"Why don't behavior analysts do something?"1 Behavior analysts' historical, present, and potential future actions on sexual and gender minority issues

Reckoning With Our Past and Righting Our Future: Report From the Behavior Therapy Task Force on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression Change Efforts (SOGIECEs)

Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression change efforts (SOGIECEs) are discredited practices that are associated with serious negative effects and incompatible with modern standards for clinical practice. Despite evidence linking SOGIECEs with serious iatrogenic effects, and despite support for LGBTQ+-affirmative care alternatives, SOGIECE practices persist. In the 1970s and 1980s, Behavior Therapy published articles testing and/or endorsing SOGIECEs, thereby contributing to their overall development, acceptance, and use. The Behavior Therapy Task Force on SOGIECEs was assembled to conduct a rigorous review of the SOGIECE articles published in Behavior Therapy and to decide whether, and what, formal action(s) should be taken on these articles. This report provides a detailed review of the historic SOGIECE literature published in Behavior Therapy and outlines the Task Force's deliberative and democratic processes resulting in actions to: (1) add prominent advisory information to k = 24 SOGIECE papers in the form of digital "black box" disclaimers that caution readers that the SOGIECE practices tested or described in these papers are inconsistent with modern standards, (2) offset organizational financial benefits from the publication of these papers, and (3) promote LGBTQ+-affirmative practices. SOGIECEs are not the only concerning practices across the field's history, and the pages of today's scientific journals include practices that will be at odds with tomorrow's moral standards and ethical guidelines. This report calls for precautionary measures and editorial safeguards to minimize the future likelihood and impact of problematic published scholarship, including the need to fully include those with relevant lived experiences in all aspects of clinical science and peer review.

Pay Equity Among Behavior-Analytic Practitioners Who Serve Children

Pay disparities have numerous adverse effects upon organizations, employees, and clients, which can affect the organization's ability to deliver services, including culturally responsive services. Evidence is accumulating that pay inequity, particularly among females and males, is present within the field of behavior analysis (Li et al., 2018; Vance & Saini, 2022). The purpose of the present study was to examine the annual income of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) and doctoral-level BCBAs (BCBA-Ds) who work with children, with a particular focus on the impact that salary practices have on the provision of services to this age group. A survey was distributed to collect information regarding annual income, demographics, and various aspects of service delivery. The sample included 236 (96.7%) BCBAs and eight (3.3%) BCBA-Ds who had been in the field an average of 11.3 years (N = 244). Annual income for female BCBAs and male BCBAs was $74,888 and $79,140, respectively. For those who served children and adolescents, female respondents earn an annual average of $75,840, while male respondents earn an average of $74, 673. The annual incomes of female BCBAs that served urban, rural, and combined rural and urban regions were $76,931, $69,198, and $77,199, respectively. The observed differences between service regions were statistically significant, whereas the difference observed between females and males was not. Considering this, females made less than male counterparts in nearly every comparison, which is alarming. The present study adds to the growing list of observations indicating that a change in salary practices is needed to improve behavior-analytic service delivery to clients.

Into Inclusion: Increasing Trans-Inclusive Practices with Behavior Analysis

Promoting an inclusive culture can be critical to the progression of diverse groups. Practicing inclusive behavior is one important step toward fostering inclusion. Applied behavior analysis can contribute much to this topic given its use of practical methods to encourage socially significant behavior change (Baer et al., 1968). Proper pronoun use is one inclusive behavior that helps support gender minorities. Whereas self-assessment has been recommended to increase cultural awareness, this has not been confirmed through research. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of a specific approach to self-assessment (behavioral self-monitoring; BSM) on the percentage of correct pronouns used by graduate students during a simulated work task. Results indicate that BSM was effective in promoting proper pronoun use when it followed BSM training, and the effects maintained over time.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-021-00669-2.