Self-management research and treatment generality

Abstract

This paper addresses the external validity criteria recommended by Horner and colleagues [11] for meeting treatment generality associated with identifying “evidence-based practices”. Additionally, the paper reports on the results of applying the emergent criteria for assessing the methodological features associated with conducting single-participant research to 10 studies from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA). Selected articles focused upon self-management strategies utilized by employees with intellectual disabilities. Based upon a review of studies published in JABA, self-management strategies did not meet minimal treatment generality criteria. Results suggest that the absence of efforts to collect procedural fidelity limits treatment generality. Therefore, additional research is warranted before these self-management-related strategies can be considered as being supported by evidence.