.), The handbook of behavior therapy in education (pp. 569–300). New York: Plenum Press.
37.
Pickering, D., & Morgan, S.B. (1985). Parental ratings of treatments of self-injurious behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 303–314.
38.
Powell, D. (1988). Families and early childhood programs.Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
39.
Rainforth, B., & Salisbury, C.L. (1988). Functional home programs: A model for therapists. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 7(4), 33–45.
40.
Reimers, T., & Wacker, D. (1988). Parents' ratings of the acceptability of behavioral treatment recommendations made in an outpatient clinic: A preliminary analysis of the influence of treatment effectiveness. Behavioral Disorders, 14, 7–15.
41.
Reimers, T., Wacker, D., & Koeppl, G. (1987). Acceptability of behavioral interventions: A review of the literature. School Psychology Review, 16, 212–227.
42.
Schon, D.A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action.New York: Basic Books.
43.
Sexton, D., Thompson, B., Perez, J., & Rheams, T. (1990). Maternal versus professional estimates of developmental status for young children with handicaps: An ecological approach. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 10(1), 80–95.
44.
Sigel, I.E. (1985). Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children.New York: Plenum Press.
45.
Sigelman, C.K., & Shaffer, D.R. (1991). Life-span human development.Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
46.
Thompson, R.A. (1990). Vulnerability in research: A developmental perspective on research risk. Child Development, 61, 1–16.
47.
Turnbull, A.P., & Turnbull, H.R. (1986). Families, professionals, and exceptionality: A special partnership.Columbus, OH: Merrill.
48.
Vincent, L.J., Salisbury, C., Laten, S., & Baumgart, D. (1979). Designing home programs for families with handicapped children. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wisconsin, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, Madison.
49.
Walle, D., Hobbs, S., & Caldwell, H. (1984). Sequencing of parent training procedures: Effects on child noncompliance and treatment acceptability. Behavior Modification, 8, 540–552.
50.
Witt, J.C., Elliott, S.N., & Martens, B.K. (1984). Acceptability of behavioral interventions used in classrooms: The influence of amount of teacher time, severity of behavior problem, and type of intervention. Behavior Disorders, 9, 95–104.
51.
Wolf, M.M. (1978). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203–214.
