Adaptive behavior of mentally retarded adults in work-preparation settings.

Mentally retarded adult trainees (N = 370) at work preparation centers were rated by their supervisors on the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS). Results confirmed the reliability and criterion validity of the ABS, demonstrating its sensitivity to differences in adaptive and maladaptive behavior between subgroups representing variation in seven personal variables: age, sex, estimated intellectual ability, etiology, place of living, the presence or absence of any mobility handicap, and use of medications. Results were compared with those from a study of retarded adolescents attending school (Salagaras & Nettelbeck, 1983). On the average, trainees had a higher adaptive behavior profile than did students, but no significant differences were found in maladaptive behavior. The ABS measures indicated that about 75% of students were behaviorally prepared to make the transition to work preparation centers.