title: Increasing generalized social interactions in psychotic and mentally retarded residents through peer-mediated therapy.
abstract: This study investigated whether withdrawn adults living in a residential center for psychotic and mentally handicapped persons could serve as peer therapists to increase the social interaction of other withdrawn residents. Two pairs of residents served as participants. Treatments were introduced and evaluated within a multiple baseline with reversal design. After baseline, the peer therapist was instructed to increase the social interactions of a target peer through engagement in social interactions. The results demonstrated that the peer therapist increased the social interactions of target peers. However, these increases did not generalize to other residents until the introduction of a multiple peer therapist condition. The percentage of time the peer therapists interacted with other nontarget residents also increased throughout the study. These results were maintained during a 4-month follow-up condition.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Van Houten
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Houten
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010379:Peer Group; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012951:Socialization