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Basic and retrospective translational research has shown that the magnitude of resurgence is determined by the size of the decrease in alternative reinforcement, with larger decreases producing more resurgence. However, this finding has not been evaluated prospectively with a clinical population. In Experiment 1, five participants experienced a fixed progression of reinforcement schedule‐thinning steps during treatment of their destructive behavior. Resurgence occurred infrequently across steps and participants, and when resurgence did occur, its clinical meaningfulness was often minimal. In Experiment 2, five new participants experienced these same schedule‐thinning steps but in a counterbalanced order. Resurgence occurred most often and was generally largest with larger decreases in alternative reinforcement programmed earlier in the evaluation. Large decreases in alternative reinforcement may be more problematic clinically when they occur earlier in treatment. Whether larger transitions can be recommended in the clinic following the success of smaller ones will require additional research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral momentum theory (BMT) suggests that resurgence of destructive behavior may be at least partly determined by the rate of alternative reinforcement, with lean schedules of reinforcement producing less resurgence than dense schedules. Findings from basic and translational studies have been mixed, and the effects of alternative reinforcement rate on resurgence remain unclear. In the current study, we conducted a within‐subject evaluation of resurgence during extinction with four children following functional communication training using dense and lean (BMT‐informed) schedules of alternative reinforcement. We observed no reliable differences in resurgence across the dense and lean conditions. We discuss implications of these findings in relation to future research using quantitative analyses to evaluate the relative effects of alternative reinforcement rate and other BMT‐based strategies for mitigating resurgence in applied settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translation of promising procedures for mitigating treatment relapse has received considerable attention recently from researchers across the basic–applied continuum. One procedure that has demonstrated mixed support involves increasing the duration of treatment as a strategy for blunting resurgence. In a recent translational study, Greer et al. (2020) failed to detect a mitigation effect of increased treatment duration on the resurgence of destructive behavior. However, design limitations may have been responsible. The present study corrected these limitations by (a) employing a sequential design to decrease the possibility of multiple‐treatment interference, (b) evaluating more treatment durations, (c) arranging treatments of fixed durations, and (d) conducting treatments of more extreme duration in a different clinical sample. Despite these improvements in experimental rigor and the testing of more extreme boundary conditions, the present study also failed to detect a mitigation effect of increased treatment duration. Likely explanations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinicians frequently prescribe functional communication training (FCT) as a treatment for severe destructive behavior. Recent research has shown that FCT treatments are susceptible to treatment relapse in the form of the resurgence of destructive behavior when individuals contact periods in which reinforcers are unavailable. Results of preliminary studies suggest that teaching multiple response alternatives can mitigate the resurgence of the target behavior. The current evaluation serves as a preliminary study in which we used a laboratory arrangement to evaluate the effects of a novel approach to training multiple alternative responses on the resurgence of the target behavior. Findings showed that multiple-response training did not decrease the resurgence of target responding consistently; however, it increased the total amount of target and alternative responding observed during the resurgence phase and decreased the overall probability of the target response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the effectiveness and widespread use of functional communication training ( FCT), resurgence of destructive behavior can occur if the functional communication response ( FCR) contacts a challenge, such as lapses in treatment integrity. We evaluated a method to mitigate resurgence by conducting FCT using a multiple schedule of reinforcement prior to extinction. After functional analyses of 2 boys' destructive behavior and treatment with FCT (Study 1), we compared levels of resurgence during an extinction challenge either after a typical FCT sequence or after exposure to schedule thinning in the context of a multiple-schedule arrangement (Study 2). Results for both participants suggested that schedule thinning using discriminative stimuli in a multiple schedule mitigated the resurgence of destructive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most important advancement in the treatment of destructive behavior has been the development of the functional analysis, which is used to prescribe effective treatments like functional communication training. Although this approach can be highly effective, extinction bursts and forms of treatment relapse commonly occur when function-based treatments are implemented by caregivers in natural community settings. In recent years, researchers have increasingly applied quantitative theories of behavior like behavioral momentum theory (BMT) and the temporally weighted matching law (TWML) to understand, prevent, or mitigate extinction bursts and treatment relapse. In this paper, we describe BMT and TWML and selectively review the basic, translational, and applied research supporting and opposing each theory. Then, we describe how function-based treatments may be refined based on these theories to improve the effectiveness, generality, and durability of function-based treatments for individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders who display problem behavior. • Quantitative theories can be applied to the treatment of problem behavior. • Such theories have shown promise when translated into clinical refinements. • We review basic and applied research supporting and opposing relevant theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]