Experimental Examination of the Impact of Choice on Treatment Integrity

This dissertation involved the experimental investigation of the impact of intervention choice on treatment integrity. During the behavioral consultation process, two interventions were generated. The choice intervention was selected by teachers from an array of empirically supported, function-based intervention strategies. The no-choice intervention was developed by an independent expert consultant based on functional assessment results. Teachers implemented each intervention, and treatment integrity and student behavior were measured across each condition. A withdrawal design was used to examine the effect of choice on treatment integrity and the relationship between treatment integrity and student outcomes. A simultaneous treatments design was used to measure teacher preference for the choice or no-choice intervention. Results demonstrated that (a) teachers implemented the choice intervention with a higher level of treatment integrity, (b) lower levels of student problem behavior were associated with higher levels of treatment integrity, and (c) all teachers consistently chose to implement the choice intervention over the no-choice intervention. Results are discussed in terms of the underlying behavioral mechanisms that may explain the findings of the study and the need for future research to identify simple, effective strategies for promoting school-based treatment integrity