Structure of adaptive behavior in samples with and without mental retardation.

The structure of adaptive behavior as a function of age and status of handicap was investigated in two samples with mental retardation and five samples without retardation. Exploratory factor analysis of the subscale scores from a comprehensive, nationally standardized measure of adaptive behavior (Scales of Independent Behavior) revealed a large Adaptive or Personal Independence dimension. Although not consistently identified in all samples, secondary Academic, Personal Responsibility, and Community/Vocational dimensions were also identified. Possible differences were identified in the structure of adaptive behavior as a function of age.

Confirmatory factor analytic investigation of Greenspan's model of personal competence.

In the recent revision of the AAMR classification manual, an adapted version of Greenspan's model of personal competence was used to describe personal capabilities. This adapted model differs significantly from the original Greenspan model. In the present study three alternative models of personal competence were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis methods in separate samples of 180 students with mild and 143 students with moderate to severe disabilities. The results supported Greenspan's original model that includes the domains of physical and emotional competence and practical, social, and conceptual intelligence. The AAMR model that includes the construct of adaptive skills was not supported.

Empirical analysis of multidimensional measures of community adjustment for young adults with mental retardation.

Confirmatory factor analysis procedures were used to evaluate multidimensional measures of community adjustment in a sample of 239 young adults with mild to severe mental retardation. Alternative measurement models were evaluated in one-half of the sample, with the final model cross-validated in the second half of the sample. The final cross-validated model was also evaluated as a function of level of retardation. Evidence was found for at least six broad dimensions of community adjustment when combined with other multidimensional research findings. The measurement of one dimension varied as a function of degree of retardation. Use of validated multidimensional measures of community adjustment in future research studies was discussed.

Response to Mathias and Nettelbeck on the structure of competence: need for theory-based methods to test theory-based questions.

In this paper, we respond to a 1992 study by Mathias and Nettelbeck in which, using exploratory factor analysis, they argued that the structure of intelligence in persons with mental retardation deviates from the model previously proposed by Greenspan. Applying the LISREL method of confirmatory factor analysis to Mathias and Nettelbeck's original correlation matrix, we found the Greenspan model (in which social and practical intelligence form separate factors) to be an equally plausible interpretation of their data as the single (Interpersonal Competence) factor found by Mathias and Nettelbeck. The fundings are discussed with respect to (a) the importance of using theory-based methods when addressing theory-based questions and (b) the role of social intelligence in the ongoing controversy over the meaning of mental retardation.

Components of personal competence and community integration for persons with mental retardation in small residential programs.

This study identifies components of personal competence and community adjustment in a national sample of persons with mental retardation living in residential facilities of six or fewer residents. Factor analysis of 65 variables yielded an 8 principal component solution that accounted for approximately half the total variance in the observed variables (49%). The eight identified components of personal competence and community adjustment were labeled (1) Self Care and Functional Personal Living Skills, (2) Community Living Skills, (3) Home Living Skills, (4) Problem Behavior, (5) Community Training Goals and Objectives, (6) Recreation/Leisure Activity, (7) Family Contact/Relationships, and (8) Community Assimilation and Acceptance. The implications of reducing potentially hundreds of indicators of personal competence and community adjustment into relatively few broad internally consistent composite constructs are discussed.

Factor structure of maladaptive behavior across the lifespan of persons with mental retardation.

Data obtained on a sample of persons with mild to profound degrees of mental retardation (N = 8255) and ranging from birth to 98 years of age were factor analyzed to provide information on the structure of maladaptive behavior relative to age and degree of mental retardation. Using the Problem Behavior scales of the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning, two principal factors emerged for children with mild to profound degrees of retardation: Internalized Maladaptive and Externalized Maladaptive. For adolescents and young adults, a three-factor solution which varied by degree of retardation was most appropriate. For middle and older adults, three- and four-factor solutions were identified across all ages and degrees of retardation. Across all samples as many as six different types of dimensions were identified, indicating that the structure of maladaptive behavior may well be influenced by age and level of mental retardation.

Community integration of young adults with mental retardation: a multivariate analysis of adjustment.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether differences in community adjustment existed for three groups of young adults with mental retardation using data organized on the basis of four empirically validated factors identified in prior research. A descriptive discriminant function analysis was used as a follow-up to a statistically significant multivariate analysis of variance F-ratio. Results obtained from the discriminant analysis indicated that five variables (number of limiting factors, earned income, number of support services, living arrangement, number of daytime activities) contributed substantively to separation of the three group centroids.

Relationship between measures of adaptive functioning and community adjustment for adults with mental retardation.

This study investigated the concurrent relations between measures of adaptive/maladaptive behavior and community adjustment in a sample of 239 adults with mild to severe degrees of mental retardation. Using canonical correlation procedures and multidimensional community adjustment measures, the investigators found significant relations between the measures of behavior and several community adjustment dimensions. The results provided evidence for the criterion-related validity of measures of adaptive/maladaptive behavior and suggested that such skills provide an important contribution to community adaptation and to program planning and decision making for individuals with mental retardation.

Daughters' caregiving decisions: from an impulse to a balancing point of care.

Daughters comprise 29% of all caregivers of the dependent elderly and make decisions about parent care in a context of ambiguous and changing role expectations. This qualitative study explored the decision process of ten caregiving daughters. The women responded to parent dependency with an impulse to care and pursued a balancing point of care in the face of limiting decision conditions. Each daughter constructed a sense of "enough": an equation of her multiply-determined impulse to care and her personal threshold of support. These constructions help explain the variability of levels, lengths, and forms of parent care.