No description available.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / The aim of this study was to profile the characteristics of children with mental retardation presenting at the Clinical Psychology Unit of Polokwane/Mankweng Hospital Complex over a period of five years. A descriptive methodological approach was chosen as a study design for the purpose of data collection and subsequent data analysis. Using the archival data method, the clinical files of all children presenting with mental retardation at this facility were retrieved and studied. A total of 326 (male = 169; female = 157) files covering the period under review were retrieved. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Categorical data were analysed by using frequency tables, descriptive statistics and crosstabulations. The study showed that 314 cases (96.3%) were reflected as Black, whilst the remaining 12 cases (3.7%) were reflected as White (2.15%); Indian (1.23%); and Other (0.30%). Several clinical methods that included clinical interviews, psychometric tests, clinical observations and collateral information sources were used by the psychologists for the purpose of making a diagnosis. The study further revealed that a huge number of cases (35.6%) were diagnosed with mental retardation. It was also found that 45.4% of the cases were diagnosed to have comorbid clinical conditions such as epilepsy, Down’s syndrome, visual problems etc. The majority of the persons were referred to the Clinical Psychology Unit to be assessed for school placement (50%) and disability grant (38.7%).With regard to interventions, psychologists who saw these persons tended to frequently refer them to special schools and other health professionals. Psychotherapy was the least utilised intervention method used by the psychologists. The findings of the present study reinforce the importance of and value of high quality management and treatment of mental retardation and related comorbid conditions. Based on these findings, it is recommended that more efforts be made to strengthen the working relationship between Polokwane/Mankweng Hospital Complex and the respective special schools where these persons that are diagnosed with mental retardation are referred to. It is further recommended that consideration be given to strengthening the relationship between Polokwane/Mankweng Hospital Complex and the social security agency so as to obviate any potential problems that could be associated with the allocation of the disability grants to persons with mental retardation.

This study examined mechanisms by which sibling relationships may buffer the harmful effects of negative peer experiences on the psychological adjustment of children with mental retardation (MR) or learning disabilities (LD). The study broadened existing findings with typically developing children and examined the effects of sibling social competency training on peer experiences and the impact of sibling relationship qualities, including warmth and positivity, supportiveness, conflict, and negativity, on children’s loneliness, internalizing, and delinquent behavior problems. The participants included 100 families with children who were between 8 and 10 years old. The families had a sibling dyad in which the target child had MR (n = 36), an LD (n = 43), or was typically developing (n = 21), while siblings were typically developing. Parents, target children, and siblings completed questionnaires and interviews assessing family and peer relationships. Sibling dyads completed a video-taped interaction. Results indicated that, as predicted, children with an LD or MR experienced significantly lower rates of positive peer experiences and significantly higher rates of negative peer experiences than did typically developing children. They exhibited significantly higher rates of loneliness and internalizing, but not delinquent, behavior problems than typically developing children. There was only partial support for the hypothesized protective effects of siblings on children’s development of adverse peer experiences. In particular, there was an indirect effect of one form of social competency training: social involvement mediated the effect of learning disabilities on adverse peer experiences. As predicted by the buffering hypothesis, emotional supportiveness by siblings moderated the impact of negative peer experiences on children’s internalizing and delinquent behavior problems. In addition, negativity within the sibling relationship moderated the effect of negative peer experiences on children’s internalizing problems while sibling conflict moderated the effect of positive peer experiences on loneliness. There were no significant effects for sibling warmth and positivity. Findings that siblings of children with MR or an LD can buffer some of the harmful effects of adverse peer experiences on psychological well being in specific instances suggest that including siblings in interventions aimed at improving peer experiences and psychological functioning may be relevant under certain circumstances.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sexuality education program on eight 3-6th graders with mental retardation. A qualitative and quantitative research method was employed to collect data. The sexual knowledge pretest, posttest and retaining-test results were analyzed by the Wilcoxon Sign-Rank Test. In addition, classroom observation, behavior observation as well as teaching journal were used to determine the changes of sexual-related behaviors and interactions of those students. The results demonstrated that the sexuality education program significantly improved the sexual knowledge of students with mental retardation. However, the application of sexual harassment prevention skills was varied. Suggestions and challenges of sexuality education for students with mental retardation were discussed.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-124). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "May, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-55). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2006. / ISBN ej i pappersutskriften. Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1969. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Special Education (Education of Mentally Handicapped). Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-47).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1996. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2944. Typescript. Abstract included before the title page. Includes bibliographical references.