AN INDIVIDUAL-SUBJECT APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTIONS

Community intervention research has employed group designs and repeate d measures in an attempt to demonstrate intervention effectiveness. In deed, targeting a group of individuals has been a defining methodologi cal tactic for examining problem behaviors thought to have a widesprea d detrimental impact across society. Unfortunately, this common method ological approach may actually retard a comprehensive and ongoing proc ess of understanding environment and behavior relationships. This arti cle offers a complementary individual-subject approach to evaluating c ommunity-based interventions in order to construct a specific knowledg e of community behavior and intervention effectiveness. Specifically, three research benefits of an individual-subject approach are illustra ted by documenting the study of a single individual's safety belt use. They are research economy, intensity, and flexibility.