Effects of Functional Assessment of Behavioral Problems: Participation of Specialists in Studies Reporting Large Effects: A Review

Abstract

The purposes of the present study were to analyze relations between the participation of specialists and people in the supporting environment in studies of the functional assessment of behavioral problems that reported large effects, and to discuss future directions for this research area. Research articles (N=36) published in Japan from 2000 to 2013 were reviewed and the profile of the participants and concerned people analyzed from the time of assessment to the design of an intervention plan, based on the criteria for functional assessment and the method of calculation of effect size of Ogasahara, Asakura, and Suenaga (2004, in Japanese). When the studies were categorized by effect size, using the criteria of Ogasahara et al. (2004), it was found that 23 studies reported a large effect, whereas 13 studies reported a small effect. Features of studies reporting a large effect included having a practitioner trained in behavioral assessment (e.g., the researcher) and having the involvement of people from the supporting environment in all steps from assessment to decisions on the target behaviors. The results indicated that practitioners collaborated on all steps of the functional assessment or the assessment and selection of target behaviors with people from the supporting environment in many of the studies reporting a large effect. The discussion suggests that future researchers focus on consultation methods in the steps of selection of the target behaviors and concrete methods of collaborating with people from the supporting environment and evaluation of the frequency of performance by people from the supporting environment.