Association between the diagnosis of mental retardation and socioeconomic factors.
Clinic data from the regional hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, over 4 years for 538 children with a diagnosis of mental retardation were examined in order to establish whether differences in mental retardation referral patterns existed between low and high socioeconomic areas. Results indicate that mild mental retardation referrals were underrepresented in low socioeconomic areas and that paramedical agencies were the primary referral source in these areas. Differences in mild mental retardation referral patterns by area over time may stem from service difficulties or variations in referral thresholds. Cross-cultural implications of the findings were discussed with relevance to the development of culturally sensitive community-based intervention programs.
Slone
M
M
Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Israel. mich@freud.tau.ac.il
Durrheim
K
K
Lachman
P
P
Kaminer
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044383:Black People; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011287:Prejudice; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012922:Social Change; D012923:Social Class; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data