Prevalence of relapse of automatically maintained behavior resulting from context changes

Muething et al. (2022) dug through old clinic files. They wanted to know how often automatically maintained problem behavior comes back when the room, staff, or schedule changes.

The team counted cases where the behavior had stopped during treatment. They then noted if it returned after a switch in caregiver or setting.

Renewal showed up in about one of every four to three cases. The bounce-back often did not appear right away; it could pop up five sessions after the new caregiver took over.

The data say: keep watching, even when things look calm.

Marshall et al. (2025) pooled lots of studies and saw resurgence in roughly one-third of transitions. Their number lines up with the 26–36 % renewal rate here, so the two papers tell the same story: relapse is common.

Muething et al. (2024) later asked, “Does resurgence predict renewal?” They found no link. Seeing one type of relapse does not warn you the other is coming. The 2022 paper sets the base rate; the 2024 paper tells us the risks are separate.

BStagnone et al. (2025) tried adding extra communication responses. More responses kept the new skills alive a bit longer, but resurgence still happened. Together, the four studies say: expect relapse, measure both forms, and do not trust extra responses alone to block it.

Keep your data sheet open after staff changes. If you run five clean sessions, still probe on the sixth. Build a quick staff-handoff script: share the last three days of data, set a calendar alert to review at session five, and renew treatment components at the first uptick. This habit catches renewal early and saves you from starting over.