In a group of 20 severely to profoundly mentally retarded adults, an interactional dominance hierarchy was obtained by observing the frequency of patient contacts, the duration of contact, and the frequency of contact initiation. It was found that 17 of the 20 patients studied displayed territorial behavior. (Author)

This paper deals with the training of personnel in the delivery of child-care services to institutionalized Youth. The emphasis is on training personnel in interaction behaviors that are preferred by youth themselves. Two studies are reported. The first determined what types of interactions the youth preferred, and validated these preferences on…

Behavior checklist and sociometric data on emotionally disturbed children in residential treatment were correlated. Behaviors found to relate significantly (and negatively) with sociometric status pertained to physical and verbal aggression and intrusive acts. A smaller group of items of a less interpersonal nature also significantly correlated…

A family contracting approach, delineating those behaviors which could not be used as sole justifications for involuntary hospitalization is recommended to decrease a psychiatric patient's fear of arbitrary, family-initiated commitment. The contract outlines the decision rules which might necessitate involuntary hospitalization. Advantages are…

A five-month ethnographic study of conversations in a Philadelphia nursing home revealed some of the rules governing situationally appropriate conversational behavior. The social communicational perspective of the study differed from both psychological and discourse analysis approaches. Analysis of the data indicated that sustained…