Concurrent habits. What would Linus do with his blanket if his thumb-sucking were treated?

P. C. Friman
Department of Pediatric Psychology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA.

Thumb-sucking and object attachment commonly occur during childhood. Object attachment is usually harmless, but thumb-sucking can lead to complications when chronically practiced by older children. Effective thumb-sucking treatment is available, but to my knowledge, it has not been evaluated on thumb-sucking children who are also attached to objects. This study, using a multiple baseline design, shows treatment eliminated thumb-sucking in eight thumb-sucking children with concurrent attachment and that seven of the children subsequently lost interest in their attachment object.