Indirect Assessments

Indirect functional assessment (Gadaire et al., 2021) describes a group of procedures that aim to efficiently gather information about an individual’s challenging behavior and the events that surround its occurrence. More specifically, these procedures focus on identifying the antecedent events that precede challenging behavior and the responses that follow challenging behavior which may serve as reinforcement. Common procedures include record reviews (e.g., medical, school), behavioral interviews (structured or semistructured), and various checklists, questionnaires, and rating scales. Below, commonly used indirect assessments to hypothesize function(s) of challenging behavior (Gadaire et al., 2021) are reviewed:

Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF; Matson & Vollmer, 1995)

The QBAF is a rating scale designed to assess possible functions of challenging behavior. It contains 25 items that correspond with five potential sources of reinforcement:

• attention
• escape
• non-social (automatic-positive)
• physical (automatic-negative)
• tangible

Items are scored based on how often the challenging behavior is reported to occur across situations.

Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST; Iwata et al., 2013)

The FAST is a self-reported 16-item questionnaire designed to identify antecedent and consequent events that may contribute to the occurrence and maintenance of challenging behavior. The 16 items are categorized into four sections that describe the conditions under which the behavior occurs.

Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS; Durand & Crimmins, 1988)

The MAS is a 16-item checklist used to develop hypotheses regarding behavioral function. Informants rate how often the individual engages in challenging behavior using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Never) to 6 (Always). Item ratings are summed and categorized by potential sources of reinforcement: sensory, escape, attention, and tangible.

The Functional Analysis Interview (FAI)

The FAI is a structured interview that includes eleven sections designed to identify potential functions of challenging behavior. The FAI helps to define the challenging behavior, identify the antecedents and consequences for challenging behavior, determine the individual’s communicative abilities, identify potential reinforcers, and review the history of previous interventions.

Each of these indirect assessments allow for hypotheses regarding the function(s) of challenging behavior to be developed based on the environmental events that were reported to occasion challenging behavior. These procedures are practical and efficient, however, because the outcomes are based on the informant’s perception and recall of past events, potential biases in reporting may lead to inaccurate identification of function (Gadaire et al., 2021; Iwata et al., 2013). To address these concerns, direct observation and measurement of challenging behavior is needed. On the next page, various behavioral measurement strategies are described with their relative strengths and weaknesses.