title: Some relationships between informant assessment and functional analysis of problem behavior.
abstract: The strengths and limitations of informant assessment of problem behavior was investigated through examination of such behavior across seven situations and 3 participants. The results of informant assessment were compared to those obtained from functional analysis to determine some of the parameters under which informant assessment might provide a practical alternative to functional analysis. The results showed that informant hypotheses about the function of problem behavior were validated by subsequent functional analyses only when informants identified their hypotheses as involving situations likely to evoke problem behavior. Hypotheses involving situations that informants rated as less likely to evoke problem behavior were not validated by subsequent functional analyses. The implications of these findings for improving the validity of informant assessment are discussed.
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Yarbrough
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Carr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015588:Observer Variation; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013577:Syndrome