INCREASING INDEXES OF HAPPINESS AMONG PEOPLE WITH PROFOUND MULTIPLE DISABILITIES - A PROGRAM REPLICATION AND COMPONENT ANALYSIS

We replicated a program to increase indices of happiness among people with profound multiple disabilities and conducted a component analysis of the program. The program involved presentation and contingent with drawal of stimuli that had been identified as preferred based on prefe rence assessments and staff opinion. The program was implemented with. 3 adult students and was accompanied by increased happiness indices f or each student. Subsequent implementation of the two types of stimuli indicated that preferred stimuli based on preference assessments were more consistently accompanied by increased happiness indices than wer e preferred stimuli based on staff opinion. Social validity measures s upported the definition of happiness, in that raters' subjective opini ons of the students' happiness coincided with the observed happiness i ndices. Results are discussed regarding the importance and practical i mplications of using preference assessments for determining stimuli fo r increasing happiness indices. Future research areas are suggested, f ocusing on increasing happiness and other quality-of-life indicators d uring the daily routines of people with profound disabilities.