title: Taxonomy of family life styles: II. Homes with slow-learning children.
abstract: A battery of instruments dealing with family social environment and family and child characteristics and behavior was administered to 218 families with slow-learning children in EMR and educably handicapped programs. Cluster analysis was performed on family environment variables. Seven unique family clusters, each with distinctive patterns of characteristics, were identified: child-oriented, cohesive; learning-oriented, high residential quality; low disclosure, unharmonious; disadvantaged, noncohesive; achievement-oriented, low residential quality; expression-oriented with few sociocultural interests; and outerdirected with little achievement-orientation. Comparisons among the clusters and ethnographic/interviewer observations revealed significant differences in other family and child characteristics and behavior. Development of a classification system for families with retarded children was discussed.
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing; D004495:Education of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D008016:Life Change Events; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012931:Social Environment; D014477:Underachievement