Situation-response (S-R) questions for identifying the function of problem behaviour: the example of thumb sucking.
The purpose of this study was to construct and validate the prototype of a structured interview or questionnaire for use in the functional assessment of problem behaviour. A set of situation-response (S-R) questions was used to test hypotheses concerning discriminative stimuli SD, inhibitive stimuli (SI) and the function of a problem behaviour (R). The situations in S-R questions include stimuli which are expected (a) to set the occasion for, or (b) to inhibit the problem behaviour. The response part includes the problem behaviour as well as behaviour patterns with known functions. The problem behaviour is correlated with those behaviour patterns whose functions it shares. For the study of 26 children suffering from orthodontal problems due to excessive thumb sucking, a structured interview was developed and validated for identifying (a) stimuli (SD) that trigger excessive thumb sucking (problem behaviour), (b) stimuli (SI) that inhibit this response, and (c) the function of thumb sucking.
Lauterbach
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Institut für Psychologie der J. W. Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005386:Fingersucking / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012063:Relaxation / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012653:Self Stimulation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires