THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC THERAPY AND TOKEN ECONOMY SYSTEM

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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

THE EFFECTS OF MUSIC THERAPY AND TOKEN ECONOMY SYSTEM

VS. MUSIC THERAPY ON DECREASING INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS

WITH STUDENTS LABELED EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED

Claudine Boussicaut

A thesis submitted to the

School of Music

in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Master of Music

Degree Awarded:

Spring Semester, 2004

Page 2

The members of the committee approved the this of

Claudine Boussicaut defended on December 10, 2003.

___________________

Jayne Standley

Professor Directing Thesis

___________________

Clifford Madsen

Committee Member

___________________

Dianne Gregory

Committee Member

The office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved

the above named committee members

Page 3

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I thank God for his unfailing grace and mercy.

I am so grateful for Dr. Jayne Standley for all of her

support, patience, and understanding through my

matriculation through the Music Therapy program.

A special thanks to all of the students and teachers

who participated in the music therapy sessions.

Thanks, Jennifer, for locating documents needed for

the study.

Thank you to Jhaismen for her expertise in creating

graphs.

Thank you to Latoya for your time and patience.

Thank you Penny for the extra push and all the helpful

hints in completing theses.

I sincerely thank the Ray of Hope United Methodist

Church family for the extra push to complete the thesis and

graduate: Brenda, Rashid, Amber, Jarvis, Keane, and Brian.

Most importantly, thank you to my family for

everything.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ............................................

List of Figures ........................................... vi

Abstract .................................................. vii

The Effects of Music Therapy and Token System VS. Music

Therapy On Decreasing Inappropriate Behaviors With Students

Labeled Emotionally Disturbed

Review of Literature .................................

Introduction ....................................

Emotional Disabilities in Schools ...............

Alternative Schools: Behavioral Plans ...........

Token Economy Systems ...........................

Token Economy Systems and Special Education .....

Token Economy Systems in Music Therapy ..........

Music Therapy with Adolescents .................. 10

Music Therapy and SED ........................... 12

Music Therapy in the Schools .................... 12

Method ............................................... 13

Subjects & Setting .............................. 13

Materials ....................................... 15

Procedure ....................................... 15

Results .............................................. 17

Discussion ........................................... 20

Appendix A ................................................ 22

Appendix B ................................................ 26

Appendix C ................................................ 28

References ................................................ 31

Biographical Sketch ....................................... 36

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Group A Demographics .............................. 14

Table 2 Group B Demographics .............................. 14

Table 3 Total Points for Group B .......................... 17

Table 4 Music Video Roles ................................. 17

Page 6

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Total of Minor Maladaptives ....................... 19

Figure 2 Total Point Check ................................ 19

Figure 3 Total Prosocials ................................. 20

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vii

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of

token economy with music therapy vs. music therapy to

decrease the behavioral problems with students labeled

emotionally disturbed. Subjects included 20 students aged

13-17 years. A comparison of two groups was made: Class A

received music therapy with a token economy system while

Class B received only music therapy. In Class A, tokens

were given to reinforce the students for demonstrating

appropriate behaviors during sessions. During Class A’s

last session, the students used the points acquired to

select roles in an original music video. The design for

each group was ABABAC with baseline and treatment sessions

alternating until the final session. Sessions were

videotaped and observed by the researcher then compared to

data recorded by the class teacher and/or aide. The

school’s ongoing behavior data sheet was used. Graphed

results showed little difference between groups except on

prosocial behaviors. The token economy group improved more

than the music therapy only group in this area. There was

no significant difference between groups on Mann-Whitney U

comparison in reduction of inappropriate behavior.

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Review of Literature

Introduction

Behavior management techniques, such as positive

reinforcement, token economy systems, contracting and

time-out are commonly used in SED programs. SED is a

condition resulting in persistent and consistent

maladaptive behaviors, which exist to a marked degree,

which interferes with the students’ learning process

(Coleman, 1996). In addition many supportive therapies

involve music and the visual arts to give the student

a better sense of self, and self-control. This study

attempted to combine both to ascertain whether effects

are cumulative.

