A Descriptive Analysis of Disruptive Behavior During Pre- and Post-Unsupervised Self-Management by Students with Serious Emotional Disturbance

A descriptive analysis of disruptive behavior was generated from filmed observations prior to and following training in self-management skills. Two junior high students with serious emotional disturbance (SED) were covertly videotaped during in-classroom and between-classroom performance in the absence of supervision. Videotapes were analyzed by descriptive analysis of conditions associated with disruptive/off-task behaviors. Descriptive analysis revealed that maladaptive behaviors were self-initiated in unsupervised settings. It also is apparent from this analysis that maladaptive behaviors were correlated with provocation by peers and with continuing disruptive interaction between students once an off-task/disruptive episode had begun. Treatment procedures were applied by way of a multiple baseline across settings design and included instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and rehearsal in the apparent absence of supervision. Self-management training features included self-assessment, self-recording, and self-reinforcement for correct approximations of on-task and socially appropriate behavior. Outcomes suggest that the descriptive analysis was predictive of the conditions correlated with problem behaviors and that on-task/socially appropriate behaviors were transferred and sustained while operating under the influence of self-management in the absence of supervision.