Twenty-three (n=420) studies were included in the review. Fifteen were single-subject or case studies; the remaining eight studies included two or more experimental groups or pooled data from individual patients.
Wandering and hazardous ambulation.
Five studies reported a clinically meaningful effect for behavioural interventions, particularly those involving stimulus control techniques. Two studies reported contradictory findings in relation to the effects of two-dimensional grids. One study each supported the use of manipulating consequences and backward chaining procedures.
Disruptive vocalisation.
Differential reinforcement of other behaviour (DRO) procedures were effective in two studies, had mixed results in two studies and had no effect in one study. One study reported good control over disruptive vocalisation in one participant, but not a second when using functional analysis and noncontingent reinforcement.
Physical aggression.
Three single-subject case studies showed a clinically meaningful effect for an antecedent control intervention, adapting the environment to accommodate a patient's perceptual deficit, and combined DRO/cognitive-behavioural techniques, respectively.
Other agitated behaviours.
Single-subject case series have shown significant effects of antecedent control procedures involving cued recall on inappropriate urination and excessive toileting demands, and of a differential reinforcement of low rates of behaviour intervention on disruptive use of the telephone.
The results for interventions targeting a range of behaviours were given in the paper.