Three groups of severely retarded and three groups of mildly retarded individuals responded to a series of five 10-trial oddity problems under nonreward conditions. Results suggest that oddity is a stimulus characteristic to which an approach response is made, independent of its concurrent association with reward, and that stimulus value of oddity…

Implications are reviewed of the brief submitted to the Supreme Court by 21 state attorneys general advocating a return to the warehouse care model for the retarded. The brief's incorrect premises are analyzed, and future implications of decisions in the Youngberg v Romeo case are noted. (Author/CL)

Data on the mean and median age of first admissions to residential facilities for mentally retarded people 1953-1978, and on the percentage of all first admissions entering residential facilities between ages 0-19, reveals a trend toward older first admissions beginning with 1970. (Author/CL)

The study was designed to modify the stair climbing behavior of two profoundly retarded residents through backward shaping with graduated guidance, edible rewards, a correction procedure, and a 30 second timeout. Both residents showed an increase in the number of correct steps used while ascending the stairs.

Overall use of drugs was high, with the largest percentage of clients taking major tranquilizers (21.2 percent), followed closely by those taking anticonvulsants (20.4 percent). The data suggest a decrease over the years in the use of major tranquilizers in residential institutions for the retarded. (Author/DLS)

Examined special nursing home units for patients with Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type using published and unpublished reports, as well as policy manuals, and personal observations. Identified critical dimensions on which these units can differ. Discusses heterogeneity of these units. (Author/ABL)

Nurses (N=30) employed in nursing homes were trained as Geriatric Nurse Practitioners and then implemented their new clinical roles as direct employees of the original facility. Results showed the nurses, their directors, and administrators perceived the nurses as having positive effects on resident outcomes, but described difficulties in…

Reviewed 19 studies of psychotropic drug use for residents of long-term care facilities, published between 1978 and 1990. Compared each study in terms of sample, research design, and findings. Found that substantial proportion of nursing home residents took psychotropic drugs on regular, long-term basis; usage was accompanied by prescribing and…

Determined item difficulties for 10 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised subtests for psychiatric inpatients (n=150). Spearman correlation coefficients between psychiatric inpatient and standardized group rank orders were large and significant across all subtests except Object Assembly, which demonstrated expected trend of increasing item…

This study examines the average reliability of Hare Psychopathy Checklists (PCLs) adapted for use in samples of youthful offenders (aged 12 to 21 years). Two forms of reliability are examined: 18 alpha estimates of internal consistency and 18 intraclass correlation (two or more raters) estimates of interrater reliability. The results, an average…

Rate of suggestions under an intervention package consisting of standardized suggestion forms and publicly posted responses was compared with its baseline (i.e., no suggestion form or public posting) frequency. Consistent with Quilitch's (1978) findings among employee participants, the rate of suggestions was greater under the intervention…

In the past decade, there has been a growing convergence between schools and legal systems. The school to prison pipeline refers to this growing pattern of tracking students out of educational institutions, primarily via "zero tolerance" policies, and, directly and/or indirectly, into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. The school to…

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of a word study literacy approach on the spelling ability and self-efficacy of adults in a county jail. Forty-four inmates participated in the word study intervention that provided them with hands-on learning. The word study intervention was conducted in four separate sessions (September,…