Emotional Disabilities in Schools

Children are considered to have an emotional or

behavioral disorder when their behavior falls outside

the norm such as: being inattentive, withdrawn,

aggressive, nonconforming, disorganized, immature, or

unable to get along with others (Bos, Schuam, &

Vaughn, 2000). Many of these behaviors could be caused

by numerous reasons ranging from family and social

stressors to chemical imbalances. Some scholars say

that behavior disorders are biologically or

genetically caused (Matsun, 1983). Some youths with

this disorder may not achieve social and cognitive

milestones appropriate to their chronological age and

require specialized intervention and educational

settings due to aggressive impulsivity, short

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attention span, difficulty concentrating, poor on-task

behavior and an inability to manage powerful negative

affects related to trauma (Paul, 1984). Traumas which

contribute to emotional distress include various types

of abuse.

Dolan (1991) states “sexual abuse rarely occurs

without any damage, even the most minor of sexual acts

can result in severe emotional harm.” According to

Bass and Davis (1988) abuse survivors learn to cope by

not allowing themselves to experience these feelings

to their full extent.

Public Law 94-142 defines SED as a condition

exhibiting one or more of the following

characteristics: an inability to learn which may be

caused by intellectual, sensory, or health factors and

an inability to build or maintain satisfactory

interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers

(Zabel, 1998). Many terms are used to refer to what we

will call behavior disorders: mental illness,

emotional handicap, social maladjustments, serious

emotional disorder, and disturbance. Some

professionals use these terms precisely to distinguish

subtle differences in the nature or severity of the

problems.

Public Law 94-142, created the field of special

education and laws relating to the guarantee of a free

and appropriate public school education for any

student with a special need (Mazurek & Winzer,2000).

Emotional and behavioral disorders are grouped into

two broad categories: externalizing and internalizing.

Externalizing behaviors are characterized by acting

out, aggression, interfering, attention seeking, and

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conduct problems. Externalizing behaviors seem to be

more intolerable to teachers than other undesirable

behaviors because they directly challenge the

teachers’ authority, interfere with the delivery of

instruction, disrupt classroom routines and affect

classmates adversely (McConaughy & Skiba, 1993;

Safran& Safran, 1987).

Internalizing behaviors are viewed as more self-

directed, such as being anxious, worried, and

depressed (Bos, Schumn, Vaughn, 1997). In general,

internalizing or over controlled behaviors are more

inner-directed and covert in nature (Bocian, Gresham,

Lambros, MacMillan, & Ward, 1998). When teachers and

or parents detect any of these behaviors, the student

should then be evaluated for special education

placement. Further the educational intervention should

match the established needs of the students with

behavioral disorders (Zabel, 1998).

In order to meet the individual behavioral and

academic needs of the SED students, unique programs

are designed by multidisciplinary educational teams

which include parents (Morgan & Reinhart, 1990). This

design then allows most SED students to benefit from

temporary placements in special classrooms,

institutional programs, or even alternative schools.

If for some reason, the sought after educational

results are not being achieved in that regular

setting, the students will only be placed into an

alternative school (Boss,Schumn,Vaughn, 2000). Brucer

reports that Rosa Kennedy and Jerome Morton (1989)

suggest that alternative schools need to reflect a

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valuing of each student as an important person whose

underlying motivation is positive.

Depending on the criteria used, prevalence rates

for mild emotional disorders varies. Higher

prevalence rates are reported for mild emotional or

behavioral disorders, and lower prevalence rates for

more severe disorders. In an article published in the

Educational Resource Information Center, Robert Zabel

concludes “although teachers typically consider 10%-

20% of their students as having emotional or

behavioral problems, a conservative estimate of the

number whose problems are both severe and chronic are

2%-3% of the school aged population (1998).

Currently, less than one-half that number are formally

identified and receive special education. Estimates

for emotional and behavioral disorders range from 0.5

percent to 20 percent or more of the school’s

population (Kauffman, 1993).

Whether emotional or behavioral disorders have

social or organic causes, they are treated with

therapies, psychological help, and medications such as

stimulants, antidepressants, and antipsychotic drugs.

