Using ABC narrative recording to identify the function of problem behavior: a pilot study.
ABC narrative recording can spark a hypothesis, but always verify with a brief functional analysis before treatment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four children with developmental delay took part.
Staff wrote ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) stories each time problem behavior happened.
Researchers then compared the guessed function from these stories to two stronger tests: a full functional analysis and the QABF checklist.
What they found
The ABC stories matched the functional analysis for only three out of four children.
They matched the QABF for two out of three.
The authors say the method is "weakly positive"—good enough to spark a guess, not good enough to trust alone.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (1999) studied 398 people and showed that QABF-based treatments beat standard care.
Our pilot agrees: QABF is more accurate than ABC stories, but still not perfect.
Fox et al. (2001) found QABF useful when a full functional analysis is too slow or the behavior is rare.
Gerow et al. (2020) went further and had parents run a brief FA at home with toddlers.
Their results were clear and useful, showing that even a short, parent-led FA beats descriptive notes.
Together, the picture is: jotting ABC tales is okay for a first guess, but move quickly to QABF or, better, a brief FA before you plan treatment.
Why it matters
You need the right function to pick the right intervention.
Use ABC narrative recording only as a quick screen—think of it as a sticky-note reminder, not a diagnosis.
Follow it with QABF or a brief parent-or-staff-run functional analysis.
That two-step habit saves time, keeps you ethical, and gives kids faster relief.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Many professionals report using ABC narrative recording to identify the function of problem behavior in children with developmental disabilities, but research has not established whether their analyses yield valid results. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether the function identified by expert reviewers using ABC narrative recordings would match the one identified by a functional analysis (FA) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) scale in four children with developmental disabilities. The functions identified by all twelve experts using the ABC narrative recordings matched at least one of the functions identified by the FA for three of four participants. The experts' analyses also agreed with the informant-based assessment at a statistically significant level for two of three participants with a conclusive QABF. Altogether, the results suggest that ABC narrative recording may be useful to generate hypotheses to identify the function of problem behavior, but that more research is needed before recommending its use as a standalone functional behavior assessment.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.05.038