Verified Document

Behavior Modification Therapy Effects Of Behavior Modification Essay

Behavior Modification Therapy Effects of Behavior Modification Therapy on Children with Low Self-Esteem

Behavior modification therapy is used in changing the behavior of children, adolescents and adults. However, its use in modifying or dealing with self-esteem is not considered to be very effective and is not used frequently. This paper discusses the basic elements of behavior modification therapy along with the theoretical concepts involved in it. Later on in the paper, ten different studies are discussed mentioning the efficacy of the therapy with regards to low self-esteem in children. In the end, the conclusion about the effectiveness of the behavior modification therapy in treating children with low self-esteem is discussed.

Effects of Behavior Modification Therapy on Children with Low Self-Esteem

Behavior Modification Therapy

Majority of behavior modification research regarding children require management of extreme outcomes. There are basic methods involved in behavior modification therapy which are positive reinforcement and punishment. Examples of positive reinforcement are token programs, praise, differential corroboration etc. Examples of punishment are social isolation, time-out, verbal or physical penalty, negative non-verbal gesture etc. In positive reinforcement methods, normally some kind of positive reaction is shown to the child in response to his/her positive behavior so that the child is encouraged to behave or respond in an appropriate, changed or improved behavior next time. In a token reinforcement method, the children are given a token (e .g., poker chip) for engaging in certain desired behaviors and receives a back-up reinforce (e.g., toys, treats, privileges) for accumulating a set number of tokens (Kernis, Brown, & Brody, 2000).

In punishment reinforcement method, the respondent (teacher, parents, therapist etc.) eliminates the presumably positive reinforcement so that the unacceptable behavior by the child or children can be weakened or discouraged.

Theoretical Perspective of Behavior Modification Therapy

According to different studies that have been conducted regarding the behavior modification therapy, the selection of treatment strategies is guided by the identification of pathogenic processes for a set of manifest problems (Persons, 1989). This process should be informed by empirical evidence on associations between pathogenic mechanisms and specific clinical problems. In the case of low self-esteem, four behavioral modification formulations of pathogenic process are present, including unrealistic...

Although by no means exhaustive, these behavioral modification formulations provide a starting point for assessment in specific cases and, ultimately, for the selection of treatment strategies.
Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem is not solely the outcome of maladaptive behavioral processes. There is far too much evidence to indicate that family processes such as high parental criticism, traumatic life events such as sexual abuse (Bolger, Patterson, & Kupersmidt, 1998), and other life circumstances can have a corrosive influence on self- esteem. Thus, a caveat is in order: Self-esteem is not simply a task of interior development. In a lot of examples, deleterious processes in the social environment take their toll on children's self-esteem. However, such deleterious experiences are processed through a behavioral filter; consequently, behavior processes can amplify or ameliorate the effect of negative incidents.

Effects of Behavior Modification Therapy on Self-Esteem

Parents of clinically referred children often complain about their child's negative self-evaluation or low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is not considered as any kind of disease, disorder or a syndrome but is often presented as a symptom in various disorders. However, low self-esteem is rarely considered as an only target of behavior modification therapy (Kendall, 1991). Different studies have shown that interventions in which self-esteem was particularly targeted in the study showed more positive results than the ones in which the factor of self-esteem was used along with other variable like social skills, depression etc. This shows that keeping self-esteem as the only target during an intervention in the behavior modification therapy is more effective (Haney & Durlak, 1998). It has been observed that the problem of self-esteem can be solved to some extent while dealing with children's skills and relationships but if the problem of low self-esteem is targeted directly by treatment strategies may produce better results.

Studies Showing the Effectiveness of Behavior Modification Therapy

A drawback of meta-analysis is its incapability to recognize treatment elements or factors linked to affirmative results. To a certain extent, this issue is more obvious when a variety of treatment interventions are applied through studies reviewed. Consequently, important collection of treatment is frequently excluded (Haney & Durlak, 1998). However, to a great degree,…

Sources used in this document:
References

Bolger, K.E., Patterson, C.J., & Kupersmidt, J.B. (1998) Peer relationships and self-esteem among children who have been maltreated. Child Development, 69(4), 1171 -- 1197.

Haney, P., & Durlak, J. (1998). Changing self-esteem in children and Children: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 423 -- 433.

Kendall, P. (Ed.). (1991). Child and adolescent therapy: Behavior modification procedures. New York: Guilford Press.

Kernis, M.H., Brown, A.C., & Brody, G.H. (2000). Fragile self-esteem in children and its associations with perceived patterns of parent -- child communication. Journal of Personality, 68(2), 225 -- 252.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Therapy Behavior Therapy Behavior Therapy May Be
Words: 1483 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Therapy Behavior Behavior Therapy Behavior therapy may be referred to as the approach in psychotherapy, in the behavior tradition that focuses on a set of methods designed for reinforcing desired behaviors, and eliminating undesired without concerning the psychoanalytic state of the subject. These methods mainly focus on the behavior, and not the thoughts and the feelings that could be causing them. The behavior therapy is divided into two sections, a narrowly defined

Behavior Therapy
Words: 2060 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Paper

Behavior Therapy is generally an approach of psychotherapy which aims to treat any sort of psychopathology to eliminate undesired behaviors in a patient or subject (Masters, et. al., 1987). This type of psychotherapy is based on the learning theory. Behavior therapy generally attempts to help in solving certain behavioral problems; this type of therapy has a long history. In the early first century in Rome, Pliny the Elder was known

Behavior Modification and Skill Enhancement for High-Risk
Words: 4546 Length: 17 Document Type: Term Paper

Behavior Modification and Skill Enhancement for High-Risk Students in Community Colleges Community colleges traditionally maintain an open-door policy, often enrolling students who are poorly prepared to enter higher education. Once these students are enrolled, they often find themselves struggling with severe skill deficiencies and, in a survey of 6,246 students attending a large, urban community college, Jack Friedlander (1981) discovered that, of the students who were not confident in one or more

Therapies for Mental Disorder
Words: 985 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Therapies for Mental Disorder Mental disorders represent a wide range of clinical conditions ranging from simple attention deficit, mood irregularities, stress and anxiety conditions to more complex psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, autism, delirium, dementia etc. that considerably affect the cognitive ability. While some of these problems are organic in nature, indicating an underlying structural deformity of the brain or other biological basis, others are categorized as functional disorders that are not

Effecting Change the Use of
Words: 4091 Length: 15 Document Type: Research Paper

According to a 2002 survey conducted under the auspices of NIH, ecstasy abuse among college and university students in general is a widespread trend that impedes academic performance (Bar-on, 2002). The NIH survey targeted 66 4-year American universities and colleges alike. The projected findings indicated a diminishing trend in undergraduate academic performance amongst students who indulge in binge drinking and abuse ecstasy in the process. Elsewhere, a Harvard College

Effects of Massage on Depression in Newly Widowed Elderly Females
Words: 1789 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Therapeutic Massage on Elderly, Grieving Widows The prosperity of a country is in accordance with its treatment of the aged," states an ancient Jewish Proverb ("Massage for the Mature Adult," 2001). This is an honorable and true statement. Too often many of our elderly people's needs are not noticed or attended to by family, friends, or medical practitioners. This is especially true for older women whose husbands have died. Widowhood can

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now