Breathing Control and Attention Training: A Preliminary Study of a Psychophysiological Approach to Self-Control of Hyperactive Behavior in Children. Final Report.

The present study was undertaken as a preliminary evaluation of a psychophysiological method for training children in the control of hyperactive behavior. The method involves breathing control and attention training which employs biofeedback and operant conditioning principles designed to help the child develop control over excessive and distracting motor behaviors and maintain attention in learning situations. Since breathing records are highly sensitive to numerous behaviors relevant to the desired behavior pattern in learning settings, the use of respiration as a focal behavior in the training procedures sharply reduce the number of simple motor behaviors requiring monitoring and reinforcement in comparison to the typical behavior modification program. Six children (age 6 to 8 years old) from a private school for children with learning disabilities participated in the study. Three were assigned to a group given the breathing control and attention training and three were assigned to a control group. Measures obtained before, during, and after training included respiration indices, performance, attention and vigilance test scores, and teacher ratings of classroom behaviors. The study was concluded to be successful. (Author)