Análise funcional e tratamento das respostas verbais bizarras de pessoas com o diagnóstico de esquizofrenia

Abstract

The present study assessed and treated bizarre verbal responses of three participants diagnosed with schizophrenia and was based on theoretical and practical fundamentals of Behavior Analysis. In order to do so we analyzed the control exerted by antecedent and consequent events on verbal responses of the participants, who were all female, with ages varying between 48 and 63 years. The participants were interned in a mental health institution. A functional assessment process was conduced using indirect and direct observation and functional (experimental) analysis. The functional analysis involved the manipulation of environmental events across four conditions: attention, control, demand escape and alone, being that the attention condition was subdivided in three other conditions in which disapproving, reverse and stare were manipulated. For the demand condition a task that could be avoided or delayed was presented. In order to assess the sensorial stimulation each participant was left alone in a room. One condition with high density schedule of reinforcement served as control. When treating bizarre verbal responses we used DRA (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative behavior) and the verbal discrimination controlled by an alternated treatment experimental design and a follow-up. The results show that the occurrences of measured responses increased in attention conditions and decreased in demand and control conditions. In alone condition the responses never occurred. It is evident that social attention is a powerful reinforcer for bizarre verbal responses. Based on the data collected throughout the study, we concluded that the control of responding exerted by the antecedent events offer a more satisfying description of the control exerted by consequences. Regarding the treatment, the data show that the frequency of the bizarre verbal responses decreased and the appropriate ones increased. It is worth highlighting that the presence of different antecedent conditions changed the likelihood of occurrence of bizarre verbal responses, which justifies the analysis of the control exerted both by antecedent and consequent events upon inappropriate responding of people diagnosed with schizophrenia.