Behavioral Skills Training for Active Shooter Scenarios Among Human Service Staff

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mass shootings have become increasingly prevalent in schools and healthcare settings. Unfortunately, little information is available on training for active shooter scenarios in which a staff member is also responsible for a client. This deficit is concerning, given that previous research has found that 75% of individuals freeze during emergencies. Behavioral skills training has been shown to be an effective way to teach a variety of safety-related skills. This study used a concurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training on active shooter scenario safety-related skills of three Registered Behavior Technicians®. The experimenters trained the participants on how to respond under various conditions and when they should run, hide, or fight. All three participants mastered the safety-related behaviors in the three conditions (run, hide, fight), demonstrated generalization to more realistic antecedent stimuli, and maintained the skills over time.