METHODS TO TREAT CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS MAINTAINED BY ESCAPE

After functional analyses conducted on the disruptive classroom behavior of 3 first grade students determined their behavior to be maintained by negative reinforcement, three interventions were evaluated for their effectiveness. Differential negative reinforcement of alternative behavior (DNRA), differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI), and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) were evaluated. For 1 child, NCR reduced problem behavior the most. For 2 participants, the level of problem behavior was undifferentiated during the comparison. Teacher completed IRP-15s determined that DRI was more acceptable to each teacher. Therefore, the problem behavior of 2 participants was evaluated further using DRI. Both the NCR and DRI interventions were evaluated in ABAB designs that demonstrated each intervention to be successful in reducing classroom behavior problems maintained by negative reinforcement. Functional Analysis, treatment comparisons, and treatment acceptability are discussed.