Journal of applied behavior analysis最新文献

Several studies have examined the prevalence of behavioral relapse among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities following common treatment challenges (context changes, schedule thinning). Most applied studies compare behavior during the treatment challenges with the maximum level of behavior from five preceding treatment sessions. This max-of-5 criterion could inadvertently capture behavior in transition during the preceding treatment phase, thereby underestimating the prevalence of relapse. In the current study, we reanalyzed existing clinical data with the max-of-5 criterion and an alternative criterion less likely to capture target behavior in transition-the mean of the last two sessions (mean-of-2 criterion) of the treatment phase. As hypothesized, the max-of-5 criterion produced lower prevalence estimates relative to the mean-of-2 criterion. We encourage researchers conducting these analyses to weigh different approaches to reporting prevalence data and discuss considerations for future areas of research and practice related to measurement of relapse.

Resurgence is the recurrence of target behavior (e.g., challenging behavior) during a worsening of reinforcement conditions (e.g., increases in response effort, decreases in alternative reinforcement). Previous studies have examined the prevalence and magnitude of resurgence during functional communication training implemented with discriminative stimuli. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to analyze the magnitude and prevalence of resurgence during delay-and-denial tolerance teaching. Similar to previous studies with discriminative stimuli, resurgence occurred for most participants and in about one third of transitions. When resurgence was present, challenging behavior increased to approximately 26% of baseline levels. Resurgence was less likely to occur during response-effort manipulations (i.e., complexity teaching, tolerance-response teaching) and was most likely to occur during increases in delays that ended following the passage of time rather than a response criterion. We discuss implications for treatment refinements and future treatment-relapse research.

Previous research has shown that low procedural fidelity can lead to decreased effectiveness and efficiency of skill acquisition during discrete-trial instruction. Previous research has also found that procedural fidelity may be substantially lower when a supervisor is not present to observe the session. Finding a socially acceptable, effective, and efficient method to increase and maintain high levels of staff members' procedural fidelity during covert observations is critical in the clinic setting. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of video self-monitoring in increasing and maintaining high procedural fidelity among staff who implement discrete-trial instruction during covert and overt observations. Participants included four staff members working one-on-one with children with autism spectrum disorder. The results show that video self-monitoring was effective at increasing staff members' procedural fidelity and maintaining high fidelity over time.

Many individuals with Down syndrome are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a medical condition that substantially affects health and quality of life. The most common treatment for OSA is positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Few studies have examined interventions to improve PAP therapy adherence for adults with developmental disabilities or have recruited the assistance of caregivers to improve adherence with this therapy in the home. This study evaluated the efficacy of a caregiver-implemented behavioral intervention to increase PAP use for four adults with Down syndrome and OSA. The experimenters trained caregivers via telehealth to implement the intervention in their homes. The intervention consisted of graduated exposure, noncontingent reinforcement, and differential positive and negative reinforcement without escape extinction. The intervention increased the duration of PAP use for all four participants. These results provide preliminary support for the efficacy of this intervention and service-delivery model.

Understanding of the correspondence between intervention preference and efficacy is limited. We systematically reviewed 112 articles (457 cases) evaluating efficacy of and preference for behavioral interventions. We analyzed the percentage of cases for whom interventions were preferred and efficacious across broad (e.g., behavior reduction, performance, skill acquisition) and specific (e.g., noncontingent reinforcement, video modeling) intervention types. Authors reported one preferred intervention for most cases. Regarding efficacy, authors reported about half of cases as having one efficacious intervention and the other half having multiple equally efficacious interventions. The same intervention was preferred and efficacious for 74% of cases for whom authors reported one preferred and one efficacious intervention. Several specific interventions were generally preferred and efficacious across cases (e.g., digital stimuli, computer-based instruction, accumulated reinforcement, contingent reinforcement). We discuss clinical recommendations, the importance of assessing preference, and the need for research in developing protocols for assessing intervention preference.

Contingency management is a well-validated behavior change intervention; however, the financial incentives can prevent it from being widely adopted. Most Americans have a smartphone with applications (apps) that they find enjoyable and engage with for a considerable amount of time. A potential avenue for contingency management dissemination is a mobile smartphone application that leverages the existing reward value of smartphone apps as a tool for behavior change. The present study examined the acceptability of the Re-Connect concept, which proposes to block nonessential but highly preferred apps and unlock them contingent on meeting the user's health goals. Out of the sample surveyed (N = 146), 63.02% reported that they would be likely to use Re-Connect and 67.81% would recommend it to someone. Acceptability of Re-Connect increased with greater user control. These results suggest that access to preferred smartphone apps could be a socially acceptable incentive in a contingency management intervention.

Contingency management (CM) is notably successful as a substance use disorder treatment and is most effective when targeting monosubstance use. Evidence suggests the effects of CM exceed predictions based on the value of the incentives delivered for monosubstance abstinence. In this systematic review, we examine common variations of CM interventions applied to a single substance to determine what factors may contribute to the larger effect. Our results show that CM produced moderate to large effect sizes when single drugs were targeted, with stable effects over time. We also found that interventions targeting cocaine abstinence overwhelmingly outperformed their predicted effect, whereas interventions for smoking cessation did not. Thus, incentives alone may not account for the success of CM, at least when applied to stimulant use disorder. We propose other potential sources of the effect including social reinforcement and the specific parameters of the reinforcement schedule.

Choice involves engaging in a selection response when multiple options are concurrently available. Choices can be incorporated into many components of behavior-analytic treatment such as providing clients with a choice between multiple items, activities, or tasks. We reviewed the main characteristics of 38 behavior-analytic articles that compared choice and no-choice conditions. We coded the experimental arrangements of choice and no-choice conditions and analyzed potential factors affecting preferences for choice and no choice. The findings suggest that the sizing of alternatives from which to choose, the timing of choice opportunities, and the timing of the delivery of the chosen option varied across the studies. Furthermore, preferences for choice shifted with differential reinforcement history and response effort manipulations of choice or no choice. The findings suggest that individual variables should be considered when providing choices, but more research is needed.

Functional analyses are used to assess maintaining variables of behavior. Despite the large amount of research on functional analyses with humans, there are limited examples with nonhumans and even fewer studies incorporating modifications to standard methods of assessment with nonhumans. One modification that has yet to be evaluated with nonhuman animals is the trial-based functional analysis in which control and test conditions are embedded in naturalistic environments. This study compared a standard functional analysis with a trial-based functional analysis across different topographies of problem behavior with dogs. The results of the functional analyses corresponded for every dog. Individualized treatments were designed to reduce problem behavior. Implications of the trial-based functional analysis include feasibility for privately owned dogs and dogs under the care of shelters. The trial-based functional analysis offers a modification to established functional analyses that may allow increased access to the assessment of problem behavior.

We replicated and extended Kanaman et al. (2022) by comparing outcomes of solitary (leisure items only), social (leisure items with social interaction), and combined (leisure items alone and leisure items with social interaction) stimulus preference assessments to determine the extent to which the inclusion of social interaction influenced the outcomes of preference assessments for five children with autism. We then conducted reinforcer assessments to determine the reinforcing efficacy of high- and low-preferred leisure items when presented with and without social interaction. The results showed that both high- and low-preferred items functioned as reinforcers to varying degrees for all participants and the inclusion of social interaction increased the reinforcing efficacy of some items for all participants. Additionally, the results showed that combined preference assessments predicted reinforcer assessment outcomes for two of five participants but produced false-negative outcomes for three participants. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.