Alternative Schools: Behavioral Plans

Alternative schools usually provide a

“therapeutic milieu,” a structured environment where

students experience a high degree of success; rules

and routines are predictable; and students are

consistently rewarded for appropriate behavior (Zabel,

1998). Students are usually placed in an alternative

school when the student’s disabilities are severe and

require special attention (Sarson,1983).

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Teachers, therapists, and counselors, should

always keep the following in mind when developing

behavioral plans: “I. students should be engaged in

useful activities which are of interest to them and

their ability level. II. The facilitator should

respect the student. III. When problems arise, the

therapist should seek support from colleagues or

senior staff. IV. Therapist should adhere to the rules

of the school. V. Therapist should remain calm. VI.

Therapist should be consistent.”(Farrell,1995).

Guidelines for establishing behavioral plans

include: (i) Involve everyone in planning the

intervention i.e the student, parent/guardians,

teacher who know the student best, counselors, and

even outside agencies. The aim is that everyone

agrees on the nature of the problem, the causes and

what to do about them. (ii) Observe behaviors

carefully. It is important to observe the following

factors:(Goodman,1999;Hewett,1968)

The setting: where things are happening

The antecedents: what happens immediately before the

behavior takes place?

The behavior itself: what happens?

The consequence: how does the teacher and or students

react immediately following a behavior?

(iii) Be explicit about the behavior change and

realistic about when this could be achieved.

(iv) Make intervention strategies explicit

(Morris,1985).

A major goal in developing behavioral plans is to

generate strategies for reducing problem behaviors and

increasing appropriate, replacement behaviors (Crone &

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Horner 2003). An example of a Behavioral Plan

component, is the Competing Behavior Pathway. The

purpose of the Competing Behavior Pathway is: 1. to

highlight the importance of building the behavior plan

around the hypothesis statement, 2. to identify

competing behavioral alternatives to the problem

behavior 3. To determine strategies for making the

problem behavior ineffective, inefficient, or

irrelevant through changes to the routine or

environment. Other behavior interventions used in

school settings are Positive Reinforcement treatments,

self-reinforcement, extinction, self-instructional

training, and multiple-component treatments.

Positive reinforcement treatment was developed to

eliminate or decrease behaviors such as aggression

without resorting to aversive or punishment

procedures. Although extinction procedures can be

successful they are usually not recommended for the

treatment of harmful or violent behaviors because they

work slowly and aggressive behaviors cause injuries

that should not be ignored (Maheady,Rosenberg,Wilson,&

Sindelar, 1997)

Self-Reinforcement is a way for students to self-

monitor and rate their own behavior. The student will

award him/herself. Self-Instructional Training

stresses the importance of overt behavior by private

speech and verbal meditation (talking aloud to solve

problems). Multiple-Component Treatments use many

treatments simultaneously such as muscle relaxation,

role playing, behavioral contracting etc.

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Token Economy Systems

A behavior modification approach largely

ignores the relationship between a behavior and the

variables maintaining it and, instead, attempts to

alter behavior by superimposing new contingencies of

reinforcements and or punishment (Bijou & Baer, 1978;

Repp,1983). “Much of the behavior modification work

that is conducted with exceptional students involves

the use of reinforcements to strengthen various target

behaviors” (Morris,1985). A token economy is

frequently used in behavior modification. It involves

awarding tokens, chips, stickers, check marks, points

or other items/markings to students/adult who

demonstrate desired behaviors identified by the

teacher or the person in charge. Today, token

economies are an accepted, widespread, and effective

all-purpose treatment in which the control of

aggressive behavior has been demonstrated in group

homes, self-contained classrooms, community youth

centers, day schools, psychiatric hospitals and

residential placements(Maheady, Rosenberg,Wilson,&

Sindelar,1997). According to Madsen& Madsen(1998),

token economy requires two components: tokens and

back-up reinforcers. A third component is specified

contingencies. Other behavioral techniques such as

response-cost or time-out can be integrated into the

token system (Maheady,Rosenberg,Wilson&Sindelar,1997).

