Thomas M. Reimers’s research while affiliated with Creighton University and other places

Investigated the relationship between 58 parents' causal attributions (physical vs environmental) of children's behavior problems and the acceptability of behavioral interventions. At 1-, 3-, and 6-mo intervals, parents rated the acceptability of behavioral treatments recommended to them for their children's behavior problems and completed an attribution measure. A significant, negative correlation was found between physical attribution ratings and acceptability ratings of behavioral treatments, with the magnitude of the correlation increasing over time. Specifically, parents' perceptions of the acceptability of behavioral treatments recommended to them for their children's behavioral problems decreased as their ratings of the physical attributions for their children's problems increased. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

We examined the effectiveness of simulation training to teach an adolescent male with Crohn disease to self-administer nasogastric tube insertion. Nasogastric tube insertion was taught using simulation training, after which self-insertion skills were assessed. Results across skill components indicated that this subject was able to self-administer insertion of the nasogastric tube.

We assessed the functional properties of noncompliant and inappropriate behavior in 6 young children who were seen in a pediatric behavior management outpatient clinic. The assessment results yielded different patterns of behavior across assessment conditions which were directly related to different treatment recommendations. Findings suggest that brief, modified functional analysis procedures have merit in typical outpatient settings.

The authors examined the acceptability ratings of positive reinforcement procedures recommended to parents seen in a pediatric behavior management outpatient clinic. Parental ratings of acceptability were obtained in the clinic and 1, 3, and 6 months following their initial clinic visit. Acceptability variables were examined by group (parents who rated the acceptability of treatments as high vs. low) and by severity (parents who rated their children's behavior problem as severe vs. mild). The relationship between these variables and reported compliance was also examined. Results show that the acceptability variables were useful in differentiating between parents who rated treatments to be more acceptable and parents who rated treatments to be less acceptable. Differences were also observed as a function of behavior problem severity. Significant correlations occurred between acceptability variables and compliance at each of the follow-up points. Results are discussed in relation to the clinical significance of these findings and the impetus they might serve for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

This study investigated predictors of recruiting others to smoke among 273 seventh graders who had smoked at least once. Almost half (44%) of the 273 students had either offered a cigarette to a friend, made fun of a nonsmoker, or encouraged a friend to smoke during the previous year. Significant predictors of recruitment included self-described smoking status, best friend (same sex) smokes, perceived positive consequences of smoking, number of same-sex friends who smoke, perceived negative consequences of smoking, perceived benefits of quitting smoking, and self-reported alcohol use. Together, the significant variables predicted 34% of the variance in self-reported recruitment. Implications for reducing adolescent smoking are discussed.

We conducted descriptive and experimental analyses of aberrant behavior in school settings with 2 children with autism, using teachers as assessors. Experimental functional analyses carried out by the investigators were followed by training teachers to conduct a descriptive analysis and a classroom experimental analysis. A comparison of the assessment procedures showed that each procedure identified negative reinforcement as a maintaining variable for aberrant behavior. The teacher implemented an intervention based on the assessment with mixed results. We then replicated the initial results by having the first teacher train a second teacher to carry out the two assessment procedures. The results of these analyses were also in agreement, again identifying negative reinforcement as a variable maintaining aberrant behavior. An intervention based on negative reinforcement was then successfully implemented. These results suggest the applicability and utility of functional analyses carried out in school settings.

Examined analog and naturalistic ratings of treatment acceptability, using the same group of 40 parents whose children (aged 1 yr 10 mo to 11 yrs 11 mo) were seen in a behavior management clinic. Parents rated the acceptability of (1) alternative treatments applied to case descriptions and (2) treatments actually provided to them in the clinic for management of their children's behavior difficulties. Naturalistic ratings were obtained in the clinic and at 1, 3, and 6 mo following the clinic visit. Analog treatments were distinguished on the basis of acceptability ratings. When severity of behavior problems was considered, a positive relationship existed between analog and naturalistic acceptability ratings. A strong positive relationship was found between treatment effectiveness and acceptability at each time point. A gradual increase was observed in the relationship between acceptability and compliance over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Most investigations examining the acceptability of treatments recommended to consumers seeking outpatient services have utilized non-consumers (g.g., students) or potential consumers (e.g., non-referred parents) as their subjects. The purpose of the present study was to examine the acceptability ratings of three alternative treatments applied to case descriptions varying in their levels of problem severity. Evaluations were provided by 90 parents actually seeking services in a behavior management outpatient clinic. Results indicate that positive reinforcement was rated as most acceptable followed by time-out and medication. Ratings varied as a function of problem severity with positive reinforcement and timeout being relatively more acceptable for mild behavior problems. Medication was rated as being relatively more acceptable of severe behavior problems. Findings are discussed in relation to both clinical significance and the need for future research.

This study examined the acceptability ratings of three alternative treatments applied to case descriptions which varied in their level of problem severity. Evaluations were provided by 40 parents seeking services in a Pediatric Preventive Cardiology Clinic for treatment of their children's hypercholesterolemia. Results indicated that both diet and diet plus goal setting were rated as significantly more acceptable than medication. Ratings of diet and diet plus goal setting did not vary as a function of problem severity, however, medication was rated as more acceptable when applied to a more severe case example, as opposed to a mild case example. Findings are discussed in relation to the clinical significance of these findings and the need for future research.

• Smoking among adolescents is a developmental phenomenon with several factors exerting an influence on cigarette use at different times. We examined the longitudinal influences of several behavioral and social variables on the smoking status of 443 students followed from early to late adolescence. Of the factors examined, association with friends who smoke and previous smoking status were consistently associated with an adolescent's future smoking status. Other factors, such as attachment to father or to mother, parental supervision, extracurricular activity, perceived negative and positive effects of smoking, and academic involvement, were all related to late adolescent smoking status. These observations suggest that strategies that influence smoking behavior need to be directed not only to the individual child but also to influences within the child's home and school environment. (AJDC. 1990;144:1265-1272)