A validity study on the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) scale: Predicting treatment success for self-injury, aggression, and stereotypies

We investigated the validity of the Questions About Behavioral Function (QA BF), a checklist designed to assess antecedent behavior, using a sample of 398 persons with mental retardation and a targeted maladaptive behavior of self-injurious behavior, aggression, or stereotypies. The QABF was used suc cessfully to derive clear behavioral functions for most individuals (84%) a cross all three target behaviors. Further, subjects with treatments develop ed from functional assessment (QABF results) improved significantly when co mpared to controls receiving standard treatments not based on functional an alysis. Implications of the present findings for assessing and treating mal adaptive behaviors are discussed.