Reporting participant characteristics in intervention articles published in five behavior-analytic journals, 2013–2015.

Abstract

The current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association indicates that the sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability status of research participants should be reported. The present study found that most (90.6%) of the manuscripts describing clinical interventions and published from 2013-2015 in five journals sympathetic to behavior analysis reported the sex of participants. Fewer such articles described participants' disability status (69.1%), race/ethnicity (10.7%), or socioeconomic status (2.8%). Although there is general agreement that participant characteristics likely to influence responsiveness to the intervention being examined should be reported, there apparently is no agreement as to whether race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability status constitute such characteristics. The purpose of this article is to encourage authors, reviewers, editors, and readers of behavioranalytic research articles to consider which characteristics of participants merit reporting and the consequences of not consistently reporting those characteristics.

Towards the Development of Antiracist and Multicultural Graduate Training Programs in Behavior Analysis

“…Diversity in research is not only understudied, its necessity for consideration is generally up for debate (Li et al, 2017). In fact, cultural information such as race/ethnicity and linguistic ANTIRACIST GRADUATE TRAINING information has been found to be reported in only 3% -10.7% of studies published in behavioral journals (Beaulieu et al, 2019;Brodhead et al, 2014;Li et al, 2017). These low percentages indicate a general consensus to a colorblind-like approach to conducting research.…”

“…Although programs may have greater access to more affluent communities, researchers need to consciously choose to create equity within a study over opportunities of pragmatism (Li et. al, 2017).…”

“…Once BIPOC consent to participate, researchers should consider their learning histories (Li et. al, 2017), as they may have a history of oppression that could interfere with independent variables or contribute to results.…”

Future Directions of Training and Fieldwork in Diversity Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis

“…Brodhead, Durán, and Bloom (2014) reviewed The Analysis of Verbal Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis to determine if researchers included cultural and linguistic diversity in published studies and found that most articles rarely reported the culture and language background of participants. Additionally, a review of five journals associated with the field of ABA (Behavior Analysis in Practice, Behavioral Interventions, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior) were examined to determine whether the demographic information about participants (e.g., sex, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability status) in clinical intervention articles was provided (Li, Wallace, Ehrhardt, & Poling, 2017). This research showed that the majority of articles reported sex and disability status but consistently lacked demographic information on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Li et al, 2017).…”

Culture Always Matters: Some Thoughts on Rosenberg and Schwartz

“…Given the current trend in behavior analysis to further understand the role of culture in service delivery and to advocate for cultural competence (e.g., Beaulieu, Addington, & Almeida, 2018;Brodhead et al, 2014;Fong & Tanaka, 2013;Fong et al, 2016;Li, Wallace, Ehrhardt, & Poling, 2017), including an ethical analysis (Rosenberg & Schwartz, 2019;Witts et al, 2018), I am encouraged that the next revision of the BACB Code will resolve some of the confusion surrounding culture. In all likelihood, different problems may emerge that spark additional scholarly conversations.…”