it's not always a stranger that's the danger

81 Pages·2016·0.98 MB·English

by  Chelsee Rodriguez

ABSTRACT
IT’S NOT ALWAYS A STRANGER THAT’S THE DANGER: A
SAFE-WORD INTERVENTION FOR ABDUCTION
PREVENTION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Although many studies and interventions have focused on teaching children about
stranger danger, statistics show that most children are abducted by known individuals,
not strangers. This study examined the effects of a training package that employed the
use of a safe-word to address this discrepancy and decrease the likelihood that a child
will leave with a person not appointed by their parents, regardless of whether they are
known or unknown to the child. Five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD), ages 4-9 years old, were recruited for the study. Assessments and interventions
were conducted in various public settings in the local community, a research room at a
local university, and the participant’s home. A concurrent multiple baseline design across
participants was used to measure participants’ responses to lures by way of a 5-point
scoring system across conditions. Each participant was quasi-randomly exposed to a
variety of different lures, and the intervention utilized a behavioral skills training
package, with in situ training if needed, to teach participants how to respond
appropriately to lures from known and unknown individuals who either knew or did not
know the safe-word. Post-intervention probes suggest that this intervention was
successful in teaching all participants to respond differentially to requests from adults
who could provide the participant with the safe-word compared to those who could not.
Follow-up probes showed that this performance maintained for 3 out of 5 participants at a
1-week follow-up but that further training may be needed to ensure maintenance for some
participants.
Chelsee Rodriguez
December 2016

IT’S NOT ALWAYS A STRANGER THAT’S THE DANGER: A
SAFE-WORD INTERVENTION FOR ABDUCTION
PREVENTION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
SPECTRUM DISORDERS

by
Chelsee Rodriguez

A thesis
submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Psychology
in the College of Science and Mathematics
California State University, Fresno
December 2016
© 2016 Chelsee Rodriguez
APPROVED
For the Department of Psychology:

We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student
meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the
university and the student's graduate degree program for the
awarding of the master's degree.

Chelsee Rodriguez
Thesis Author

Marianne Jackson (Chair) Psychology

Amanda Mortimer Psychology

Amanda Nicolson California Autism Center & Learning Group

For the University Graduate Committee:

Dean, Division of Graduate Studies
AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION
OF MASTER’S THESIS

X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in
its entirety without further authorization from me, on the
condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction
absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of
authorship.

Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must
be obtained from me.

Signature of thesis author:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would first and foremost like to praise and thank Jesus Christ, my Lord
and Savior, for His steadfast love and support.
To my esteemed advisor, Marianne Jackson, thank you for your guidance,
encouragement, feedback, and for shaping my behavior throughout the program. I
would like to recognize and thank the efforts of my thesis committee, Amanda
Nicolson and Amanda Mortimer, for your advice, ideas, and detailed review
during the preparation of this thesis. I also thank Criss Wilhite for inspiring me to
pursue a degree in behavior analysis.
To my amazing cohort and colleagues, I want to express my deep gratitude
for your encouraging and insightful discussions inside and outside of the
classroom. To those who struggled to keep their eyes open at the library with
me—Alex Jones, Rocio Nuñez, Blain Hockridge, and Geoff Browning—graduate
school would not have been as memorable without each of you. To my housemate
and dear friend, Heather Waldron, thank you for your guidance and support these
last four years. Thank you to my dependable research assistants for dedicating
time and efforts to collecting data and playing confederate adults. Specifically,
thank you Shayne Gazman for offering all of your availability to help me out.
Special thanks to my research participants and their families for their efforts in
attending sessions and completing the study.
Thank you Ronald Dzerigian at the Graduate Writing Studio, particularly
for your excellent advice and detailed feedback during the writing process. I also
appreciate Chuck Radke at the Division of Graduate Studies for making time to
meet with me and for all your assistance.
vi vi
I cannot finish without thanking my wonderful family and all my close
friends for praying over me. I warmly thank and appreciate my lovely mother for
her continuous encouragement and support throughout all aspects of my life; and
my patient father for providing assistance and offering advice in numerous ways.
Both have loved me unconditionally and have always wanted the best for me.
Thank you to my stepmother for cheering me on and for supporting me as your
own. My deepest appreciation to my other half and sister, Vanessa, for relentlessly
believing in me and lifting my spirits in times of need. Special thanks to my sweet
sisters, Alexa and Natassija, for their love and willingness to help. Last, but
certainly not least, I want to express deep gratitude to my fiancé, Givan Bznuni,
for being a Godly and understanding man, an amazing partner, and my biggest
reinforcer. God bless.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. ix
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 3: METHOD ........................................................................................ 22
Participants ...................................................................................................... 22
Setting ............................................................................................................. 24
Materials .......................................................................................................... 24
Adult Confederates .......................................................................................... 26
Research Assistants ......................................................................................... 28
Dependent and Independent Variables ........................................................... 28
Design ............................................................................................................. 30
Procedure ......................................................................................................... 30
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ....................................................................................... 35
Nick .............................................................................................................. 35
Schmidt ........................................................................................................... 36
Jessica .............................................................................................................. 39
Winston ........................................................................................................... 41
Sam .............................................................................................................. 41
Social Validity Results .................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 44
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 47
Future Research ............................................................................................... 48
viii viii
Page
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 50
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 54
APPENDIX A: PARENT INFORMED CONSENT FORM ................................. 55
APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT ASSENT FORM ................................................ 58
APPENDIX C: CAREGIVER INSTRUCTIONS FOR MANAGING CHILD
DISTRESS ................................................................................................... 60
APPENDIX D: TREATMENT INTEGRITY CHECKLIST ................................. 62
APPENDIX E: SOCIAL VALIDITY QUESTIONNAIRE ................................... 67