Functional analysis and treatment of escape-maintained aggression correlated with sleep deprivation.

Functional analysis identified the consequences that maintained aggressive behavior and the relationship between these consequences and sleep deprivation for an individual with severe mental retardation. Results showed that aggression was maintained by negative reinforcement contingencies (escape from demand) and that aggression was more severe when sleep deprivation was present. A multicomponent intervention resulted in reductions of aggression for up to 7 months.