The "REST" program: a new treatment system for the oppositional defiant adolescent.

Full Abstract

This study compared the REST (Real Economy System for Teens) program with traditional talk therapy in the treatment of oppositional defiant adolescents. The REST program uses rules for five target behaviors: room care, personal hygiene, completion of chores, abusiveness, and safety violations. Objective measures and subjective parental ratings were taken. Twenty-five adolescents were assigned to each therapy group. In the REST program the adolescent was provided with only food and shelter. The adolescent had to earn money through the REST allowance program to pay for everything else. Earning the allowance was made contingent upon compliance with all rules for the five target behaviors. The results showed significantly greater improvement on all target behaviors for the REST program than for traditional therapy. In addition, parents of adolescents in the REST group reported that their adolescents seemed happier, more relaxed, and closer to them.

Author information

Author/s: Stein, D B (DB); Smith, E D (ED);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia 23901.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Adolescence (Adolescence), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1990-; vol 25 (issue 100) : pp 891-904

Dates: Created 1991/02/28; Completed 1991/02/28; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 2275444, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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