Assessment and Treatment of Aggression During Public Outings

Problem behavior occurring during public outings can limit children's participation in these activities and can be disruptive for families. The current study included two children referred for the assessment and treatment of problem behaviors occurring during public outings. Clinic-based functional behavior assessments indicated problem behaviors were likely maintained by access to tangibles. Implementation of the tangible condition of the functional analysis in a hospital-based gift shop or cafeteria confirmed these hypotheses. To address their problem behavior and compliance, both participants participated in differential reinforcement of alternative (DRA) behavior treatment programs. Within an ABAB reversal design, DRA treatment resulted in decreased problem behavior and increased compliance to instructions when compared to the tangible condition of the functional analysis. Collectively, results of this study effectively replicated and extended an assessment and treatment procedure to address problem behaviors exhibited by children during public outings.