title: Eliminating chronic thumb sucking by preventing a covarying response.
abstract: Thumb sucking in childhood frequently accompanies such other behaviors as holding or manipulating favored objects. This study evaluated the effects on thumb sucking of preventing doll holding in a five-year-old girl who chronically sucked her thumb while holding a doll. A withdrawal (ABAB) experimental design revealed that preventing doll holding eliminated thumb sucking. The results of the study show that preventing a covariant can be an effective, efficient method of controlling thumb sucking.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, Meyer Children's Rehabilitation Institute, Omaha.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Friman
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005386:Fingersucking / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009769:Object Attachment