The generalization map revisited: Assessment of generalized treatment effects in child and adolescent behavior therapy

Abstract

Drabman, Hammer, and Rosenbaum (1979) proposed a conceptual framework to categorize the generalized effects of child and adolescent behavior therapy. To determine the current status of generalization in the child behavior therapy literature, we conducted a review of 15,141 articles that appeared in 28 journals over the past 12 years. Results indicted that: (a) of the 904 behavioral treatment studies 424 (46.9%) presented generalization data, (b) of these studies, the majority did not meet specified experimental review criteria (e.g., maintenance of treatment gains at six-month followup), (c) the generalization map categories of time, maintenance, setting, and setting-time were the most frequently encountered, (d) there was a statistically significant increase in reported instances of one generalization map code (maintenance) over the last 10 years when compared with data for the 1960–1977 period, and (e) generalization data were found for 15 of the 16 map classes which were conceptually linked to molar classes of behavioral responding.