A Systematic Review of Caregiver-Implemented Functional Analyses
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DISCUSSION AND REVIEW PAPER
A Systematic Review of Caregiver-Implemented Functional Analyses Sara Germansky 1 & Brian Reichow 1 & Mackenzie Martin 1 & Patricia Snyder 1
# Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020
Abstract The purpose of this systematic review was to systematically locate and analyze the research on caregiver-implemented functional analyses and subsequent function-based interventions. We included 36 studies and examined multiple features of the studies, including participant demographics, functional analysis characteristics, intervention characteristics, procedural fidelity, risks of bias, and social validity. Overall, the studies showed that caregivers were able to implement functional analyses that yielded differential responding, although few studies reported procedural fidelity data. Caregivers were also able to implement functionbased interventions that led to socially significant changes in challenging behavior. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. Keywords Functional analysis . Functional behavior assessment . Caregivers . Parents . Challenging behavior
Parenting can be a challenge under the most optimal conditions and can be even more difficult for caregivers of c h i l d r e n w h o e n g a g e i n c h a l l e n g i n g b e h a v i o r. Interventions for persistent challenging behavior have changed dramatically in the last 40 years. Before the 1970s, researchers and practitioners attempted to reduce or eliminate challenging behaviors by teaching replacement behaviors, often without conducting analyses of the contingencies maintaining challenging behavior (Dunlap & Fox, 2011). Interventionists focused more on the topography (i.e., physical description) of challenging behavior than on its function, which was often communication. The concept of challenging behavior being communicative and serving specific functions gained popularity in the late 1970s (e.g., Carr, 1977; Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1982/1994). Contemporary behavior-change interventions focus on studying both the form and the function of challenging behavior, with an emphasis on the function, so interventionists can alter the underlying contingencies maintaining the behavior. More recent studies have compared the effectiveness of function-based interventions to non-function* Sara Germansky [email protected] 1
Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, 1-320 Norman Hall, PO Box 117050, Gainesville, FL 32611-7050, USA
based interventions (e.g., Ingram, Lewis-Palmer, & Sugai, 2005; Meyer, 1999; Schill, Kratochwill, & Elliot, 1998; Taylor & Miller, 1997). Findings from these studies showed overwhelming support for the use of function-based interventions to reduce or eliminate challenging behavior. When the function of a behavior is understood, interventionists can target the specific contingencies maintaining the behavior and teach socially appropriate replacement behaviors that serve the same function. To do this, researchers must und
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