Presents an activity program in which nursing home residents utilized their life experiences to teach an oral history class to third-grade students. The program resulted in improved self-esteem among the nursing home residents and heightened community understanding and involvement. (Author/JAC)

Describes the Family Support Group model which reinforces the ongoing importance of families and helps individual family members learn to maintain a key role in linking institutionalized relatives to their past lives. Helps family members learn what they can do to expedite adjustment and advocate effectively for their relative's care. (LLL)

Describes the development of a true-false scale to measure intense ambivalence, suggested as a characteristic of those predisposed to schizophrenia. Tests with college students, schizophrenics, depressed patients, psychology clinic patients, and controls, showed schizophrenics scored higher than controls but depressed patients scored highest of…

Data gathered on 401 school-age children (part of a nationally representative sample of individuals living in residential facilities for mentally retarded persons) found that at the same time the General Accounting Office study was conducted, substantial numbers were not in school programs and eight percent were in no day programs whatsoever.…

A program is described in which institutional staff were successfully trained to use behavioral principles with severely retarded aggressive adults. Group training (self-care instruction, token economy, social skills and activity programing) as well as individualized training are described along with such organizational aspects as team structure…

The study evaluated a program for teaching family-style mealtime skills to four profoundly retarded institutionalized adolescents. The program used forward chaining with a less-to-more intrusive prompting sequence and contingent reinforcement to teach the skills. (Author/DB)

The study was designed to increase the amount of time 37 severely handicapped students living in a residential facility engaged in age-approprite and functional activities. Results showed that after a supervision program was implemented, the students' participation in activities increases and that these increases maintained for a 5-month period.…

Examined the games played by 561 juvenile offenders in coeducational correctional facilities. The types of games used against staff and peers varied considerably. The games were defined as therapeutic games, material games, psychological games, and physical games. Peer-oriented games included attention-seeking activities and a variety of dominance…

Studied the use of computer games with a group of 50 frail elderly nursing home residents. Four computer games were especially modified for this population. Moderate mental and physical impairments did not hamper the residents, who indicated the games were fun, challenging, and improved self-esteem. (JAC)

Presents a group counseling approach for enhancing communication and social skills of psychiatrically disturbed adolescents. Describes contents of the 16 sessions and results of an informal evaluation which suggested the sessions were both enjoyable and effective, particularly structured drama and role play situations. (JAC)

A study to determine quality of life and care in 20 Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities in the Metro Denver Area revealed care was better than anticipated. Assessments were made on 158 residents regarding problems, functioning level, and appropriateness of level of care based on information from residents, staff, and medical records. (Author)

Social factors as measured by a community adjustment scale and other known variables associated with recidivism were examined for their ability to predict rehospitalization of former mental patients. The results suggest that social factors are important determinants of recidivism. (Author)

The Wickens "release from proactive inhibition" task involves presenting several trigrams of one type for several trials and then shifting to another type. College students, elderly community residents, and elderly rest-home residents were compared on the Wickens task. College students were superior in over-all memory. (Author)

Presented is the case history of a severely mentally retarded patient with a 49, XXXXY chromosome pattern. (DB)

The present study was conducted to determine the applicability of human relations training in the rehabilitation of selected prisoners in a Southern prison. Inmates who participated in the study were able to learn discrimination between helpful and nonhelpful communication and to make positive gains in their work behavior. (Author)