The effect of peer-to-peer training on staff interactions with adults with dual diagnoses

Researchers have demonstrated the importance of training behavioral skills to staff members working with consumers with developmental disabilities. A training program that does not rely solely on consultants or administrators may benefit human services agencies that have limited resources to allocate to training. In the present study, the experimenters used a multiple-baseline-across-participants-experimental design to assess the effectiveness of a peer-to-peer staff-training program. The experimenters used instruction, modeling, practice, and feedback to teach habilitation specialists to train their co-workers to interact frequently and positively with adults with psychiatric disorders and developmental disabilities in a day habilitation setting. All trainees increased interactions and/or positive statements as a function of the training program.