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Two types of verbal behavior have been found to consistently characterize mothers of children with behavior problems. First, mothers of children referred for behavior problems give more commands than mothers of normal children (Bessmer, 1996; Lobitz & Johnson, 1975; Robinson & Eyberg, 1981; Rogers, Forehand, & Griest, 1981; WebsterStratton, 1985). Webster-Stratton (1985) found that mothers of clinic-referred children were more likely than mothers of non-referred children to give both indirect (e.g., "will you pick up the toys?) and direct commands (e.g., "pick up the toys."), and to repeat commands before the child had sufficient opportunity to comply. Bessmer (1996) found that mothers of children with behavior problems used significantly more commands and that a higher percentage of those commands were direct.
In addition, mothers of clinic-referred children have been found to engage in more negative verbal behavior than mothers of non-referred children. Specifically, mothers of clinic-referred children issue significantly more critical statements (Aragona & Eyberg, 1981; Bessmer, 1996; Robinson & Eyberg, 1981; Webster-Stratton, 1985). Lobitz and Johnson (1975) found that parents of referred children differed significantly from parents of non-referred children on a summary variable of negative behaviors (i.e., threatening commands, negative commands, disapproval, ignoring, and physical negative).
Bessmer (1996) found that mothers of normal children engaged in more prosocial behaviors (Answer, Acknowledgment, Behavioral and Information Descriptions, Laugh, Labeled and Unlabeled Praise, Reflections, and Physical Positive) than mothers of clinicreferred children. The non-referred mothers issued an average of 121 (SD = 34.6) prosocial behaviors during 15 minutes of observation, while the clinic-referred mothers