Transition States in Single-Case Experimental Designs: A Retrospective Consecutive-Controlled Case Series Investigation.
Expect a brief five-session lag in about 1 of every 30 intensive cases before behavior finally drops.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Laureano et al. (2023) looked back at inpatient charts. They wanted to know how often problem behavior stays high right after treatment starts.
They checked every case that used a single-case design. They counted how many sessions passed before behavior finally dropped.
What they found
About 3 out of every 100 cases showed this lag. The lag lasted about 5 sessions before improvement showed up.
In other words, most kids improve right away, but a few need a short wait.
How this fits with other research
Vassos et al. (2023) saw the same pattern in journal graphs. They found the lag in 7 out of every 100 graphs, also lasting about 5 data points. The two studies match, even though one used hospital files and the other used published pictures.
Killeen (1978) gave rules for deciding when behavior is stable. Brianna’s team used similar rules to spot when the lag ends and true change begins.
Koskentausta et al. (2007) watched kids after medication cuts. They also saw a short spike in problem behavior for about a week. Both studies warn: expect a brief rough patch after any change.
Why it matters
If you run a single-case design and see no change in the first few days, do not quit. Wait at least five sessions before you tweak the plan. This small pause can keep you from abandoning a good intervention too soon.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Behavioral interventions to decrease problem behavior often involve the use of single-case experimental designs in which an individual's responding during a treatment condition is compared to responding during a control or baseline condition. It is possible that during the initial introduction of treatment, problem behavior continues to occur at baseline rates before behavior reduction is observed; this phenomenon is called a transition state. Evaluated the prevalence of transition states in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and found that they occurred within 5.3% of the published literature. The current study replicated and extended Brogan et al. by evaluating the prevalence of transition states in unpublished clinical data of patients admitted to an inpatient hospital for the treatment of severe problem behavior. Using a retrospective consecutive-controlled case series, transition states were observed in 3% of cases for an average duration of 4.8 sessions. We discuss factors that may affect transitional behavior between phases and relevant implications for practice and research.
Behavior modification, 2023 · doi:10.1177/01454455221099648