Association for Behavior Analysis International

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which has been reported to affect 6-9% of children (Wilens et al., 2011) and is one of the most common cognitive and behavioural disorders seen in school aged children (Larson, Russ, Kahn, & Halfon, 2011). Many interventions have been identified to attempt to decrease challenges within children diagnosed with ADHD. Sensory based interventions (SBI) such as brushing, and linear swinging, are presumed to promote self-regulation (Case-Smith, Weaver, & Fristad, 2015). SBI is commonly implemented, however research is limited. The aim of this study was to determine if SBI and/or a combination of SBI and differential reinforcement of alternative behaviours (DRA) and reinforcement of on-task behaviours would decrease challenging behaviours. A quasi-experimental ABAC research design was used to investigate if SBI or a combination of SBI and DRA plus reinforcement of on task behaviours were effective at reducing behaviours in four children diagnosed with ADHD. Results indicated a decrease in escape related behaviours in three of the participants during the SBI phase and a further decrease in behaviours during the combined approaches of all four participants. This study adds to literature supporting the field of applied behaviour analysis and inter-professional collaboration, and provides conservative support the use of SBI in isolation.

Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is described as a diagnostic category for individuals with feeding difficulties that cannot sustain adequate nutritional status and does not manifest from a distorted body image (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th Edition, 2013). Individuals with this presentation may require intensive medical and behavioral therapy to increase oral consumption and address comorbidities that have developed from events preceding this diagnosis (e.g., illness, choking). There is a burgeoning amount of empirical data that focuses on this population and describes treatment approaches and their respective outcomes. We completed a chart review of all inpatient admissions from an interdisciplinary pediatric feedings disorders program from 2015-2019 and identified 16 patients that met inclusion criteria. The results of the review showed that 88% of patients experienced an acute event that preceded feeding difficulties, all patients met at least 80% of their admission treatment goals, and 92% of patients that completed their admission consumed 100% of their nutritional needs orally.

The Function of Behavior MEDICAL Screening Tool (FOB-MED) was developed to streamline an indirect functional behavior assessment administered by non-behavior analysts in a medical setting. A direct functional analysis can take approximately 2 hours for behavior analysts to conduct (Roane, Ringdahl, & Falcomata, 2015). In contrast, the FOB-MED consists of eight basic questions that produce hypotheses regarding function of problem behavior (i.e., escape, automatic, tangible, attention) in approximately 15 minutes. For 100 children enrolled in the current study, a FOB-MED was administered to a parent by a psychiatric social worker at the same time a functional analysis of problem behavior was conducted with the parent’s child by a behavior analyst such that the predictive validity of the FOB-MED to the functional analysis could be evaluated. The results for these 100 children were compared and analyzed using Signal Detection Theory (SDT) (Peterson, Birdsall & Fox, 1954). Preliminary results showed that the escape function was most accurately identified by the FOB-MED and the automatic function was most often identified as a “false alarm.” A discussion of validity for indirect methods to identify hypothesized function of challenging behavior with medical professionals is included in the poster presentation.

In recent years, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has grown to encompass more than the treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Substance addiction has been the focus for researchers and practitioners in ABA given the opioid crisis in the last several years (Karim & Chaudhri, 2012). The field has made strides in research and practice to address behaviors exhibited by individuals struggling with addiction though lacks consensus of universal operational definitions of these behaviors. There has also been disagreement on inclusion criteria for addictions within the DSM-V which contributes to funding issues for treatment (Kardefelt-Winther, Heeren, Schimmenti, van Rooij, Maurage, Carras & Billieux, 2017). This poster seeks to operationally define the target behaviors of addiction, inclusion criteria of DSM-V, and how present ABA can extend research on effective treatment methodologies outside of contingency management.

