Reduction of Self-Destructive Behavior by Overcorrection

Abstract

Foxx and Azrin (1972) described a restitution or overcorrection procedure for eliminating ritualistic and other disruptive behaviors in retarded children. The rationale of the procedure was to educate the child to assume individual responsibility for the disruption generated by his misbehavior by requiring him to restore the disturbed situation to an improved state. In the case of ritualistic behaviors, the child is required to make a response incompatible with the ritualistic movement. Overcorrection has been used successfully to eliminate aggression in retarded and brain-damaged adults (Foxx & Azrin, 1972) , some motiliry disturbances in autistic children (Foxx & Azrin, 1973a), and inappropriate toileting behavior (Foxx & Azrin, 1973b; Freeman & Pribble, 1974). The case reported here extends the use of the overcorrection procedure to self-destructive behavior. The subject was a 6%-yr.-old female child, hospitalized at the Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. Her primary diagnosis was aphasia. However, on admission she exhibited a number of behavior problems. The behavior focused on in this report was nail-picking. S continually picked her nails and often caused bleeding. The procedure employed was to hold the child's hands down by her side for 1 min. each time she engaged in picking her nails. iavish positive reinforcement was given whenever she was engaging in appropriate behavior. The child attended school for 3 hr. daily, and it was during this time that the intervention was first made. Bursts of nail-picking were recorded in 30-min. intervals daily. Five days of baseline data preceded the intervention.

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