Evidence for reciprocal interaction effects among adults with self-injury and their caregivers

Patterns of caregiver responses to client adaptive behavior were compared between adults with intellectual disabilities with and without self-injurious behavior. Participants with moderate to profound intellectual disability and self-injury (n=89) and age/IQ matched control participants (n=20) were selected from a large sample of adults living in a regional residential center. Approximately 45 minutes of direct observation data were collected for each participant during unstructured leisure time. Data were sequentially analyzed and Yule's Q scores derived and compared among groups. Results indicated that caregivers were more responsive to prosocial initiations and adaptive engagement among individuals with severe self-injurious behavior than to those with mild or no self-injurious behavior and that these responses were more likely to be in the form of a demand.