A token is used to “buy” food items, special

privileges, special activities, etc. Students may

also receive tokens for promptness, appropriate

interpersonal relationships, for positive attitude to

Page 15

work, for helpfulness, and other attributes at every

lesson and for break and lunch times, etc.(Cole,

Visser & Upton,1999) Mercer and Mercer(1985) suggest

these systems have three basic characteristics: “a)

behaviors to be reinforced are clearly stated, b)

procedures are designed for administering reinforcing

stimuli(tokens) when the target behaviors occur, and

c) rules are devised to govern the exchange of tokens

for reinforcing objects or events. One procedure that

is growing in use is the level system, a variation of

the token economy where students move through a series

of point-based systems as their behavior improves.”

Thomas McIntyre (1989) stated that benefits from

this system are ease of administration, the use of

immediate reinforcement while teaching delayed

gratification, lack of boredom or satiation for the

student due to the availability of the variety of

back-up reinforcers, and lack of competition between

students as the student competes against himself.

Token Economy Systems and Special Education

Axelrod (1970), conducted in a study comparing

contingencies between individuals and groups in

special education. The class that received individual

contingencies with the token economy system, produced

a more “orderly” classroom.

Henry (1973), used a token economy system to

investigate whether mentally handicapped students

could behave appropriately and have better motor

performance during Physical Education. This study

concluded that contingencies placed on attending

behavior alone increases attending behavior but has

Page 16

little effect on academic performance. With academic

performance as the target behavior, contingencies

increased assignment completions and the quality of

work accomplished but did not improve appropriate

behavior in the classroom.

In a study by Maria Ozols (1990), a token

economy increased and maintained the response of

cooperative behavior in trainable mentally retarded

teenagers. The data from this research were obtained

from baseline, post-treatment, and follow- up

observations. The research was taken during Physical

education. Each time the whistle was blown the

subjects had 5 seconds to report to the basketball

circle which in turn would award the subjects a chip.

A subject could receive 3 chips per session.

Token Economy Systems in Music Therapy

“Music Therapy is a method of behavioral

manipulation and therefore can automatically be

considered as falling within the purview of the

behavior modification movement (Madsen, Cotter,

Madsen, 1968).”

A token economy system was used in a study by

Jean C. Clegg (1982), in which the subjects would

place a chip in a tube upon completing a unit of work

in a mattress assembly line. The purpose of the study

was to determine the rate of production during non-

music, non-contingent, and contingent music on the

subjects rate of self-monitoring. This study proved

that there was no significant difference between non-

contingent behavior and a significant difference

Page 17

between non-contingent and contingent music

conditions.

Carl Eidson (1988), conducted a study to examine

the effect of a specific music therapy treatment

program on student interpersonal behavior demonstrated

in group sessions in unaltered classrooms. Eidson used

a token economy to reinforce students for

demonstrating targeted behaviors. Three groups were

compared. This study showed that experimental

subjects demonstrated consistently high levels of

appropriate classroom behavior.

In a study completed by Geralyn Presti (1984), a

contingency management system was used to provide a

hierarchical format to change targeted behaviors.

The levels system allows different forms of

reinforcers which included token economy system and

or, behavioral contracts. In the 2 years of the

implementation of this program, the teachers were

provided with the opportunity to correct unwanted

behaviors.

Music Therapy with Adolescents

According to Kennedy & Morton (1999),

inappropriate behaviors are not uncommon when

referring to adolescents. Adolescence is a period of

development characterized by tremendous change in both

mind and body. During this period of development,

adolescents are establishing their own independence

and identity and sometimes test social limits (Robb,

1996).

Research has found that any treatment goal can

successfully be worked on with adolescents using music

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therapy. Many of the creative arts therapies have

