A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION OF THE PRESCRIPTIVE TREATMENT OF SCHOOL REFUSAL BEHAVIOR IN A SINGLE-SUBJECT

We employed a multiple-baseline design to test the efficacy of a recen tly developed approach for reducing school refusal behavior. This appr oach uses a systematic method for conducting a functional analysis for the target behaviors and, suggests specific intervention strategies b ased upon this analysis. To maximize external validity, the interventi on was tested using a systematic replication strategy, whereby only th e major conceptual elements of the intervention were retained from pre vious applications. The subject was a 10 year old girl who attended sc hool with great difficulty and resistance and who was assigned DSM-III -R diagnoses of separation anxiety disorder and social phobia prior to treatment. Following 8 weeks of treatment, she showed marked reductio ns in problem behavior and no longer met criteria for any anxiety diso rder diagnoses. The results highlight the importance of the use of fun ctional analytic strategies to effect behavior change. Copyright (C) 1 996 Elsevier Science Ltd