Changes in labels for people with mental retardation over the years have not significantly impacted on negative attitudes toward this population. Recommended is selection of labels which are unambiguous in meaning, based on research on connotations of various labels, and based on preferences expressed by people with mental retardation and their…

An updated version of a 1956 questionnaire concerning misconceptions about mental retardation was administered to 558 individuals. The relations of demographic, experiential, and contact characteristics of 1986 respondents were explored as were comparisons with the 1956 sample. (Author/DB)

Attitudes of 168 practitioners (pediatricians, psychologists, special educators, allied health professionals, and social workers) toward mental retardation were compared. Results showed that pediatricians were significantly more pessimistic about the ultimate abilities of mentally retarded adults than psychologists and educators. (Author/SEW)

Evaluated by means of a 24-item questionnaire were the information and attitudes of 188 normal Ss over 20 years of age both before and after watching a film showing retarded students in various productive activities. (DB)

Evaluation of data on the sexual knowledge, needs, and experience of people with mental retardation found an unmet need for sexual knowledge, caused partly by the largely negative attitudes of caregivers and parents about the sexuality of these individuals. Available sex education programs were found to be generally inadequate and unproven. (DB)

This article describes development and psychometric properties of the Community Living Attitudes Scale, Mental Retardation, a 40-item measure based on the input of self-advocates and focused on contemporary community living philosophies. Tested with 742 individuals, the measure's factor structure was confirmed, and subscales of Empowerment,…

This study examined attitudes toward the Special Olympics of 41 experts in mental retardation and 40 parents of Special Olympics participants. Generally, both groups viewed the program as highly beneficial, particularly in terms of social adjustment and life satisfaction. However, some experts noted segregative aspects of the program and parents…

Attitudes of 340 staff members in 120 community living programs for people with mental retardation, mental illness, and dual diagnosis were assessed using the Community Living Attitudes Scale, a measure of attitudes toward inclusion. Findings identified attitudinal differences toward inclusion between managers and staff and between those working…

Nondisabled children and adults (n=103) were interviewed about their conceptions of blindness, deafness, orthopedic disabilities, mental retardation, and psychological disturbance. In the Guttman scalogram analyses, psychological disturbance was the "most difficult" disability, then mental retardation, then orthopedic disabilities, then…

Measured was the effect of a program providing clinical practice and instruction in retardation on the behavior, knowledge and attitudes of 277 students in the 3rd and 4th years of a baccalureate nursing program. (CL)

Graduate social work students reported positive attitude changes toward the mentally retarded after attending a developmental disabilities course and participating in a day of interaction with the family of a retarded person. (CL)

Naturalistic research, in which persons labeled mentally retarded express their perceptions of intimacy and sexuality, is reviewed. Readers are urged to reexamine ideas about "sex and the mentally retarded," as well as professional practices and attitudes. (Author)

A survey of 989 service providers for handicapped children, age 0-6, examined the degree to which early intervention activities focus on the family. The survey assessed perceptions of the value of working with parents, time devoted to family-focused activities, kinds of services offered, achievement of objectives, and factors impeding services.…