Functional analysis of problem behavior: A 40-year review.

This study reviewed 40 years of research on functional analysis - a method used to understand why challenging behaviors happen. Researchers looked at over 1,300 cases from recent studies. They found that this assessment method is increasingly being used with autistic children in community settings rather than just hospitals or institutions. The research shows that modern approaches use shorter sessions and often find that behaviors serve multiple purposes, which helps create better behavior support plans.

This comprehensive review examined 40 years of functional analysis research, analyzing 1,333 functional analysis outcomes from 326 studies published between 2012-2022. Functional analysis is a behavioral assessment method used to identify the environmental factors that maintain problem behaviors. The review found both continuities and changes in research practices over time. Consistent patterns included focus on children with developmental disabilities and use of differentiated outcome measures.

Notable changes included increased representation of autistic participants, more outpatient settings, greater use of supplementary assessments, inclusion of tangible conditions, identification of multiple function outcomes, and shorter session durations compared to earlier decades.

Functional analysis remains a robust assessment method for identifying environmental factors maintaining problem behaviors. The trend toward community-based settings and shorter sessions makes this assessment more accessible. Increased focus on multiple functions suggests need for comprehensive intervention approaches addressing various behavioral purposes.

This is a review study that summarizes existing research rather than presenting new experimental findings. The review focuses on published studies which may not represent all functional analysis practices. No information provided about quality assessment of included studies or potential publication bias.

Extensive reviews of functional analysis literature were conducted 10 (Beavers et al., 2013) and 20 (Hanley et al., 2003) years ago; we expanded this review to capture the vast and innovative functional analysis research that has occurred over the past decade. Our review produced 1,333 functional analysis outcomes from 326 studies on the functional analysis of problem behavior between June 2012 and May 2022. Some characteristics of functional analysis studies were similar across the current and previous two reviews (e.g., child participants, developmental disability diagnosis, use of line graphs depicting session means, differentiated response outcomes). Other characteristics deviated from the previous two reviews (e.g., increase in autistic representation, outpatient settings, use of supplementary assessments, the inclusion of tangible conditions, and multiple function outcomes; decrease in session durations).

We update previously reported participant and methodological characteristics, summarize outcomes, comment on recent trends, and propose future directions in the functional analysis literature.