A comparison of the fears of mildly retarded adults with children of their mental age and chronological age matched controls.
Twenty mildly retarded adults were matched for chronological age and sex with twenty non-retarded children using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. All 60 subjects were given an 89-item Fear Survey Schedule with a three-point rating scale. Mildly retarded adults were more fearful in general and showed a more intense level of fear than their chronological age matched controls. However, they reported less overall fear than their mental age matched controls. Differences in type of feared objects or situations were reported between groups. The importance of understanding the degree and types of fear in promoting de-institutionalization in the retarded is stressed.
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male