Treatment integrity failures matched to behavioral function
Prior research on treatment integrity has focused on either the lack of measurement of the independent variable (Peterson, Homer & Wonderlich, 1982; Gresham, Gansle & Noel, 1993; Wheeler, Baggett, Fox & Blevins, 2006; McIntyre, Gresham, DiGennaro & Reed, 2007; Sanetti, Gritter & Dobey, 2011) or on methods to increase overall levels of treatment integrity(Witt, Noell, LaFleur & Mortenson, 1997; Noell, Witt, Gilbertson, Ranier & Freeland,1997; Noell et al., 2005). Yet little research has been devoted to understanding the effectiveness of common interventions when those interventions are implemented with less than perfect integrity. The current investigation evaluated the effectiveness of using reinforcement and prompting to increase correct item completion on math worksheets for kindergarten and first graders. Treatment was evaluated when both components were implemented, when only reinforcement was implemented, when only prompting was implemented and when neither was implemented. In addition preferences for either attention or escape were evaluated as moderator variables to understand how individual differences impact treatment effectiveness. Results indicated treatment was effective at all levels of implementation when moderator variables were not accounted for. However when moderator variables were evaluated individuals who preferred escape responded best when both treatment components were implemented whereas, for individuals who preferred attention all treatment conditions were equally effective.
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