Assessing Treatment Acceptability with Consumers of Outpatient Child Behavior Management Services

We assessed the relative acceptability of alternative behavioral treatments among parents or grandparents who presented at a hospital-based outpatient clinic for children with behavior disorders. Using a modified version of the TEI, 100 participants rated four treatments (DRO, response cost, time-out, and spanking) applied to one of four randomly selected behavior problems (noncompliance, aggression, tantrums, and hyperactivity). When hyperactivity was the presenting problem participants also rated a medication treatment condition. DRO, response cost, and time-out were rated as significantly more acceptable than spanking across all behavior problems. For hyperactivity, spanking and medication were rated as significantly less acceptable than the other three behavior modification procedures. These results are discussed in relation to the existing treatment acceptability literature.