Effectiveness of Token Economy Therapy in Reducing Aggressive Behaviors Among Orphanage Children: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND

Children in orphanages often display aggressive behaviours due to limited personalized care and emotional support. Token economy therapy, which uses positive reinforcement strategies, may offer a promising behavioural intervention in such settings. This pilot study evaluates the effectiveness of token economy therapy in reducing aggression among orphanage children.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental design was adopted involving 50 children aged 6-12 years from two orphanages in Pune, India. Stratified random sampling ensured balanced representation by age and gender. The intervention consisted of 20 biweekly token economy sessions over 10 weeks, wherein desirable behaviours were rewarded with tokens exchangeable for preferred items. Behavioural assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Pre-intervention, 76% of children had moderate behavioural difficulties and 24% had severe difficulties. Post-intervention, 36% exhibited normal behaviour and 64% showed only mild difficulties. Mean behavioural scores significantly decreased from 34.42 (±2.64) to 16.34 (±1.72) (Wilcoxon Z = 6.18, < 0.0001). Improvements were consistent across all academic performance categories.

CONCLUSION

Token economy therapy proved effective in significantly reducing aggressive behaviours among orphanage children. Its structured, reward-based approach may offer a scalable and cost-effective behavioural intervention in institutional care settings. Further studies are warranted to confirm long-term benefits across broader populations.