[Comparison of the results of clinico-epidemiological examination of retarded children-orphans and retarded children brought up in the family].

A group of mentally retarded children (n = 881) aged 8 to 14 years, identified as a result of a clinico-epidemiological screening, were examined. The results obtained were compared in two groups. Group 1 (n = 272 or 30.9%) included orphans and children who remained without their parents' care since infancy and group II (n = 609 or 69.1%) included children brought up in complete or incomplete families. The differences were established in the degree of mental retardation, in its complication by additional psychopathological symptomatology, in the share of some complicating syndromes and the time of their origin, in the times of the diagnosis establishment and sending to specialized institutions, in the quality and timeliness of the assistance rendered, and in some other indicators. The importance of the problem of psychic deprivation in mental retardation is emphasized.