A Spotlight on Treatment Intensity:An Important and Often Overlooked Component of Intervention Inquiry

摘要

Treatment intensity, also described as treatment strength, is an elusive construct within the fields of education and social sciences (e.g., Warren et al. 2007). Yet, in the medical community, prescribing interventions according to strength and determining the therapeutic range are standard operating procedures. Doctors commonly provide prescriptions indicating the amount of the specified medication along with the frequency of medication consumption (e.g., twice daily), the total number of days or weeks the medication should be taken (e.g., 10 days), side effects to be aware of (e.g., drowsiness), and any other specifications such as time of day (e.g., morning and evening) and whether the medication should be consumed with food. As educators and psychologists refine their use of evidence-based practices when selecting and providing intervention supports for students struggling with academic or behavioral difficulties, greater specificity about what intervention is being selected, for whom, and under what conditions may result in more efficient and effective outcomes (APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice 2006).