Social control of childhood stealing in a public school: a case study

Although a common problem encountered by mental health specialists, there a re few published descriptions of behavior therapy intervention for childhoo d stealing. The present case study addresses the behavioral treatment of st ealing exhibited by a child in a pubic school setting. A functional assessm ent suggested that the behavior was maintained by the social attention it e licited from school personnel and parents. Using an hypothesis-driven model of treatment formulation, intervention consisted of eliminating multiple s ources of attention in an extinction paradigm. Intervention was associated with a systematic reduction in stealing and results were maintained through a 12-month follow-up. Issues related to functionally determined treatment of behavior disorders are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.