American journal of mental deficiency最新文献

Adaptive skills of 2,144 individuals with Down syndrome were compared to a similar group of 4,172 developmentally disabled people without Down syndrome. Activities of daily living and cognitive skills were examined across etiology, age group, and level of mental retardation. For individuals with Down syndrome at all levels of retardation, adaptive competence declined with increasing age to a greater extent than for retarded control subjects. Clear age-related deficits associated with Down syndrome were observed only in people older than 50 years of age. Findings support previous evidence of an increased risk for the clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease among people with Down syndrome; however, signs of dementia appeared later in life than would be predicted from available neuropathological data.

Specific social skill deficiencies associated with depressed mood were identified in a group of 45 mentally retarded adults with mixed or no psychiatric diagnoses. Self-report and informant-rated measures of social skills, social support, and depressed mood were obtained. One set of results replicated previous findings that high levels of depressed mood are associated with poor social skills and low levels of social support. Another set of findings identified 30 social skill deficits associated with depressed mood. We found that the retarded subjects with depressed mood were withdrawn and interacted less with others and that their social interactions were more inappropriate and ineffective. Some instances of antisocial behavior might be motivated by depressed mood.

A general theoretical framework to guide research on self-instructional training was presented. The theory emphasizes that in evaluating self-instructional programs, more attention must be given to the developmental characteristics of the persons to be trained and suggests that self-instruction will be particularly useful to young nonretarded children, mentally retarded persons, and, more generally, individuals who have limited linguistic skills and a limited knowledge base. Further, retarded children taught to self-instruct will show better attention, memory, and motivation and manifest less impulsive behavior, maladaptive perseveration, and field dependency when taught through a self-instructional in contrast to an external instructional format. Empirical support for this theory was examined and recommendations for future research made.

The sustained vowel sounds of 14 noninstitutionalized 7- to 10-year-old children with Down syndrome and 14 nonretarded 7- to 10-year-old children were analyzed acoustically in terms of vowel formant amplitude levels. Taped speech samples were subjected to narrowband realtime analysis, and the levels of both groups were compared statistically. The speakers with Down syndrome had formant amplitude intensity levels that were significantly lower than those of a similar group of nonretarded speakers.

The intellectual strengths and weaknesses of 14 boys and young men with fragile X syndrome were assessed using the Sequential, Simultaneous, and Achievement domains of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. Sequential processing, auditory, visual and motoric short-term memory, and arithmetic skills emerged as significant areas of weakness. Significant strengths were found in perceptual closure, inference, and flexibility. These findings both extend and contradict previous research and show the importance of classifying research groups by etiology of retardation rather than by overall level of impairment.

Effects of age difference in dyadic relationships where one child was severely mentally retarded and the other was nonretarded were investigated. Interactions of 53 dyads were behaviorally coded in two situations: a free-play context and a teaching context. Behavioral data, teacher's reports, and nonretarded children's self-reports suggested that relationships were most balanced, symmetrical, fun, and engaging when partners were closer in age. The behavioral results were strongest in the teaching situation. These effects were discussed with respect to the obvious asymmetry implicit in relationships between children with very different levels of competency.

Interrater and test-retest reliabilities of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist were compared on the basis of type of instructions to raters. Three nurses in each of three residential units twice rated 28 mentally retarded residents, using one type of rating system, and the ratings were repeated 4 weeks later. The frequency-based instructions resulted in both higher interrater and test-retest reliability coefficients than did the other instructional types. Frequency-based ratings were performed again in another residential unit, but the higher reliabilities were not replicated. Interrater and test-retest reliability correlations varied markedly both across subscales and raters but were comparable to levels derived with other symptom checklists. We concluded that rater characteristics (e.g., motivation) are more powerful variables than are scoring systems.

Mildly developmentally delayed and nonhandicapped 3- and 4-year-old children were paired systematically in a series of dyadic play sessions to evaluate the effects of companion status on important aspects of peer-related social and play behavior. Mildly delayed children were paired with younger nonhandicapped children matched in terms of developmental level, with nonhandicapped children matched in terms of CA, and with other mildly delayed companions. Mixed-age and same-age pairings for the nonhandicapped children were also arranged. Results indicated that mildly delayed children's peer interactions improved substantially when paired with nonhandicapped older children in comparison to pairings with other mildly delayed children. Pairings with nonhandicapped younger children, although matched in terms of developmental level, had no influence on the peer interactions of mildly delayed children. Nonhandicapped children appeared to be able to maintain a consistent level of interaction irrespective of companion status. Explanations for these findings in terms of the directive role adopted by nonhandicapped older children and their developmental implications were discussed.

The effects of manual sign or spoken word labels on the spatial or temporal ordering of sequences of stimuli by severely mentally retarded children were investigated. The stimuli were presented in a spatial array so that the spatial (left-right) order never corresponded with the temporal (first-last) order. Other researchers have suggested that sign labels would be recalled in the spatial order of presentation and word labels, in the temporal order. The results did not support this, revealing instead that subjects tended to preserve spatial order and reverse temporal order, irrespective of the modality of the stimulus label.

The direction of effects were examined between TMR children and their families in three previously determined family types: cohesive, harmonious; control oriented, somewhat unharmonious; and child-oriented, expressive. Child variables studied were measures of adaptive behavior, psychosocial adjustment, and self-esteem. Family variables included measures of cohesion and conflict, provision of cognitive stimulation, parental warmth and affection, quality of the residential environment, and openness with the interviewer. Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed different directions of effect in the three family types. In cohesive families the family tended to influence the child, whereas in control-oriented and child-oriented families, the child tended to influence the family. Possible reasons for these findings and implications for further research were discussed.