Publication bias in studies of an applied behavior‐analytic intervention: An initial analysis

Sham, Elyssa; Smith, Tristram

doi:10.1002/jaba.146

Cited by 104 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Rogers and Vismara documented support for PRT from numerous single-subject studies of children with ASD. A recent review located 21 such studies, including nine on preschoolers, all of which reported substantial improvements in spoken communication or play (Sham & Smith, 2014). The review uncovered evidence of publication bias, as published articles yielded larger effect sizes than unpublished dissertations with similar methodologies.…”

Section: Focused Treatments Individual Focused Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence Base Update for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Smith

Iadarola

2015

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

Self Cite

282

170

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This evidence base update examines the level of empirical support for interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) younger than 5 years old. It focuses on research published since a previous review in this journal (Rogers & Vismara, 2008). We identified psychological or behavioral interventions that had been manualized and evaluated in either (a) experimental or quasi-experimental group studies or (b) systematic reviews of single-subject studies. We extracted data from all studies that met these criteria and were published after the previous review. Interventions were categorized across two dimensions. First, primary theoretical principles included applied behavior analysis (ABA), developmental social-pragmatic (DSP), or both. Second, practice elements included scope (comprehensive or focused), modality (individual intervention with the child, parent training, or classrooms), and intervention targets (e.g., spoken language or alternative and augmentative communication). We classified two interventions as well-established (individual, comprehensive ABA and teacher-implemented, focused ABA þ DSP), 3 as probably efficacious (individual, focused ABA for augmentative and alternative communication; individual, focused ABA þ DSP; and focused DSP parent training), and 5 as possibly efficacious (individual, comprehensive ABA þ DSP; comprehensive ABA classrooms; focused ABA for spoken communication; focused ABA parent training; and teacher-implemented, focused DSP). The evidence base for ASD interventions has grown substantially since 2008. An increasing number of interventions have some empirical support; others are emerging as potentially efficacious. Priorities for future research include improving outcome measures, developing interventions for understudied ASD symptoms (e.g., repetitive behaviors), pinpointing mechanisms of action in interventions, and adapting interventions for implementation with fidelity by community providers.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by difficulties with reciprocal social communication and stereotyped interests or behaviors (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) that usually emerge in early childhood. About one third of children with ASD have delays in cognitive development and daily living skills (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 2014). Co-occurring behavior problems (tantrums, aggression, self-injury, impulsivity, anxiety, extreme food selectivity, insomnia) and medical conditions (e.g., seizure disorder, gastrointestinal disturbance) are also common. Although ASD almost always persists across the lifespan, early intervention can alleviate symptoms (Rogers & Vismara, 2008).ASD has a prenatal origin related to genetic risk and environmental events; however, the precise etiology has not been determined (Volkmar, Paul, Rogers, & Pelphrey, 2014). Although once considered rare, ASD is now estimated to occur in approximately 1 in 68 individuals (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 2014). It remains unknown whethe...

show abstract

Section: Focused Treatments Individual Focused Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence Base Update for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Smith

Iadarola

2015

Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

Self Cite

282

170

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Gage, Cook, and Reichow (2017) reported that one-third of 109 meta-analyses of group-research designs published in special education journals reflected possible publication bias, and that effects sizes were markedly larger in published versus unpublished studies included in a subset of the meta-analyses (d=0.89; see also Chow & Ekholt, 2018). In their review of single-case design studies on pivotal response theory for children with autism, Sham and Smith (2014) reported that the percentage of non-overlapping data was, on average, 22% higher in published studies than in unpublished dissertations. Publication bias may exist in special education research even when controlling for methodological quality.…”

Section: The Nature Of the Special Education Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Open Science to Increase the Trustworthiness of Evidence in Special Education

Cook¹,

Lloyd²,

Mellor³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scientific evidence should guide the selection of practice for individuals with disabilities. Scientific evidence, however, must be trustworthy to move special education toward greater empirical certainty and more effective policies and practices. Transparency, openness, and reproducibility increase the trustworthiness of evidence. We propose that researchers in special education adopt emerging open science reforms such as preprints, data and materials sharing, preregistration of studies and analysis plans, and Registered Reports. Adoption of these practices will require shifts in cultural norms, guidelines, and incentives. We discuss how adopting open science practices can advance the quality of research and, consequently, policy and practice in special education.

show abstract

“…Intervention studies with small sizes may be more influenced by inter-participant variance, and making it questionable whether heterogeneity in mechanisms of change captured is clinically meaningful and can be generalized to a wider clinical population 68. Comparing effect sizes of therapeutic gains from both published and unpublished PRT studies, Sham and Smith69 found that reported therapeutic gains were much greater in published studies, suggesting possible publication bias in empirical evidence supporting PRT 70. However, despite potential publication bias, the average reported effect size still demonstrated PRT to be an effective intervention, and did not significantly impact PRT’s status as an evidence-based treatment for individuals with ASD 69.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Comparing effect sizes of therapeutic gains from both published and unpublished PRT studies, Sham and Smith69 found that reported therapeutic gains were much greater in published studies, suggesting possible publication bias in empirical evidence supporting PRT 70. However, despite potential publication bias, the average reported effect size still demonstrated PRT to be an effective intervention, and did not significantly impact PRT’s status as an evidence-based treatment for individuals with ASD 69. Nonetheless, future studies should evaluate whether existing neuroimaging findings may be replicated using larger sample sizes, as well as assess generalizability to other age groups, particularly younger children with ASD, to further expand the evidence surrounding PRT and investigate its effectiveness as an early intervention for children with ASD.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pivotal response treatment for autism spectrum disorder: current perspectives

Lei

Ventola

2017

NDT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is an evidence-based behavioral intervention based on applied behavior analysis principles aimed to improve social communication skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). PRT adopts a more naturalistic approach and focuses on using a number of strategies to help increase children’s motivation during intervention. Since its conceptualization, PRT has received much empirical support for eliciting therapeutic gains in greater use of functional social communication skills in individuals with ASD. Building upon the empirical evidence supporting PRT, recent advancements have increasingly turned to using interdisciplinary research integrating neuroimaging techniques and behavioral measures to help identify objective biomarkers of treatment, which have two primary purposes. First, neuroimaging results can help characterize how PRT may elicit change, and facilitate partitioning of the heterogeneous profiles of neural mechanisms underlying similar profile of behavioral changes observed over PRT. Second, neuroimaging provides an objective means to both map and track how biomarkers may serve as reliable and sensitive predictors of responder profiles to PRT, assisting clinicians to identify who will most likely benefit from PRT. Together, a better understanding of both mechanisms of change and predictors of responder profile will help PRT to serve as a more precise and targeted intervention for individuals with ASD, thus moving towards the goal of precision medicine and improving quality of care. This review focuses on the recent emerging neuroimaging evidences supporting PRT, offering current perspectives on the importance of interdisciplinary research to help clinicians better understand how PRT works and predict who will respond to PRT.

show abstract

Publication bias in studies of an applied behavior‐analytic intervention: An initial analysis

Cited by 104 publications

References 66 publications

Evidence Base Update for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Evidence Base Update for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Promoting Open Science to Increase the Trustworthiness of Evidence in Special Education

Pivotal response treatment for autism spectrum disorder: current perspectives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About