Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Brantely, Kayla Bates

Committee Member

Ripple, Hailey

Committee Member

Sidwell, MacKenzie

Committee Member

Staggers, Meredith

Date of Degree

8-7-2025

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Educational Psychology (School Psychology)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations

Abstract

The functional analysis was developed to systematically identify the antecedent and consequent conditions mediating challenging behavior. Modifications to the traditional procedures have been developed to address barriers to implementation, including duration, environmental control, and safety. Much of the research surrounding functional analyses addresses effectiveness, barriers to implementation, and practitioner acceptability. However, there is a lack of research assessing caregiver social validity of functional analysis procedures. Social validity is the assessment of the goals, procedures, and outcomes of behavior analytic practice. Even though there has been advocacy for including measures of social within behavior analytic research and practice, there is limited research to show for it. Thus, the current study sought to evaluate whether functional analysis procedural modifications (i.e., brief functional analysis, latency-based functional analysis) are socially valid means of assessing behavioral function. Additionally, the current study sought to evaluate whether there was a correlation between caregiver preference and functional analysis effectiveness. Three parent-child dyads participated in this study. The brief functional analysis and the latency-based functional analysis were conducted with all participants. Following the administration of each analysis, parents completed a social validity questionnaire. Findings from the social validity questionnaire were evaluated via visual analysis of a visual analogue scale. Results from the study suggest both the brief and latency-based functional analyses are socially valid means of assessing behavioral function of challenging behavior. Further, there is a possible correlation between caregiver preference of functional analysis methodology and effectiveness of the analysis as evidenced by higher social validity ratings of the brief functional analysis and a more conclusive findings using that analysis. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

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