Forty mothers whose children had experienced differing kinds of behavioral prehospital preparation were contacted I year following the child's hospitalization for elective tonsillectomy surgery. They were interviewed about responses to the hospitalization experience and about recent responses to stress. The mothers reported that their children recalled many more positive than negative aspects of hospitalization. Although parents were allowed to room-in with their children, and many did, the most frequently mentioned hospital stressor was overnight separation of mother and child. A minority of parents reported using, following hospitalization, the behavior techniques they had received in two of the preparation programs, while most parents reported using verbal techniques such as information and reassurance to help their children cope. Too few subjects within the original four different experimental groups were contacted to permit definitive statements about differences in the original preparation techniques, but overall there was no evidence of the psychological trauma which some researchers have suggested may accompany even minor elective surgery.