Functional analysis and treatment of adult problem behavior: A review

Colombo et al. (2024) hunted for every paper that used functional analysis and then treated severe problem behavior in adults.

They found only 28 studies published in the last 25 years. The team pulled out how each study ran the FA, where it happened, and what followed.

The pool is tiny. Most work is still done with kids, not grown-ups.

The adult studies that do exist show you can run brief FAs in homes, clinics, even day programs.

Melanson et al. (2023) counted 1,333 FA outcomes from 2012-2022. Those numbers include the same 28 adult studies Colombo lists, so the big picture is: adults are a drop in the FA bucket.

Lindsay et al. (2004) said the same thing twenty years ago—hardly anyone tests adults. Colombo shows the gap is still there, so the story has not moved.

Slaton et al. (2018) mapped how researchers combine, or “synthesize,” FA conditions. Colombo adds the adult angle: most adult studies still run standard single-function conditions, not the newer bundled ones.

If your client is over 21 and hits, bites, or self-injures, you have only 28 road-tested blueprints. Use them. Start with brief sessions, 5–10 min each, in the natural setting. Copy the adult-specific procedures Colombo lists—like using vocational tasks or roommate attention as conditions—then treat the function you find.