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ABSTRACT:
Following descriptive functional assessment procedures, a brief structural analysis was used to confirm the hypothesized antecedent conditions that preceded problem behavior across three children enrolled in Head Start classrooms. A withdrawal design investigated the effectiveness of antecedent-based interventions to reduce disruptive behaviors and increase on-task behaviors. Brief structural analyses validated hypothesized antecedent conditions for each student, and functional control was demonstrated between the antecedent-based intervention and improved behavior changes. Results indicate that brief structural analysis procedures can be conducted in natural settings and that antecedent-based strategies yielded effective behavior interventions for young children at risk for developing emotional disorders. Teachers reported that assessment procedures were feasible to conduct during ongoing classroom activities and strongly agreed that antecedent strategies were effective, acceptable, and easy to implement.
Students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders exhibit problem behaviors that interfere with learning and pose educational and social implications. Of concern is the number of young children identified in early childhood programs with emergent forms of challenging behaviors. Campbell (1995) estimated that as many as 10% to 15% of young children have mild to moderate behavioral problems that are considered to be clinically significant. This percentage increases up to 30% among children from low-income families (Qi & Kaiser, 2003). Beyond developmental or age-related difficult behaviors displayed by 3- and 4-year-olds (i.e., tantrums, defiance, hyperactivity), clinically significant challenging behaviors exhibited by young children are "repeated patterns of behavior, or perception of behavior, that interferes with or is at the risk of interfering with optimal learning or engagement in pro-social interactions with peers and adults" (Smith & Fox, 2003, p. 7). At least half of preschool children who display challenging behavior before kindergarten maintain these behavior patterns into elementary school (Campbell & Ewing, 1999). If not altered by the end of third grade, these behaviors are considered chronic problems that interfere with successful school experiences, academic functioning, positive relationships with peers and teachers, and developing emotional or behavioral disorders and that predict exclusion from inclusive classroom (Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 1995). In fact, early onset of challenging behaviors is the single best predictor of antisocial behavior in school and is predictive of future long-term social maladjustment such as delinquency, school dropout, chronic offending, and drug use (DiLalla, Marcus,...