American journal of mental deficiency最新文献

The incidence of occlusion of the external auditory canal due to impacted cerumen was determined for 44 mentally retarded subjects in comparison with 44 nonretarded subjects. Otoscopic data were taken by qualified personnel for both groups and subjected to statistical analysis. Results confirmed that retarded adolescents have a significantly higher incidence of occlusion of the external auditory canal due to impacted cerumen than do nonretarded adolescents. Routine otoscopic examinations should be performed on the former group to ameliorate loss of hearing due to impacted cerumen.

The effects of verbal corrections on vocational training of severely mentally retarded individuals have not been clear because of lack of measures that are sensitive to differences in such persons' receptive-language skills. Using the verbal subscale of the Trainee Performance Sample, we identified trainees of high and low receptive-language skills. They were then randomly assigned to training conditions involving specific and nonspecific verbal corrections from experienced trainers. Results demonstrated that specific verbal corrections enhanced acquisition by learners with higher receptive-language skills but did not do so for learners with lower receptive-language skills. Implications of such an aptitude-treatment interaction were discussed.

McCubbin and Patterson's (1983) model of family adjustment and adaptation to stress was summarized and applied to families' decisions for in-home versus out-of-home placement of children with severe mental retardation. Basically, three factors (demands on the family, the family resources, and the family's perspective on the situation) were viewed as interacting in three phases (adjustment, restructuring, and consolidation) to produce an outcome, measured on a bonadaptive to maladaptive continuum. Research on differences between families who seek residential placement and those who do not was summarized and organized within this framework. Out of this theoretical foundation implications for future research and intervention were developed. Recommendations include basing future research more directly on theory, utilizing multivariate techniques in research, and developing multifaceted early intervention programs that emphasize family values as well as family needs.

The Leiter International Performance Scale, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, and the Cognitive Triad of the Adaptive Behavior Scale were used to assess the intellectual functioning of 77 institutionalized mentally retarded adults. On the basis of their IQs, 30 were categorized as profoundly, 21 as severely, and 16 as moderately retarded (10 were unclassifiable because the Leiter and Peabody yielded disparate scores). Discriminant analysis in which category membership was predicted on the basis of the Cognitive Triad measures (Economic Activity, Language Development, and Number and Time Concepts) correctly classified 78% of the cases. There were no instances in which profoundly and moderately retarded individuals were mutually misclassified. Results support the use of the Cognitive Triad as an alternative for classifying lower functioning retarded persons.

An intervention study designed to investigate the effects of maternal behavior on children's cognitive and language functioning was conducted with 40 disadvantaged preschool children at risk for mental retardation and 20 control children. Intervention was based in part upon Sigel's distancing theory, with 20 mothers encouraged to increase inductive, responsive, and complex behavior and the other 20, only inductive and responsive behavior. Results indicated that both procedures were effective in increasing targeted maternal and child behavior; control measures remained stable over sessions. Posttest results suggested that training procedures significantly increased treated children's cognitive skills compared to the control children; the treated children who were encouraged to increase the complexity of behavior outperformed the others. Training generalized to the home environment. Implications of the results for early intervention were discussed.

The relationships of 35 community-based mildly mentally retarded adults and their siblings were examined through participant-observation techniques over an 18-month period. Five kinds of sibling relationships were identified based on the independent ranking of each sibling pair on a continuum that reflected three major relationship dimensions: warmth, frequency of contact, and degree of involvement. These relationships were described as were some general patterns that seem to have the greatest impact on relations between retarded adults and their siblings.

This response is a reaction to a study by Seltzer and Krauss (1984), in which dichotomous measurement of the behavior-problem variable gave rise to some potentially misleading implications about community-placement planning. Some difficulties in measuring this complex variable were reviewed and a more functional behavior assessment advocated. The problem of maladaptive behavior as an obstacle to deinstitutionalization has not yet been resolved.

Four hypotheses were tested to determine whether there are significant differences between elderly and adult mentally retarded persons living in institutional and community-based settings with respect to cognitive, medical, and functional impairments and service needs and utilization. The findings did not support the hypotheses that such differences exist, except with respect to service needs and utilization. The implications of these results for policy and program development were discussed.

A questionnaire was sent to 600 randomly selected professional members of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (an equal number of educators, physicians, psychologists, and social workers). It consisted of an assessment of expectations and prognostications about residential and vocational placement for persons in the three levels of retardation. Results showed that physicians had significantly lower expectations than did educators and social workers. Professionals' expectations factored into four skill groups: Independent Living, Decision Making, Self-Help, and Social Activity Skills. Physician expectations on cluster scores of Independent Living and Self-Help Skills were significantly lower for moderately retarded persons for Independent Living and severely retarded individuals for Self-Help. Physicians were also significantly more restrictive about residential and vocational placements for mildly retarded individuals. Results suggest that there are differences in expectations and prognostications even among professionals in the area of mental retardation.

Many epidemiological studies of mental retardation have shown a higher prevalence of boys than girls. Data were reviewed from various studies consistently showing that the highest male/female ratios are found at the upper end of the IQ range for children classified as mentally retarded. One reason for this may be that boys with IQs at the upper end of this range have greater difficulty than girls in meeting the requirements of school performance. Factors that may cause boys to experience more difficulties than girls in the early school years were reviewed.