TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1994//
TI  - Toward a functional analysis of self-injury
JO  - Journal of applied behavior analysis
A1  - Iwata, B. A.
A1  - Dorsey, M. F.
A1  - Slifer, K. J.
A1  - Bauman, Karl E.
A1  - Richman, G. S.
SP  - 197
EP  - 209
VL  - 27
IS  - 2
N2  - This study describes the use of an operant methodology to assess functional relationships between self-injury and specific environmental events. The self-injurious behaviors of nine developmentally disabled subjects were observed during periods of brief, repeated exposure to a series of analogue conditions. Each condition differed along one or more of the following dimensions: (1) play materials (present vs absent), (2) experimenter demands (high vs low), and (3) social attention (absent vs noncontingent vs contingent). Results showed a great deal of both between and within-subject variability. However, in six of the nine subjects, higher levels of self-injury were consistently associated with a specific stimulus condition, suggesting that within-subject variability was a function of distinct features of the social and/or physical environment. These data are discussed in light of previously suggested hypotheses for the motivation of self-injury, with particular emphasis on their implications for the selection of suitable treatments.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-8855
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1994.27-197
ID  - ref1
ER  -