Participant Diversity in Special Education Research: Parent-Implemented Behavior Interventions for Children With Autism

Abstract

Evidence-based practices for children with disabilities have empirical support for their effectiveness; however, the demographics of participants making up the evidence base are generally unknown, leaving generalizability of the evidence unclear. This study presents a systematic literature review of participant racial and socioeconomic demographics in one area of special education research, parent-implemented interventions for reducing problem behavior in children with autism, to examine demographic reporting practices, participant characteristics, and their similarity to the general population. Participant race, income, education level, and marital status were aggregated across 23 studies and compared with population-level demographics using chi-square analyses. Results indicated (a) these demographics were infrequently reported; (b) participants with reported demographics were overwhelmingly from White, well-educated, two-parent families; and (c) participants were significantly different from the U.S. population on every tested demographic. Implications of findings and recommendations for reporting participant demographics and increasing diversity in special education research are discussed.

Participant Characteristics in Research on Interventions for Young Children With Challenging Behavior: A Systematic Review

“…Fewer than half of the studies (49.1%) included in the review reported the race/ethnicity of children, which is a higher percentage than other recent literature reviews where race/ethnicity was reported for 28% (Pierce et al, 2014), 36% (Severini et al, 2018), and 39% (Robertson et al, 2017) of the articles. African American/Black children were significantly overrepresented in the studies included in this literature review.…”

“…This mirrors the findings in the very recent review of school-based problem behavior interventions for older students with ASD (Severini et al, 2018). All other intervention-related literature reviews have previously found that White children were overrepresented in studies (e.g., Pierce et al, 2014; Robertson et al, 2017; West et al, 2016). The Severini and colleagues’ (2018) review and this review were the first to specifically focus on interventions for challenging behavior in school settings.…”

“…The literature base on interventions to reduce challenging behavior has thus far demonstrated its efficacy across settings and intervention agents. However, researchers know little about how these interventions have been utilized with children from diverse backgrounds (e.g., Robertson, Sobeck, Wynkoop, & Schwartz, 2017). This is, in part, due to the underreporting of participant characteristics overall and especially regarding participants’ race/ethnicity.…”

“…This is, in part, due to the underreporting of participant characteristics overall and especially regarding participants’ race/ethnicity. For example, Robertson and colleagues (2017) found that child race was reported in only 39% of studies for parent-implemented interventions to reduce children’s challenging behavior. Machalicek, O’Reilly, Beretvas, Sigafoos, and Lancioni (2007) and Pierce and colleagues (2014) found that an even lower percentage of articles (22% and 28%, respectively) reported the race/ethnicity of students with ASD who participated in intervention research.…”

“…For example, Pierce and colleagues (2014) and West and colleagues (2016) found that racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse participants were underrepresented in ASD intervention research. Another literature review that analyzed racial/ethnic disparities in intervention research found that Black children and Latino/a children were underrepresented in parent-implemented intervention research focused on challenging behavior (Robertson et al, 2017). Conversely, Severini, Ledford, and Robertson (2018) that found that when studies of problem behavior interventions in school settings for older students (3–19 years of age) with ASD included the race/ethnicity of their participants, Black children were overrepresented.…”