Nature of Adaptive Behavior Deficits among Individuals who are Moderately-Severely Mentally Retarded in the West Bank

Abstract

The adaptive behavior of 200 individuals living in the West Bank and classified as mentally retarded was measured on a recently developed instrument appropriate for use on Jordanian and Palestinian populations. Individual one-way analyses of covariance were performed on 11 dimensions of adaptive behavior to determine if children, adolescent, and adult persons who are mentally retarded differed from each other significantly. Results of the study indicate that the nature and development of adaptive behavior among individuals classified as mentally retarded in Third World areas may not conform to expected trends. The obtained results were discussed in terms of their implications to special educators in developing countries.

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