Acceptability of Time-Out: The Influence of Problem Behavior Severity, Interventionist, and Reported Effectiveness

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-1990

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Teachers' ratings of the acceptability of a classroom time-out procedure were assessed as a function of problem severity (mild vs. severe), different interventionists (teacher vs. school psychologist), and reported effectiveness (effective vs. no information). Written scenarios were completed by 103 teachers. The results indicated that acceptability ratings were higher when the described time-out procedure was implemented for severe problems and when information was provided that suggested that the intervention was effective. Higher ratings when the procedure was applied to a severe problem support previous research, and results dealing with effectiveness add to the literature concerning this variable. No differences were found for teachers' versus school psychologists' implementation of time-out, a finding that conflicts with the results of several studies that have suggested that teachers prefer direct involvement in interventions. Conflicting findings regarding the interventionist variable are discussed with respect to the time-consuming nature of the time-out procedure in the present investigation and the available alternative interventionist.

Publication Title

Journal of School Psychology

Volume

28

Issue

2

First Page

165

Last Page

169

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