Social Validity

Wolf (1978) JABA Social Validity: The Case for

Subjective Measurement or How Behavior Analysis is Finding Its Heart

An excerpt…

Social Validity Refers to the degree that behavior-change efforts impact favorably

upon consumers Sometimes also called

Clinical importance, significance Applied importance, significance Qualitative change Ecological validity

3 elements of an intervention that can be assessed for social validity GOALS PROCEDURES OUTCOMES

Carr, Austin, Britton, Kellum, and Bailey (1999) found that social validity measures were Reported in less than 13% of articles in JABA

Measuring Social Validity Normative comparisons

Observe people who are considered competent and identify appropriate target behaviors

Used for comparison after treatment Consumer Evaluations

Ask consumers to give their opinions Used to establish/evaluate important and acceptable

o Goals – but consider that source may not knowo Procedures – who will be implementing them in the

natural environment? Who will have influence to impede them?

o Outcomes Who are the consumers?

Who Are the Consumers of an Intervention? Direct Consumers (directly receive tx)

Client/Participant Family Teacher(s)

Indirect Consumers (strongly affected by tx) Family Teacher(s) Funding source

Members of Immediate Community Neighbors Friends

Members of Extended Community People in the community who don’t know the participant

Measuring Social Validity Videotape performance before and after tx to evaluate if

clinically significant change Interviews/Questionnaires/Rating Scales

May be helpful to have someone else assess or ask to mail in anonymously

Intervention Rating Profile 15-item Likert-type scale for assessing acceptability of classroom

interventions

Treatment Acceptability Rating Form 20 Qs for parents to rate acceptability of txs in outpatient clinic

Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI) Treatment Evaluation Inventory – Short Form (TEI-SF)

Please read each statement and check one box for each treatment.

            1.I find this treatment to be an acceptable way

of dealing with the child's problem behavior.Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

2.I would be willing to use this procedure if I had to change the child's problem behavior.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

3.I believe that it would be acceptable to use this treatment without children's consent.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

4.I like the procedures used in this treatment. Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

5.I believe this treatment is likely to be effective.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

6.I believe the child will experience discomfort during the treatment.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

7.I believe this treatment is likely to result in permanent improvement.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

8.I believe it would be acceptable to use this treatment with individuals who cannot choose treatments for themselves.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

                     

9.Overall, I have a positive reaction to this treatment.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Neutral AgreeStrongly Agree

         

Ingersoll and Schreibman (2006)

Jones, Carr, and Feely (2006)

Issues with Subjective Evaluations Subjective opinions often don’t correspond

with actual behavior Don’t just choose evaluators who are likely

to approve of your goals, procedures, and outcomes

Identify who is in the group and why this group is relevant to the issue you’re assessing