Person characteristics of individuals in functional assessment research.
Functional assessment research still focuses on small groups of young boys with ID or autism, leaving big gaps for everyone else.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors read every functional assessment paper they could find. They pulled 173 studies to see who gets studied and how.
They counted age, sex, and diagnosis. They also noted if each study used rating scales or real experimental tests.
What they found
Most research is done on young boys with autism or intellectual disability. Each study usually looks at just a few kids.
Scientists prefer experimental functional analysis over quick checklists. Small samples and one method rule the field.
How this fits with other research
Weber et al. (2024) later showed the same small-N habit still happens in clinics today. Their big case series proves the 2011 picture has not changed much.
Jones et al. (1992) and Cullinan et al. (2001) are early examples in the pile. They used tiny samples and experimental methods, exactly what L et al. say we keep copying.
Matson et al. (2011) companion paper adds that the most tested behaviors are SIB and aggression, with attention and escape as the top functions. The demographics and the behavior map come from the same 173 studies, so the narrow sample also drives our function list.
Why it matters
Your next client might be an adult woman with anxiety, but the evidence you read was built on young boys with ID. Expect gaps when you open the literature. Run your FA anyway, and know that large-scale, diverse samples are rare. Push for broader research if you can.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This paper is a review of person characteristics that were present in 173 studies that were reviewed on functional assessment. The purpose was to give the reader an idea about the types of individuals for which functional assessment is appropriate and to outline persons and their characteristics which have the best research support. The majority of participants were diagnosed with intellectual disability and/or autism. Additionally more males that females were included and children were frequently studied versus adolescents and older adults. Finally, while the majority of studies employed experimental functional analysis, the number of participants per study was small. Conversely, functional analysis scales were used in far fewer studies, but with much larger sample sizes. Thus, relatively equal numbers of individuals have been studied with both methods.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2011 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.12.012