Alternate Means of Functional Assessment for Sexually Inappropriate Behavior

Abstract

Aside from traditional functional analysis methods (Iwata et al., 1994), antecedent analysis is a viable means of assessing the function of behavior (Carr & Durand, 1985; Stichter et al., 2009), especially when consequence-based assessment is not ideal. In these cases, antecedent analysis, assessing any reliable precursor or co-varying behaviors, and examining the environmental context in which the behavior occurs can provide the information needed to facilitate effective intervention. One method of assessing situations in which a behavior reliably occurs is antecedent analysis (Carr & Durand, 1985; Stichter et al., 2009). For example, Meyer (1999) conducted functional assessment of antecedent events, specifically looking at attention and difficulty of presented tasks as probable antecedents to target behavior. In another study, both descriptive and functional analyses were completed. Examining antecedent events suggested demand and attention as reliable antecedent events, while experimental functional analysis confirmed escape as the function (Mace & Belfiore, 1990). In the present study, the participant was fourteen- year old boy, with an Autism diagnosis exhibiting inappropriate sexual behavior. Antecedent analysis indicated two distinct topographies of sexual behavior, with distinct antecedents, and likely two distinct functions.