Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Reba Glidewell

Abstract

The Summer Treatment Program (STP) is an 8-week, research-based, behavior modification approach utilizing a unique point system that has been shown to improve the noncompliant behavior of children in a day camp setting. Due to religious reasons, the children of the Orthodox Jewish (OJ) community are unable to attend the original STP. Guided by behaviorism, the purpose of this research study was to assess whether a faith-based STP is effective in improving the noncompliant behavior of OJ behaviorally challenged children. In this study, the relationship between the completion of the STP and the behaviors of hyperactivity, aggression, conduct, anxiety, attention, conduct, adaptability, and functional communication, as measured by the Behavior Assessment for Children 3rd edition of the OJ children, were assessed. Archival data from a sample of 40 children were gathered through an ex post facto repeated measures design and analyzed using a 2 x 2 repeated measures mixed factorial ANOVA to show the difference in scores from pre- to posttest. The results showed there was a significant decrease from pre- to posttest in the behaviors of hyperactivity, aggression, conduct, attention, and adaptability. There was no significant improvement from pre- to posttest in the areas of anxiety and functional communication. These results show the STP was effective in improving a wide range of behaviors. Future researchers can study the long-term impact for the children of OJ community attending the STP. This research study contributes to positive social change by supplying empirical evidence that a faith-based STP is a highly effective method for treating behaviorally challenged children of the OJ community.

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