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. 2015 Feb;30(1):1-35.
doi: 10.1002/bin.1400.

REDUCING AMBIGUITY IN THE FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Griffin W Rooker  1 , Iser G DeLeon  2 , Carrie S W Borrero  1 , Michelle A Frank-Crawford  3 , Eileen M Roscoe  4
Affiliations

REDUCING AMBIGUITY IN THE FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Griffin W Rooker et al. Behav Interv. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Severe problem behavior (e.g., self-injury and aggression) remains among the most serious challenges for the habilitation of persons with intellectual disabilities and is a significant obstacle to community integration. The current standard of behavior analytic treatment for problem behavior in this population consists of a functional assessment and treatment model. Within that model, the first step is to assess the behavior-environment relations that give rise to and maintain problem behavior, a functional behavioral assessment. Conventional methods of assessing behavioral function include indirect, descriptive, and experimental assessments of problem behavior. Clinical investigators have produced a rich literature demonstrating the relative effectiveness for each method, but in clinical practice, each can produce ambiguous or difficult-to-interpret outcomes that may impede treatment development. This paper outlines potential sources of variability in assessment outcomes and then reviews the evidence on strategies for avoiding ambiguous outcomes and/or clarifying initially ambiguous results. The end result for each assessment method is a set of best practice guidelines, given the available evidence, for conducting the initial assessment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of ambiguous functional analysis (FA) outcomes and strategies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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