Chapter 22 – Functional Assessment of Causes of Problem Behavior

Susie, a 5-year-old child with developmental disabilities, was referred for treatment of her high frequency of self-injurious behavior —banging her head and slapping her face. Functional assessment refers to three approaches used to identify the causes—that is, the antecedents and consequences—of specific problem behaviors. There are three types of functional assessment: functional analysis; interview and/or questionnaire assessment; and observational assessment. In 1982, Brian Iwata and his colleagues published a paper that became so influential that it was reprinted in 1994 and is still widely cited. In behavior analysis, the term functional analysis of behavior has both a narrow meaning and a broad meaning. Functional analysis in its narrow meaning refers to discovering the antecedents and consequences that control a given operant behavior of an individual. However, like interviews and questionnaires, observational assessment is not as accurate as functional analysis for identifying the causes of problem behavior.