Treatment strategies for self-injurious behavior in a large service-delivery network

Despite pressures in recent years to discourage reliance upon pharmacological interventions, psychoactive drugs continue to be utilized extensively with institutionalized mentally retarded persons. In the present study the scope and pattern of psychoactive drug use within a state-wide institutional service-delivery network were examined, with a focus upon its role in the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) and other aberrant behavior patterns. Correlates to psychoactive drugs and alternative intervention approaches were examined. Lack of treatment, insufficient utilization of behavioral technology, and use of physical and chemical restraints as adjuncts to positive behavioral programs were indicated.