Abstract
Functional assessments are a process by which environmental variables that occasion and maintain challenging behaviors are identified, following which a function-based treatment is often designed and implemented. One type of assessment included in the functional assessment process is indirect assessment. Specifically, one form of indirect assessments is interviews. In this chapter, we discuss various means for conducting interviews during the functional assessment process, how to incorporate interview results into a final report, and implications for practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Experimental, in this sense, means the manipulation of consequences (i.e., independent variables) not that the analysis and assessment itself is untested or exploratory.
References
Andzik, N. R., &Kranak, M. P. (2020). The softer side of supervision: Recommendations when teaching and evaluating behavior-analytic professionalism. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bar0000194.
Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2013). How to think like a behavior analyst: Understanding the science that can change your life. Taylor & Francis.
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2014). Professional and ethical compliance code for behavior analysts. Littleton, CO: Author.
Borgmeier, C., & Horner, R. H. (2006). An evaluation of the predictive validity of confidence ratings in identifying functional behavior assessment hypothesis statements. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8(2), 100–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/10983007060080020101
Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S. P., & Wilczynski, S. M. (2018). A call for discussion about scope of competence in behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11(4), 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-018-00303-8
Chan, J. C. (1991). Response-order effects in Likert-type scales. Education and Psychological Measurement, 51, 531–540.
Crocker, A. G., Mercier, C., Lachapelle, Y., Brunet, A., Morin, D., & Roy, M. E. (2006). Prevalence and types of aggressive behaviour among adults with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50, 652–661.
Durand, V. M., & Crimmins, D. B. (1988). Identifying the variables maintaining self-injurious behavior. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18(1), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02211821
Didden, R., Korzilius, K., van Oorsouw, W., & Sturmey, P. (2006). Behavioral treatment of challenging behaviors in individuals with mild mental retardation: Meta-analysis of single-subject research. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 111(4). https://doi.org/10.1352/0895-8017(2006)111[290:BTOCBI]2.0CO;2
Falligant, J. M., Kranak, M. P., McNulty, M. K., Schmidt, J. D., Hausman, N. L., &Rooker, G. W. (2020). Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior: Replication and extension to an inpatient setting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Advance online publication.https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.740.
Floyd, R. G., Phaneuf, R. L., & Wilczynksi, S. M. (2005). Measurement properties of indirect assessment methods for functional behavioral assessment: A review of research. School Psychology Review, 34, 58–73.
Gerber, S. (2013). A developmental perspective on language assessment and intervention for children on the autistic spectrum. Topics in Language Disorders, 23(2), 74–94. https://doi.org/10.1097/00011363-200304000-00003
Hanley, G. P. (2012). Functional assessment of problem behavior: Dispelling myths, overcoming implementation obstacles, and developing new lore. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 5(1), 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391818
Hanley, G. P., Jin, C. S., Vanselow, N. R., & Hanratty, L. A. (2014). Producing meaningful improvements in problem behavior of children with autism via synthesized analyse and treatments. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 47(1), 16–36. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.106
Iwata, B. A., DeLeon, I. G., & Roscoe, E. M. (2013). Reliability and validity of the functional analysis screening tool. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46(1), 271–284. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.31
Jäckle, A., Lynn, P., Sinibaldi, J., &Tipping, S. (2011). The effect of interviewer personality, skills and attitudes on respondent co-operation with face-to-face surveys (No. 2011–14). ISER Working PaperSeries.
Janney, R., & Snell, M. E. (2000). Behavioral support. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
King, G., Strachan, D., Tucker, M., Duwyn, B., Desserud, S., & Shillington, M. (2009). The application of transdisciplinary model for early intervention services. Infants & Young Children, 22(3), 211–223.
LaFrance, D. L., Weiss, M. J., Kazemi, E., Gerenser, J., & Dobres, J. (2019). Multidisciplinary teaming: Enhancing collaboration through increased understanding. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(3), 709–726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-019-00331-y
LeBlanc, L. A., & Luiselli, J. K. (2016). Refining supervisory practices in the field of behavior analysis: Introduction to the special section on supervisor. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9(4), 271–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0156-6
Matson, J. L., & Vollmer, T. R. (1995). Questions about behavioral function (QABF). Baton Rouge, LA: Disability Consultants.
Muething, C., Call, N., Pavlov, A., Ringdahl, J., Gillespie, S., Clark, S., & Mevers, J. L. (2020). Prevalence of renewal of problem behavior during context changes. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(3), 1485–1493. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.672
Neef, N. A., & Peterson, S. M. (2007). Functional behavior assessment. In J. O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, & W. E. Heward (Eds.), Applied behavior analysis (pp. 500–524). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill-Prentice Hall.
O’Neill, R. H., Albin, R. W., Sprague, J. R., Storey, K., & Newton, J. S. (1997). Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Podlesnik, C. A., Kelley, M. E., Jimenez-Gomez, C., & Bouton, M. E. (2017). Renewed behavior produced by context change and its implications for treatment maintenance: A review. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 50, 675–697.
Roscoe, E. M., Rooker, G. W., Pence, S. T., & Longworth, L. J. (2009). Assessing the utility of a demand assessment for functional analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(4), 819–825. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2009.42-819
Roscoe, E. M., Schlichenmeyer, K. J., & Dube, W. V. (2015). Functional analysis of problem behavior: A systematic approach for identifying idiosyncratic variables. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48(2), 289–314. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.201
Rooker, G. W., DeLeon, I. G., Borrero, C. S. W., Frank-Crawford, M. A., & Roscoe, E. M. (2015). Reducing ambiguity in the functional assessment of problem behavior. Behavioral Interventions, 30(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1400
Soke, G. N., Rosenberg, S. A., Hamman, R. F., Fingerlin, T., Robinson, C., Carpenter, L., … DiGiuseppi, C. (2016). Brief report: Prevalence of self-injurious behaviors among children with autism spectrum disorder–a population-based study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(11), 3607–3614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2879-1
Verriden, A. L., & Roscoe, E. M. (2018). An evaluation of a punisher assessment for decreasing automatically reinforced problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52(1), 205–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.509
Vladescu, J. C., Schnell, L. K., & Day-Watkins, J. (2020). Infant positioning: A brief review. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(3), 1237–1241.
Author Note
The authors wish to thank Elissa Spinks for her assistance in compiling resources and references.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kranak, M.P., Gregory, M.K., Rooker, G.W. (2021). Interviews and Report Writing in the Context of Functional Assessment. In: Matson, J.L. (eds) Functional Assessment for Challenging Behaviors and Mental Health Disorders. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66270-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66270-7_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-66269-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-66270-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)