been effective in facilitating self-expression, and

development of interpersonal skills amongst children

and adolescents (Whitaker, 1985;Morsink,1964). Brooks

(1989) says that its non-threatening manner makes it

an excellent “sneak” therapy. She continues by saying

music is a catalyst causing adolescents, to look at

themselves musically and visually. Popular activities

used to increase expression of feelings and to build

self esteem are: music and relaxation, guided imagery,

role playing, rhythm instruments, song writing,

musical improvisation, music listening, and group

musical collaboration (Clendon-Wallen,

1991;Friedlander,1994;Ventre,1994). Although some

students may be labeled with a disability or

“disorder” Miller and Orsmond (1995), found that youth

with disabilities could create sophisticated

improvisational songs. Robb (1996) says that music

therapy interventions with adolescents will teach

active coping skills, decrease feelings of learned

helplessness, and promote self-expression. Wells and

Stevens (1984) found music to be helpful in

stimulating nonverbal self-expression for young

adolescents in group situations. “Group Music Therapy

can also facilitate the process of self expression and

provide a channel for transforming frustration, anger,

and aggression in the experience of creativity and

self mastery”(Coones & Montello, 1998). Music Therapy

has been used also as an effective tool for increasing

the self esteem and self pride of adolescents with

behavioral problems (Johnson, 1981; Sears, 1968).

Maranville (1983), found that music therapy subjects

Page 19

interacted at a higher rate than subjects in verbal

therapy groups. Clinical musical improvisation also

provides a non-threatening, and non-verbal means of

disclosure and examination with abused students.

Music Therapy and SED

Music therapists working on multidisciplinary

treatment teams in schools and other intensive

treatment environments are in a vital position to

contribute distinctive therapy interventions with

valuable and specific application to students with SED

(Heng, Hong,& Hussey, 1998). There are five benefits

in utilizing music therapy in the treatment of

emotionally disturbed youth: affective functioning,

communication, social dysfunction, cognitive

dysfunction, and musical responses (Hussey, Laing,&

Layman, 2002).

When using music therapy with the SED

population, behavioral music therapy is used.

Behavioral music therapy uses music to increase or

modify adaptive behaviors and to extinguish

maladaptive behaviors (Bruscia,1989). SED behavioral

techniques were developed by Presti (1984) who applied

this approach to music therapy with students in the

public schools.

Music Therapy in the Schools

Music therapy in schools can happen one of two

ways: by decision of the IEP committee or decision of

the school district.

IEP (Individualized Education Plan) is a plan

developed to meet the special learning needs of each

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student with disabilities. The IEP committee may

request an assessment for a particular student. The

Should the results indicate a need for music therapy

as the form of treatment, the parents may enter a

legally binding contract for the service to be

provided.

If the decision is made by the school district,

groups of students are usually identified. These

students are those who, due to disability and/or age,

have difficulty benefiting from traditional types of

school instruction (Repp,1983).

Method

Subjects and Settings

Students labeled SED were placed in an

alternative school within the Leon County School

District. It is from this population that 20 students

from both middle and high school classes were chosen

as subjects. Each of the treatment groups consisted of

10 students in a pre-arranged sample. The majority of

the subjects were male and African American. The mean

age for the Group A was 14.5 years and for Group B was

16.5 years. This age discrepancy may have influenced

the results. The mean IQ differed between the groups

but was within the same standard deviation for

borderline Mentally Handicapped. (See tables 1 and 2

for class demographics)

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Table 1 Group A Demographics

SUBJECT

Age

Gender

Race

(Full scale)

Student C

Female

Caucasian

Student D

Male

African American 105

Student H

Male

African American 90

Student K

Female

Caucasian

Student M

Female

Caucasian

Student MM 13

Female

African American 102

Student R

Male

African American 87

Student RR 12

Male

African American 75

Student S

Male

African American 71

Student SS 13

Male

Caucasian

Mean Age

14.5

Mean IQ

83.6

Table 2 Group B Demographics

Students

Age

Gender

Race

(Full Scale)

Student A

Male

African American

Student AA

Male

Caucasian

Student C

Male

African American

Student F

Male

African American

Student J

Male

African American

Student JE

Male

Caucasian

Student JJ

Male

Caucasian

Student L

Female African American

Student S

Female African American

Page 22

Table 2 Continued

Student T

Male

African American

Mean Age

16.5

Mean IQ

70.8

Materials

Materials included a guitar, portable CD and

cassette player, percussion instruments, Boomwhackers

CD’s, cassettes, charts, chart stand, markers,

streamers, scarves, video recorder (Sony TRV130),

video tapes, and CD/Tape player (Phillips Magnavox

AZ1020).

