Document Type

Dissertation

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Degree

PhD in Behavior Analysis

Dissertation Defense Date

2019

First Committee Member

Hanley, Gregory P.

Second Committee Member

Thompson, Rachel H.

Third Committee Member

Roscoe, Eileen M.

Additional Committee Member(s)

Bourret, Jason C.

Abstract

"The practical functional assessment (PFA), which includes an interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) designed from an open-ended interview with caregivers, is an efficient assessment process leading to effective skill-based treatments for individuals who exhibit severe problem behavior (PB). The reliability of the interview and analysis design process has not, however, been evaluated. By conducting two independent PFA processes across four children who engaged in PB, we sought to (a) evaluate the reliability of the PFA process, and (b) assess the generality of the treatment developed from one of the PFA processes on PB and targeted social skills in the context designed from the other PFA process. Results indicated that reliability of the PFA process was dependent on the level of stringency with which it was evaluated, as there was high agreement at a categorical level, but lower and variable agreement at a level of greater specificity. Furthermore, treatments developed from PFA processes produced efficacious outcomes on PB and targeted social skills that transferred to the context designed from the other PFA process in all four applications, suggesting that the PFA process has strong treatment utility despite parts of the process having ambiguous levels of reliability."

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