Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Child and Family Studies
Major Professor
Sarah E. Bloom, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Committee Member
Catia Cividini-Motta, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Committee Member
Gabriel Mazur, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Raymond Miltenberger, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Keywords
functional analysis, single-case design, PoGO, problem behavior
Abstract
Functional analysis (FA) is the gold standard methodology for identifying maintaining variable of a target behavior in the field of behavior analysis. Although behavior analysis generally accepts that it is the most accurate behavior assessment method, it is still underutilized in clinical settings (e.g., Oliver et al., 2015; Roscoe et al., 2015). To address this concern, previous researchers have investigated the barriers to implementation such as training (e.g., Hay-Hansson & Eldvik, 2013; Iwata et al., 2000; Wacker et al., 2013), risks involved (e.g., Call et al., 2013, 2017; John, 2019; Shabani et al., 2013), and length of assessment (Saini et al., 2020; Wallace & Iwata, 1999). Additionally, variations of the original procedures described by Iwata et al. (1982/1994) have been explored to address these concerns by changing response measurement (e.g., Thomason-Sassi et al., 2011) and type of control procedures (e.g., Bloom et al., 2011). To further our understanding of this phenomenon, the current study aims to combine our understanding of FA as a process and a procedure to assess the validity of an FA variation that assesses functional relations by evaluating repeated measurements of latency to first response. In Phase 1, we used the percent of goal obtained (PoGO; Ferron et al., 2020) effect size calculation method to evaluate the presence of trend in responding patterns in published latency FAs. In Phase 2, we evaluated the concurrent validity of the repeated-latency FA compared to a session-based FA. Overall, out of the seven participants, we achieved full correspondence for five participants and partial correspondence for two participants. While the correspondence is not perfect, we see this as a viable tool for assessing functional relationships in a clinical setting.
Scholar Commons Citation
Han, Justin B., "Using Repeated-Latency Measures to Assess Functional Relationship" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10047
