The relationship between specific characteristics of individuals with mental retardation, as rated by their teachers, and their abuse by residential caregivers was investigated. Teacher ratings of 91 abuse victims from five state training centers in Virginia for individuals with mental retardation were compared to 91 randomly selected control subjects from the same facilities. Discriminant analysis results indicated a significant relationship (p < .001) between abuse status and a linear combination of subject characteristics. In addition, the Pearson chisquare test of independence was used to test the relationship between individual characteristics and behaviors of subjects and abuse status. Results indicated a significant relationship (p < .05) between abuse status and teacher ratings of level of functioning and frequency of maladaptive behaviors. Implications for caregivers and educators are discussed.
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