Behavioral Disorders and Behaviors

¶ … Series Research

Also termed "single-case research" (Sheperis, Young & Daniels, 2017), time series research is "any research that takes place over time, in which different people or cases may be looked at in each time point" (Neuman, 2003, p. 546). A results of a time series study of the behavioral problems of one young learner, Kaya, are presented below, followed by a description of an appropriate behavioral intervention and how its effectiveness will be measured using another time series study.

A breakdown of Kaya's observed behaviors during 3 separate weekdays during school hours is provided in Table 1 and depicted graphically in Figure 1 below.

Breakdown of observed behaviors

Observation Period

Frequency of Off-Task Behaviors (1)

Frequency of Physically Aggression (2)

Frequency of Verbal Aggression (3)

Monday

12%

0%

2%

Wednesday

15%

20%

3%

Friday

20%

7%

10%

(1) = failure to maintain eye contact with task at hand for more than 3 consecutive seconds

(2) = hitting/pushing/kicking peers/teachers, throwing objects

(3) = threatening, yelling

Figure 1. Breakdown of observed behaviors

As can be readily discerned from Table 1 and Figure 1 above, the frequency of Kaya's off-task behaviors and verbal aggression steadily increased during the 3 days of observation, and she was observed engaging in physically aggressive behaviors on two occasions. Each of these behaviors requires an evidence-based intervention that can reduce or eliminate them, with physical aggression ranking at the top of the priority list (Guerra & Boxer, 2005). Although current views about behavior-based interventions include the notion that once young people address the errors in thinking or reduce social information processing deficits, they will exhibit improved behaviors; however, there is also a growing recognition of the need to take situational factors into account in formulating interventions (Guerra & Boxer, 2005). According to Guerra and Boxer (2005), cognitive-ecological interventions have proven efficacy in cases such as Kaya's. This strategy takes into account both the impact of individual factors as well as situational factors on behavior (Guerra & Boxer, 2005).