Evidence for reciprocal interaction effects among adults with self-injury and their caregivers.
Patterns of caregiver responses to client adaptive behavior were compared between adults with intellectual disabilities with and without self-injurious behavior. Participants with moderate to profound intellectual disability and self-injury (n=89) and age/IQ matched control participants (n=20) were selected from a large sample of adults living in a regional residential center. Approximately 45 minutes of direct observation data were collected for each participant during unstructured leisure time. Data were sequentially analyzed and Yule's Q scores derived and compared among groups. Results indicated that caregivers were more responsive to prosocial initiations and adaptive engagement among individuals with severe self-injurious behavior than to those with mild or no self-injurious behavior and that these responses were more likely to be in the form of a demand.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. jason.wolff@cidd.unc.edu
Jason J
JJ
Wolff
Jamie
J
Clary
Jamie
J
Clay
Vickie N
VN
Harper
James W
JW
Bodfish
Frank J
FJ
Symons
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012931:Social Environment; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult