653 JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 1997, 30, 653–672 NUMBER 4(WINTER 1997) FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF ELOPEMENT CATHLEEN C. PIAZZA,GREGORY P. HANLEY,LYNN G. BOWMAN, JOHN M. RUYTER,STEVEN E. LINDAUER, AND DEBORAH M. SAIONTZ KENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTE AND JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Elopement is a dangerous behavior because children who run away may encounter life- threatening situations (e.g., traffic). We conducted functional analyses of the elopement of 3 children who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. The results iden- tified a maintaining reinforcer for the elopement of 1 child, but the data were difficult to interpret for 2 of the children. Subsequent reinforcer assessments were used to help to clarify the reinforcers for elopement for these 2 children. Results of the functional analyses and reinforcer assessments then were used to develop successful treatments to reduce elopement. The findings are discussed in terms of (a) the application of functional analysis methodology to elopement, (b) the use of reinforcer assessments to identify potential reinforcers when standard functional analyses are undifferentiated, and (c) the utility of assessment-based treatments for elopement. DESCRIPTORS: elopement, developmental disabilities, functional analysis, rein- forcer assessments, concurrent operants Elopement is typically defined as repeated attempts to leave designated areas without permission or supervision (Bodfish, 1992). Elopement may interfere with instructional activities and hinder skill acquisition in classroom settings (Chambers, Sanok, & Striefel, 1980), as well as expose an individ- ual to dangerous situations (e.g., traffic). Ac- cording to Garner (1991), individuals who elope often are placed in more restrictive set- tings to maintain their safety. Jacobson (1982) estimated the prevalence of elopement to be 4.9% in a population of over 30,000 individuals receiving develop- mental disabilities services. Despite this rel- atively high prevalence of elopement among persons with developmental disabilities, there is a paucity of research on the assess- This investigation was supported in part by Grant MCJ249149-02 from the Maternal and Child Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We thank Rachel Thompson for her helpful comments on this manuscript. Requests for reprints should be sent to Cathleen C. Piazza, Neurobehavioral Unit, The Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 N. Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21205. ment and treatment of this behavior prob- lem. In most studies on elopement, individ- uals were treated with multiple interventions such as reinforcement for the absence of elopement, time-out for elopement, and graduated levels systems in which the indi- vidual gained access to less restrictive envi- ronments and greater access to reinforcers contingent upon the absence of elopement (Chambers et al., 1980; Garner, 1991). Garner (1991) treated the elopement of 1 child with profound mental retardation who resided in a group home. The treatment pro- gram involved increased amounts of freedom of movement within the group home (i.e., from restricting him to rooms without exits in the home to allowing him unrestricted access to all areas in the home) contingent on the absence of elopement, and included response interruption (teaching the partici- pant to respond to the command ‘‘stop’’ when he began to run away), time-out fol- lowing episodes of elopement, and reinforce- ment for appropriate communication to leave the group home. A similar program