Problem behaviors occur frequently among preschool children in classrooms, impeding academic development. Past methods employed for development of behavioral interventions include functional assessment and use of evidence-based practices. The current investigation sought to empirically compare the effectiveness of both function-based and non-function-based interventions to increase appropriate engagement and decrease occurrence of problem behaviors. Participants included three preschool children, two attending pre-kindergarten classrooms at an elementary school and one at a Head Start Center. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was used as the function-based intervention and was compared to a token economy intervention in an Alternating Treatments Design. Results indicated that the function-based intervention was more effective for two of the three participants and equally effective for the third participant. These results suggest that the treatment utility of functional assessment procedures may make the time needed for assessment worthwhile.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/709/
","abstract_html":"<p>Problem behaviors occur frequently among preschool children in classrooms, impeding academic development. Past methods employed for development of behavioral interventions include functional assessment and use of evidence-based practices. The current investigation sought to empirically compare the effectiveness of both function-based and non-function-based interventions to increase appropriate engagement and decrease occurrence of problem behaviors. Participants included three preschool children, two attending pre-kindergarten classrooms at an elementary school and one at a Head Start Center. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was used as the function-based intervention and was compared to a token economy intervention in an Alternating Treatments Design. Results indicated that the function-based intervention was more effective for two of the three participants and equally effective for the third participant. These results suggest that the treatment utility of functional assessment procedures may make the time needed for assessment worthwhile.</p> <p>Doctoral dissertation:<a href="http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/709/"> http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/709/</a></p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bellone, Katherine Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brad A. Dufrene","Heather E. Sterling","Joe Olmi"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z","subjects":["Child Psychology","Psychology","School Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/223","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brad A. Dufrene","Heather E. Sterling","Joe Olmi"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bellone, Katherine Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-08-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Child Psychology","Psychology","School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/223"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Problem behaviors occur frequently among preschool children in classrooms, impeding academic development. Past methods employed for development of behavioral interventions include functional assessment and use of evidence-based practices. The current investigation sought to empirically compare the effectiveness of both function-based and non-function-based interventions to increase appropriate engagement and decrease occurrence of problem behaviors. Participants included three preschool children, two attending pre-kindergarten classrooms at an elementary school and one at a Head Start Center. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was used as the function-based intervention and was compared to a token economy intervention in an Alternating Treatments Design. Results indicated that the function-based intervention was more effective for two of the three participants and equally effective for the third participant. These results suggest that the treatment utility of functional assessment procedures may make the time needed for assessment worthwhile.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/709/
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Comparison of the Effects of a Function-Based Intervention to a Non-Function-Based Intervention to Address Problem Behaviors in Preschoolers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brad A. Dufrene","Heather E. Sterling","Joe Olmi"],"dc:creator":["Bellone, Katherine Marie"],"dc:date.available":["2016-08-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Problem behaviors occur frequently among preschool children in classrooms, impeding academic development. Past methods employed for development of behavioral interventions include functional assessment and use of evidence-based practices. The current investigation sought to empirically compare the effectiveness of both function-based and non-function-based interventions to increase appropriate engagement and decrease occurrence of problem behaviors. Participants included three preschool children, two attending pre-kindergarten classrooms at an elementary school and one at a Head Start Center. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was used as the function-based intervention and was compared to a token economy intervention in an Alternating Treatments Design. Results indicated that the function-based intervention was more effective for two of the three participants and equally effective for the third participant. These results suggest that the treatment utility of functional assessment procedures may make the time needed for assessment worthwhile.
Doctoral dissertation: http://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/709/
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/223"],"dc:subject":["Child Psychology","Psychology","School Psychology"],"dc:title":["A Comparison of the Effects of a Function-Based Intervention to a Non-Function-Based Intervention to Address Problem Behaviors in Preschoolers"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z"}