Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Use Of Vouchers To Negatively Reinforce Number Of Weeks Compliant Among Clients In A Mental Health Court, Michele Nicole Murdock

Dissertations

The literature is sparse on the use of contingency management procedures in a mental health court (MHC). The purpose of this study was to examine the use of negative reinforcement for behavioral changes in a MHC. Specifically, the present study explored whether a voucher-based contingency management intervention improved the number of weeks compliant on MHC probation and whether participants were more externally than internally motivated to comply with MHC probation requirements. Vouchers were given for compliance with MHC probation requirements. The vouchers allowed participants to miss a future court date. It was hypothesized that participants who received the voucher would …