Adaptive behavior refers to the collection and independent performance of the skills that enable an individual to meet the social and practical demands of everyday living, similar to the term life skills. This is a term used in the areas of psychology and special education, often used as one of the criteria for intellectual and developmental disability. In contrast, maladaptive behavior refers to behaviors that lead to sub-optimal outcomes, negatively impacting the everyday life of individuals.
Specific skills
Adaptive behaviors include life skills such as grooming, dressing, safety, food handling, working, money management, cleaning, making friends, social skills, and the personal responsibility expected of their age, social group and wealth group. These skills are typically split into three categories: conceptual, social and practical.
- Managing time
- Reading and writing
- Managing finances At the proximate level, adaptive behavior depends on intact cognitive processes, with research demonstrating that developmental changes in cognition are positively associated with changes in adaptive behavior in individuals with intellectual disability.
History of the term
The term 'adaptive behavior' emerged in the 1800s in connection to defining intellectual disability (ID). It was sidelined with the use of IQ testing to determine ID, until the first half of the 20th century when it began to be incorporated into the definition of ID. In 1936 Doll developed the first assessment of the construct of adaptive behavior, the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS), and in 1941 he proposed that the definition of mental disability be revised to include measures of ability in the form of estimates of adaptive behavior, termed social competence.
This resulted in the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), formally including adaptive behavior deficits in their definition of ID in 1959, so that the definition then focused on both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, defined in 1961 as:
- The ability of an individual to maintain themselves independently
- The degree to which they meet the culturally imposed demand of personal and social responsibility
Measuring adaptive behavior
It is important to assess adaptive behavior not only because it can serve as a useful diagnostic tool but also because it provides information on how well an individual functions in daily life. It highlights both their strengths and weaknesses, enabling support plans to be created for individuals with intellectual disability, focusing on the areas where they need support.
In the past century a variety of scales intending to measure adaptive behavior have been developed, building on the VSMS. Some of the most notable ones (many of which have been revised at least once and are used often today) include:
- Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (Vineland ABS) (which built directly on the VSMS)
The different scales aim to measure different conceptual, social and practical skills, focusing on different domains depending on their context, target and purpose.
The role of education in adaptive behavior
Adaptive behaviors can be learned and interventions can help increase the quality of life for those with intellectual disability, since adaptive behavior has been shown to be the main determinant of quality of life for individuals with intellectual disability. It is for this reason that training in adaptive behavior, whilst it is a key component of any educational program, is critically important for children with special needs. Interventions such as Early Intensive Behavioral Interventions (EIBI) which involve personalised teaching based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) have been shown to be successful in increasing adaptive behavior in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
However, there are some difficulties when it comes to teaching adaptive behavior. Firstly there is significant heterogeneity within different intellectual disabilities, like ASD, but investigated interventions often focus on group-level effects, making it difficult to know which approach would best suit a specific individual's needs when it comes to teaching adaptive behavior. Additionally, studies have shown that parental attitudes, including an excessive reliance on assistants to perform tasks for their children, can act as significant barriers to teaching adaptive behavior.