ERIC Number: ED017087
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1966
Pages: 203
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
MID-LIFE ATTAINMENT OF THE MENTALLY RETARDED, A LONGITUDINAL STUDY.
BALLER, WARREN R.; AND OTHERS
THIS STUDY LOCATED MENTALLY RETARDED, SLOW LEARNING, AND NORMAL SUBJECTS WHO HAD BEEN EVALUATED DURING THE 1930'S. THEIR PRESENT STATUS AND FUNCTIONING WERE REPORTED AND THE STUDY SEARCHED FOR REASONS FOR THE SUBJECTS' DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LIFE ADJUSTMENT. OVER 400 OF THE ORIGINAL SUBJECTS WERE LOCATED. THEY WERE IN THEIR MIDDLE FIFTIES AT THE TIME OF THIS STUDY. EACH SUBJECT WAS INTERVIEWED OR RESPONDED TO A LIFE HISTORY QUESTIONNAIRE. SOCIAL STATUS WAS EVALUATED. A SAMPLE WERE GIVEN INTELLIGENCE TESTS. RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE MENTALLY RETARDED GROUP HAD A HIGHER DEATH RATE THAN THE OTHER TWO GROUPS. THE MENTALLY RETARDED GROUP MEMBERS WERE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE ALONE AND ALSO HAD A HIGHER DIVORCE RATE. ALTHOUGH THE MENTALLY RETARDED GROUP HAD SHOWN STEADY IMPROVEMENT IN SELF SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS, THEIR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS STILL ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. ALL GROUPS WERE GENERALLY LAW ABIDING. THOSE SUBJECTS IN THE MENTALLY RETARDED GROUP TENDED NOT TO PARTICIPATE AS MUCH SOCIALLY AS SUBJECTS IN THE OTHER TWO GROUPS. NO SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN INTELLIGENCE HAD BEEN MADE BY ANY GROUP. THE LOW GROUP HAD HAD FEWER DESIRABLE EXPERIENCES. CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL (FOUR MALES, FOUR FEMALES) AND UNSUCCESSFUL (FOUR MALES, FOUR FEMALES) SUBJECTS FROM THE LOW GROUP ARE PRESENTED. FACTORS RELATING TO THEIR SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL LIFE ADJUSTMENTS ARE DISCUSSED. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE MADE ABOUT THE MENTALLY RETARDED AND ABOUT FURTHER RESEARCH. QUESTIONNAIRES USED ARE REPRODUCED. DATA IS PRESENTED IN 120 TABLES. THE BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTS 33 ITEMS. THIS PAPER WAS PUBLISHED AS AN ARTICLE IN GENETIC PSYCHOLOGY MONOGRAPHS, VOLUME 75, SECOND HALF, PAGES 235-329, MAY 1967. (JA)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Nebraska Univ., Lincoln.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A