Procedure

This study utilized a Reversal Design (ABABAC)

for each of the two groups across six sessions. A=

baseline condition no treatment, B= music

intervention, and C= final session. Group A received

music therapy with a token economy system and Group B

only received music therapy. At the conclusion of

treatment, the class that received the token economy

system created a music video during the 6

session.

The number of points received by each student

determined the order in which they chose the preferred

role in the video (refer to tables 3 &4) Group B only

received their preferred music activity in the 6

session. At the beginning of each session the

researcher displayed the rules. The students and

researcher verbalized goals to be achieved throughout

the sessions. The data for each session were collected

on the school’s point sheet. The point sheet is

divided into 4 sections: Prosocial behavior (+5 or +10

Page 23

points), Major Maladaptive behavior (-200 points) and

Minor Maladaptive behavior (-20 or -50 points) and

Point Check, which is points obtained based on the

overall behavior. (Refer to Appendix B for copy of

check list). Data for this study were collected in 3

categories only: Point Check, Prosocial, and Minor

Maladaptives. Point check is the points earned when

the student is following the rules, doing the assigned

work, or for not loosing any points. Prosocial points

are earned when the students is behaving positively.

Minor Maladaptive are inappropriate behaviors that can

be dealt with by the supervising school staff member.

The teacher or aide with that particular class would

log the students’ behaviors every 15 minutes during

the 45-minute session. At the record interval before

any data were logged, the teacher/aide would raise her

hand to note the point in the tape being evaluated.

Once the sessions were ended, the researcher then

observed the tapes and recorded at the 15-minute

marker by the teacher or aide. Reliability between

the two independent observations was computed to be:

Minor Maladaptives .89% (Group A) .97% (Group B);

Point Check .98%( Group A), 1.00% (Group B);

Prosocials .96%(Group A), .97% (Group B).

Page 24

Table 3 Total number of points for students in Group B

Table 4 Students in Group B chose preferred roles from

this list

Music Video Roles

Director

Camera Control

Stage Crew Manager

Choreographer

Vocal Artist

Dance Artist

Results

The inappropriate behaviors recorded in the minor

maladaptives category were the focus of this study

because all of the students within the study

demonstrated behavioral issues which caused their

enrollment into SED program. The researcher wanted to

determine whether the inappropriate behaviors would

decrease according to conditions of the study. Data

were compiled for each group and means graphed across

condition (Figure 1). This graph demonstrates that

Student C

105

Student D

Student H

-30

Student K

Student M

Student MM

Student R

-95

Student RR

-190

Student S

Student SS

-130

Page 25

music therapy with a token economy system (Group A)

decreased inappropriate behavior during treatment

conditions. This class seemed to lack motivation to

behave in the less structured music therapy sessions

when tokens were not awarded.

Number of minor maladaptive behaviors for each

treatment session was totaled and a Mann Whitney U

test was completed to compare groups. Since the

critical value of u for α<05 = 23 and the obtained

u=44 the difference between groups was not

statistically significant (Madsen & Moore,1978).

The other two categories quantifying positive

responses were combined. Data were compiled for each

group and means graphed across condition( Figure 2&3).

Figure 2 shows the point check totals across sessions

for each group. The higher the number displayed, the

greater the on-task behavior during the overall point

check time. Figure 2 shows decreases for both groups

in the first treatment session then steady increases

across all sessions. The type of intervention did not

influence this behavior.

Figure 3 shows mean prosocial behaviors across

sessions with Group B remaining constant and Group A

showing improvement overall but not with regard to

specific conditions.

Page 26

Total of Minor Maladaptives

1 Baseline 2 Treatment

3 Baseline

4 Treatment

5 Baseline

Sessions

Group A

Group B

Figure 1 Total of Minor Maladaptives

Total Point Check

1 Baseline

2 Treatment

3 Baseline

4 Treatment

5 Baseline

Session

Group A

Group B

Figure 2 Total Point Check

Page 27

Total Prosocials

1Baseline

2 Treatment

3 Baseline

4 Treatment

5 Baseline

Sessions

Group A

Group B

Figure 3 Total Prosocials

Discussion

Group A

In comparison to the baseline session (See

Figures 1-3) the overall number of inappropriate class

behaviors generally decreased during treatment. The

decrease in minor maladaptive points, is thought to be

related to the students becoming better adjusted to

weekly 45 minute sessions and the token contingency.

