Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Fall;42(3):697-702.
doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-697.

A procedure for identifying precursors to problem behavior

Brandon Herscovitch  1 , Eileen M Roscoe, Myrna E Libby, Jason C Bourret, William H Ahearn
Affiliations

A procedure for identifying precursors to problem behavior

Brandon Herscovitch et al. J Appl Behav Anal. 2009 Fall.

Abstract

We describe a procedure for differentiating among potential precursor responses for use in a functional analysis. Conditional probability analysis of descriptive assessment data identified three potential precursors. Results from the indirect assessment corresponded with those obtained from the descriptive assessment. The top-ranked response identified as a precursor according to the indirect assessment had the strongest relation according to the probability analysis. When contingencies were arranged for the precursor in a functional analysis, the same function was identified as for target behavior, supporting the utility of indirect and descriptive methods to identify precursor behavior empirically.

Keywords: descriptive assessment; functional analysis; precursors; problem behavior; response-class hierarchies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The top panel depicts comparative probability analyses, including the probability of target behavior (head hitting) given precursor behavior (finger biting; p[TB|Pre]), the unconditional probability of target behavior (p[TB]), the probability of precursor behavior given target behavior (p[Pre|TB]), and the unconditional probability of precursor behavior (p[Pre]). The middle and bottom left panels show results from the functional analysis of head hitting, and the middle and bottom right panels show results from the functional analysis of finger biting.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Borrero C.S.W, Borrero J.C. Descriptive and experimental analyses of potential precursors to problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2008;41:83–96. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harding J.W, Wacker D.P, Berg W.K, Barretto A, Winborn L, Gardner A. Analysis of response-class hierarchies with attention-maintained problem behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2001;34:61–64. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Iwata B.A, Dorsey M.F, Slifer K.J, Bauman K.E, Richman G.S. Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1994;27:197–209. (Reprinted from Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities 2, 3–20, 1982) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lalli J.S, Mace F.C, Wohn T, Livezey K. Identification and modification of a response-class hierarchy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1995;28:551–559. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Najdowski A.C, Wallace M.D, Ellsworth C.L, MacAleese A.N, Cleveland J.M. Functional analyses and treatment of precursor behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2008;41:97–105. - PMC - PubMed