Overview
The Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF; Matson & Vollmer, 1995; Paclawskyj, Matson, Rush, Smalls, & Vollmer, 2000) is a 25-item rating scale that is designed to identify variables maintaining problem behavior in persons with intellectual disability and/or autism. There are 5 items in each of five factors (functions): Attention, Escape, Non-Social, Physical, and Tangible. Items are scored on two dimensions: occur/does not occur/does not apply, and on severity (rarely, some, and often). In the original Administrator’s Manual (Matson & Vollmer, 1995), the authors stated that a clear function is indicated when there is a score of at least 4 on a factor and when no other factor has a score higher than 3. The QABF can be completed and scored in 20 minutes. It has been translated into Spanish and Turkish.
Summary
Age: N/A
Time to Administer: 20 minutes
Method of Administration: 25-item scale designed to identify variables maintaining problem behavior
Yields raw scores that are summed into 5 factors
Subscales: Factors: Attention, Escape, Non-Social, Physical, Tangible
Autism Related Research
Watkins & Rapp (2013)
Age Range: 9:0-19:4 years
Sample Size: 6
Topics Addressed:
Convergent validity of QABF with direct/ functional analysis (FA) procedures
Outcome:Watkins & Rapp (2013)
For 5/6 participants, the QABF and the FA identified the same nonsocial function. For one participant, the QABF and FA identified potentially dual functions.
Conclusion: the QABF could be embedded within a five-step functional assessment protocol.
Matson, Tureck, & Rieske (2012)
Age Range: N/A
Sample Size: N/A
Topics Addressed:
Summary of research with the QABF
Outcome:Matson, Tureck, & Rieske (2012)
Multiple studies of psychometrics (reliability, validity, factor structure) have been conducted regarding the QABF, as well as comparisons with experimental functional analysis, a direct approach to assessing functions of problem behaviors. Compared with other indirect scales measuring problem behaviors, the QABF has the strongest psychometrics thus far. Additionally, results are similar to what are obtained in functional analysis.
Conclusion: QABF appears to be a good starting point for conducting a functional assessment in most cases.
Paclawskyj et al. (2001)
Age Range: No ages reported.
Sample Size: 13
Topics Addressed:
Convergent validity of QABF and Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) for use with persons with developmental disabilities, and correlation with functional analysis sessions
Outcome:Paclawskyj et al. (2001)
The two checklists were more highly correlated with each other than with results from the analogue sessions, and the QABF was more highly correlated with analogue sessions than the MAS. Using analogue sessions, the experimenters failed to ascertain behavioral function for a number of subjects because the behavior problems in question were low frequency/high intensity and failed to appear during the course of the analysis, pointing out a limitation of this technology.
Conclusion: These findings, taken together with recent research outlining the psychometric properties of the QABF, seem to support the use of the QABF in a hierarchical model of functional analysis.