COVID-19 worsened mental healthcare in Mexico; approximately, 2 out of 10 people received healthcare. In response to this health emergency, the authors investigated whether acute stress could be reduced by training people in functional behavioral assessment (FBA). A sample of 120 wirh acute stress were trained in FBA with a telecourse. In this course, participants learned skills to help them cope with possible contingencies that increase stress. A repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted; it was found that people who were trained in FBA showed lower levels of stress than controls. This finding suggests that a timely detection of contingencies provides tools that improve mental health.

Adults from diverse communities who were placed in residential behavioral modification programs during their adolescence (n=248) were interviewed about their experiences and the impact of those inventions on their functioning. Information was also obtained on the use of restraint, stress positioning (such as requiring the student to stand “at attention” facing a wall), seclusion, and painful stimuli (such as forced exercising, electric shock, and corporal punishment). The use of stress positioning was a widely reported technique experienced by respondents regardless of type of placement, funder of their services, or ownership of the facility with 89.8% of respondents (n=219) reporting use of this technique on themselves or others. The type of stress positioning, the length and conditions of seclusion, and the use of pain varied by facility type, program ownership, reason for placement in the facility, and treatment funder. Respondents who had been placed in for-profit facilities and were funded through a private pay arrangement were most likely to report use of stress positioning, use of painful stimuli to effect change, physical injury due to the treatment, and long-term medical problems or complications related to the intervention. In addition to survey findings, ethical consideration and policy implications are also discussed.

Probability discounting conceptualizes how outcomes lose value as they become less likely to occur. This study used probability discounting as a translational paradigm to understand how people make decisions about seeking out health resources. We used probability discounting to measure decision making in college students related to monetary outcomes, texting while driving, obtaining a flu shot, and visiting a primary care physician when feeling ill. For each respective discounting scenario, we manipulated the likelihood of receiving a sum of money, the likelihood of a car crash, the likelihood of a flu shot being effective, and hypothetical health symptoms (e.g., sore throat, cough). varied systematically in each scenario in order to find what level of danger or effectiveness would make participants be more willing to make positive health decisions. Discounting health symptoms was correlated with discounting of obtaining a flu shot. We will discuss the fits of various discounting models to the datas.

Traumatic brain injury, resulting from concussion, is a growing concern in youth, collegiate, and professional sports. The CDC estimates that between 1.6 and 3.8 million recognized concussions are reported in the United States each year (Kroshus et al., 2015). Unfortunately, concussion-related incidents are significantly underreported by athletes. This is concerning since most concussion symptoms are experienced only as private events of the athlete (Corman et al., 2019). Untimely identification of concussion symptoms increases the potential for serious long term brain injury. A literature review of concussion reporting reveals a large body of research on the issue of underreporting; however, theories are largely rooted within social psychology and education (knowledge, attitude, beliefs, expectations, etc.). Although behavior analytic work has been published on concussion prevention (Quintero et al., 2020; Tai & Miltenberger, 2017), no behavior analytic research has been found with concussion reporting as a target. In the current work, the authors present a brief literature review of concussion reporting. The social-educational theories are then translated into underlying behavior analytic principles (i.e., reinforcement of reporting, punishment of nonreporting, motivation for/against reporting, etc.). The authors conclude with practical strategies for how concussion reporting in athletes can be increased through behavior analytic intervention.

The music schools in Mexico are characterized by training high-level musicians. However, nowadays a high rate of injuries is registered during the training and professional exercise of music. Specialized literature attributes this phenomenon to a lack of preventive behaviors within the school context of the musician. The objective of the present investigation was to modify harmful study practices in guitarists. Six undergraduate guitarists from two educational institutions participated. Participants were selected from a population of 18 students by assessing their study habits. An AB design was used. In the baseline, the behaviors considered as risk factors were recorded during their practice sessions, in the intervention stage preventive behaviors (warm-up, breaks, stretches, explicit goal tracking, etc.) were instigate through social contingencies. The results show a reduction in the symptoms reported by the participants, as well as an increase in preventive behaviors.