Behavioral treatment of high-rate aggression in a rubella child.

In the present study, a 12-yr-old rubella child exhibiting high rates of aggression was treated through a combination of differential reinforcement and time-out procedures in a residential school program. Following a baseline phase in which differential reinforcement for non-aggression was in effect, the reinforcement method was combined sequentially with three types of response-contingent time-out which varied in the degree of social isolation provided. While acts of aggression decreased from an average of 7 occurrences per day during baseline to 3 per day under the first two treatment conditions, the behavior was rapidly eliminated following application of isolation time-out with effects maintained 7 months post-treatment.