All of the students responded to music and the overall

class enjoyed the sessions as evidenced by smiles,

laughter, and the enthusiasm during the different

activities. Student RR (Table 3)however, was somewhat

troublesome during the first two sessions. This

student started a fight with another student, which

caused him to be removed from the classroom to be sent

to indoor suspension until the conclusion of the

school day. The classroom teacher and aides were very

Page 28

instrumental in assisting the researcher with keeping

the students focused and engaged.

With this particular class, self esteem or lack

of confidence was displayed by several of the

students. Student M was always very hesitant about

sharing because of the fear that her responses were

not very popular with the other students. Most of the

students enjoyed rap and R& B but she was the only

student who enjoyed rock and country music. By the

end of the sessions, Student M shared more and even

sang freely for her classmate. Although she claimed

that it was a difficult task to do, she was successful

and received many compliments from her classmates as

well as the teacher and aides.

Group B

This class exhibited a “warmer” feel. A possible

contributing factor could be the difference of age.

The mean age of this class was 17 years. As shown in

the graphs, in most instances the inappropriate

maladaptive behaviors decreased during music therapy

treatment. Student F was the student that required

much attention from the teacher or aide. Student F

would often say or do things that would require him to

be removed from the class or sent to indoor

suspension. Although this class over all enjoyed

music, the sessions would usually get off to a slow

start. By the third session the students were

awaiting the class periods where music therapy would

take place.

Page 29

APPENDIX A

Teacher Consent

Parent Consent

Student Assent

Page 30

Teacher Consent

I understand that my student_________________ will be a

participant in the research project entitled, “The Effects of

Music Therapy and Token Economy System vs. Music Therapy on

Decreasing Inappropriate Behaviors with Students Who Display

Inappropriate Behaviors”

The research is being conducted by Claudine Boussicaut, who

is a Graduate Music Therapy Student at Florida State University.

I understand the purpose of this research is to determine the

effects of token economy paired with music therapy to decrease

inappropriate behaviors. Token Economy is a rewards system by

which the students will be awarded when displaying appropriate

behaviors. The reward will be issued in points. I understand this

research will allow my child to participate in six Music Therapy

sessions and possibly one session to create a music video.

I understand the research will be taken during school hours

in the elective rotation. I understand that this research will

involve two classes; one class receiving just Music Therapy and

the other class will receive Music Therapy paired with a token

economy system. I understand that the class with the token

economy system will redeem the points earned for preferred roles

in the video.

I understand that each session will be video taped in an

on-site classroom and can only be viewed by the researcher,

school administrator, and or the classroom teacher. The

videotapes will be in the care of the researcher and will be kept

in a secured chest. All tapes will be destroyed exactly one year

to date of the completion of the research (April 2003).

I understand this consent could be withdrawn at anytime

without prejudice, penalty or loss of benefits to which my child

is otherwise entitled.

I understand that I may contact Claudine Boussicaut at 580-

5361, Dr. Jayne Standley, Professor of Music Therapy at Florida

State University at 644-4565, or the Institutional Review Board

at 644-8633 for answers to any questions about this research or

my Childs rights.

I am also willing to release the Student Data Collection

Sheets at the conclusion of each session for the use of

reliability for the research.

I have read and understand this consent form.

_______________________ ______________

(Parent)

(Date)

Page 31

Parent Consent

I understand that my child_________________ will be a

participant in the research project entitled, “The Effects of

Music Therapy and Token Economy System vs. Music Therapy on

Decreasing Inappropriate Behaviors with Students Who Display

Inappropriate Behaviors”

The research is being conducted by Claudine Boussicaut, who

is a Graduate Music Therapy Student at Florida State University.

I understand the purpose of this research is to determine the

effects of token economy paired with music therapy to decrease

inappropriate behaviors. Token Economy is a rewards system by

which the students will be awarded when displaying appropriate

behaviors. The reward will be issued in points. I understand this

research will allow my child to participate in six Music Therapy

sessions and possibly one session to create a music video.

I understand the research will be taken during school hours