A retrospective analysis of the relation between resurgence and renewal of behavior targeted for reduction
Resurgence and renewal are separate risks—watch for both after FCT.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked back at 34 kids who got FCT for hitting, screaming, or self-harm.
They checked if a big return of the old behavior right after treatment predicted a later return when the setting changed.
All kids had developmental delay and were treated in clinics or schools.
What they found
Resurgence and renewal did not travel together.
Some kids showed one, some the other, some both, some neither.
Knowing the first relapse gave no clue about the second.
How this fits with other research
Reid et al. (2005) watched the same group for 12 years and saw that early severe behavior plus poor language keeps problems alive.
Muething’s short-term relapse data line up: if behavior is deep-rooted, it can pop back in either form.
Matson et al. (2008) cut repetitive motor behavior with a social package and the gains held one month.
Their success shows that when you build strong replacement skills, you may dodge both resurgence and renewal later.
Why it matters
You can’t use one relapse to forecast the other.
Keep measuring behavior after FCT ends and again in new places.
Add strong replacement skills and plan for both comeback types, not just the one you saw first.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →After FCT mastery, probe the old behavior in the old room and then take the kid to a new room—track data both times.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based treatment for behavior targeted for reduction that often combines extinction for target responses and arranges functionally equivalent reinforcement for alternative behavior. Long-term effectiveness of FCT can become compromised when transitioning from clinic to nonclinic contexts or thinning reinforcement schedules for appropriate behavior. Such increases in targeted behavior have been conceptualized as renewal and resurgence, respectively. The relation between resurgence and renewal has yet to be reported. Therefore, the present report retrospectively analyzed the relation between renewal and resurgence in data collected when implementing FCT with children diagnosed with developmental disabilities. We found no relation when evaluating all 34 individuals assessed for resurgence and renewal or a subset of individuals exhibiting both resurgence and renewal. These findings suggest that one form of relapse may not be predictive of another form of relapse.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2024 · doi:10.1002/jaba.1069