Document Type

Dissertation

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

PhD in Behavior Analysis

Dissertation Defense Date

2013

First Committee Member

Hanley, Gregory P.

Second Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel H.

Third Committee Member

Palmer, David

Additional Committee Member(s)

Northrup, Denine

Abstract

"We investigated the efficacy of and the preference for three behavioral strategies used to reduce sleep interfering behaviors of young children: extinction (EXT), time-based visiting (TBV), and bedtime pass (BTP). We used nighttime infrared video and a parental sleep diary to measure sleep interfering behaviors, sleep onset delay, night awakenings, amount of sleep, as well as other sleep-relevant events. We used a multiple baseline across subjects design to evaluate treatment efficacy across families and a multielement design within each family to compare the three strategies. At the end of the treatment comparison, children were given the opportunity to choose the condition they most preferred; children then experienced the corresponding procedure. Parents also provided feedback on the acceptability of each treatment and on their satisfaction with the process and outcomes. All three treatments resulted in a reduction in sleep interfering behavior, with slight advantage to BTP and EXT. Bedtime pass was associated with higher treatment acceptability by the children and the parents."

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