The paper examines the nature of abnormal stereotyped behavior, favoring a self-stimulation theory over one emphasizing an intrinsic oscillator mechanism. Questions of prevention are noted. (Author/CL)

Maladaptive behavior of 474 persons from a residential facility for mentally retarded individuals was investigated. Multiple regression analysis revealed that maladaptive behaviors were related to sex, social age, chronological age, resident's time spent on outside activities, number of residents per direct-care staff member, presence of sensory…

Disruptive behavior of 64 subjects in trainable and educable mentally retarded classrooms was observed over a four-day period. Although mean disruptive behavior occurred in relatively low levels, considerable variability was evident with some differences observed in the nature of disruptive behaviors between TMR and EMR subjects. (Author)

Factor analyses of ratings received by 617 patients in a state hospital for the mentally retarded, concerning 26 problem behaviors, indicated that five factors describe the behaviors. (Author)

For all California state hospitals, percentages of 11,139 mentally retarded patients were presented for different levels of physical disability and self help skills and for different frequencies of problem behaviors. (Author)

Effects of passive environmental conditions (quiet, radio, and television) and manipulable objects (no toys, toys, toys plus staff interaction) on stereotypic behaviors of four institutionalized mentally retarded adults with high rates of stereotypic behavior were evaluated. (Author)

Patterns of emotional and behavior problems among 360 educable mentally retarded (EMR) and 360 nonretarded elementary and secondary students were studied through factor analysis of teachers' rating scale evaluations. EMR groups could be discriminated from nonretarded groups on the aggression, attention disorder, and anxiety/inferiority factors.…