A multiple-baseline evaluation of the treatment of food phobia in a young boy

A multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioral treatment program using modeling, graduated exposure, and contingency management to treat food phobia in a 4-year-old boy. In addition, a treatment component involving time-out and re-introduction of the initial request to consume the target food was added to reduce vomiting behavior that developed during the course of treatment. The volume and range of foods consumed by the participant increased, and observer-rated anxiety and vomiting decreased over the course of treatment. The results of this controlled evaluation suggest that this treatment program was responsible for the observed changes, which were maintained at 6-month follow-up.