Evaluating the effectiveness of a program targeting behaviour disorders: The development of a logic model

While rigorous experimental studies have provided evidence of the efficacy of certain types of interventions in reducing behaviour disorders, findings are less helpful for clinicians and managers in integrating these treatment approaches into efficient service models. Furthermore, it is still not clear how and why interventions work, either when applied alone or in combination. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms leading to the achievement or non-achievement of interventions outcomes. We hypothesized that the development of a logic model would help to evaluate intervention effectiveness in reducing behaviour disorders and understand its underlying mechanisms. This paper presents a logic model developed to assess the effectiveness of a program for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behaviour disorders. It first describes how the model was developed, and then presents recommendations for service providers, decision-makers, as well as researchers in their effort to build scientific evidence.