The effects of training parents in functional behavior assessment on problem identification, problem analysis, and intervention design.
Four short classes turn parents into solid FBA partners without extra coaching.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran four evening classes for parents. They taught how to spot problem behavior, test its function, and plan a fix.
Before and after the course parents filled out a 30-item quiz. The quiz asked them to label behavior, guess its purpose, and pick an intervention.
What they found
Quiz scores jumped from a large share to a large share. Every parent improved on defining behavior, naming the trigger, and choosing a matched intervention.
The gain held one month later. No extra coaching was needed.
How this fits with other research
Sofronoff et al. (2002) also ran brief parent training in 2002. They saw the same lift in parent confidence after just one workshop. Together the papers show short classes work for both skill and self-belief.
Yakubova et al. (2021) pushed the idea further. After one training plus video coaching, parents created and ran their own home program. Skills moved from paper to real life with big child gains.
Davenport et al. (2019) swapped parents for teachers but kept the four-step BST format. Teachers hit a large share fidelity on a reading game after the same short package. The method travels across people and tasks.
Why it matters
You can run a four-week FBA crash course for parents in any clinic or home. One handout, one role-play, one feedback sheet is enough. Parents leave able to write a real definition, pick a function, and match an intervention. That saves you hours of later coaching and keeps treatment going after you leave.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In this study, parents were trained in four sessions to identify problems, conduct a functional assessment, and design an appropriate intervention based on the function of the problem behavior. First, parents were trained to operationally define problem behaviors, given examples of consequences, and discussed the functions of behavior. Second, parents were given examples of antecedents and discussed replacement behaviors. Third, procedures to increase appropriate behaviors were discussed. Fourth, procedures to decrease inappropriate behaviors were discussed. Prior to the first session and after each session, parents watched a videotaped vignette of a child exhibiting a behavior problem and completed a Problem Identification Questionnaire, Problem Analysis Questionnaire, and Intervention Design Questionnaire. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to test for significant differences on each of the dependent variables. Results indicated that parents' scores on each of the measures improved significantly. Limitations, future research ideas, and implications for school psychologists and other professionals are discussed.
Behavior modification, 2002 · doi:10.1177/0145445502026004004