Effects of Correspondence Training in an Abduction Prevention Training Program

Thirty-one children ages 4 to 5 participated in an abduction prevention program consisting of instructions, role plays, corrective feedback, and praise. The children were assigned to one of two groups. In one group, reinforcement was given for the correct performance of the three target behaviors during the role plays, whereas in the second group, reinforcement was given for verbal-nonverbal correspondence. Abduction prevention skills were assessed through self-reports and in situ probes at pretraining and posttraining. Those who met criteria at the posttraining probe were reassessed at a one-month follow-up. Those who did not meet criteria at the posttraining probe were given a booster session and were reassessed one week later. Although it was expected that participants in the correspondence group would demonstrate higher levels of correspondence between self-reports and in situ probes and would be more likely to engage in the target behaviors, the results indicated that there were no group differences. Children performed significantly better at posttraining than at pretraining. Half of the children who were reassessed at a one-month follow-up maintained the criterion behaviors. Only four of the 13 children who were reassessed after a booster session demonstrated all criterion behaviors during the probe, and seven reported they would engage in all criterion behaviors.