A systematic review of social-validity assessments in the Journal of…
Published May 9, 2026
A systematic review of how social validity was assessed in ABA research, highlighting the need to assess goals, procedures, and outcomes with participants.
<p><em>This systematic review examined reports of social validity in studies published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis from 2010–2020. Of 1,059 studies screened, 160 included a social-validity measure.</em></p><p><em>Most assessments focused on acceptability of procedures and outcomes, while fewer assessed whether intervention goals themselves were meaningful. The review does not test whether ABA is effective or establish that any intervention is appropriate for every autistic person.</em></p><p><em>Support goals should be individually chosen, meaningful to the person, and open to assent, feedback, and withdrawal.</em></p><p><em>Source: Leif ES, Kelenc-Gasior N, Bloomfield BS, Furlonger B, Fox RA. “A Systematic Review of Social-Validity Assessments in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis: 2010–2020.” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2024;57(3):542–559. </em><a target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.1092"><em>https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.1092</em></a><em> (PMID: 38847455).</em></p>