Research Patterns in the Treatment of Adults with Problem Behaviour and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Quantitative Systematic Review

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative systematic literature review to examine research trends and patterns in the treatment of adults diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities who engage in problem behaviour. The aim of the study was three-fold. First, to comment on adult participant and study characteristic trends in the problem behaviour literature. Second, to report on treatment effectiveness outcomes across various applied behaviour analytic treatments in single-case experimental design research using the Tau Baseline Corrected (Tau-BC) effect size estimate. Finally, to report effect size estimates associated with published and unpublished literature. In this review, descriptive findings of 76 single-case experimental design articles were summarized and Tau-BC effect size estimates were calculated for cases across 65 articles (N=125). Overall, adults were featured in approximately 13% of the sample, and aggression and self-injurious behaviour were the most frequently reported problem behaviours. Functional communication training was the most frequently used treatment. An array of 42 unique multi-protocol treatments were observed across studies. Regarding treatment gains as communicated by effect size, multi-protocol treatments were associated with larger effect sizes (i.e., more effective) compared to single-protocol treatments. Multi-protocol treatments featuring reinforcement elements were more commonly observed in the literature; however, multi-protocol treatments that featured a punishment component coincided with the largest effect size. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.