Within-session patterns of self-injury as indicators of behavioral function.
A simple minute-by-minute plot during one test session can give you the same functional answer as a long FA.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team watched four adults who hit or bit themselves during short test sessions. They counted how often the self-injury happened each minute. Then they compared the minute-by-minute pattern with the result of a long, full functional analysis.
The goal was to see if a quick, single-session plot could give the same answer as hours of testing.
What they found
For every participant, the within-session trend matched the final functional analysis. When attention was the pay-off, the behavior rose fast early and then fell. When escape was the pay-off, the curve looked different.
The one-session picture gave the same function label as the lengthy assessment.
How this fits with other research
Morris et al. (2023) later used the same minute-by-minute idea to study social approach, not self-injury. Their data also showed that a single-session trend is enough to judge function.
Gerow et al. (2020) moved brief assessment into toddlers’ homes. Parents ran a 2-4 hour test and still got clear functions, proving the short format works outside clinics and with kids.
Bell et al. (2018) added a twist: while one FA is running, you can visually scan extra topographies and predict their function 83 % of the time. Both papers keep the spirit of the 1993 study—save time by watching patterns inside one session.
Why it matters
You can start your next FA by graphing behavior each minute. If the curve shows a clear early peak or steady climb, you may already have your answer and can skip extra conditions. This cuts assessment time for adults or kids, in clinics or homes, without losing accuracy.
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Join Free →During your next FA condition, tally the behavior every minute and watch the slope—if it peaks early and drops, suspect attention; if it keeps climbing, suspect escape.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Functional analysis assessment procedures have proven to be highly useful in identifying variables maintaining aberrant behavior like self-injury. When successful, assessments can lead to more effective treatment than when behavioral function is unknown. Because of practical limitations, not all clinicians can conduct extensive and thorough analyses prior to treatment implementation. Although relatively brief assessments have proven successful in a number of published studies, it is unclear under what conditions those assessments would match the results of a more extended analysis. This study examined a method for assessing the behavioral function of severe self-injury in four adult participants. For each participant, the initial assessment involved analyzing within-session trends and fluctuations in rates of self-injury by plotting the frequency within each minute of a session. The results of these analyses were then compared to a set of more traditional, longer-term functional analyses conducted with each participant. Results suggested that within-session analyses are viable procedures for the assessment of self-injury. Potential benefits of within-session analyses over other brief assessments and longer-term analyses are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1993 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(93)90039-m