EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND MENTAL-RETARDATION - DIAGNOSTIC OVERSHADOWING

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 86  (6) , 567-574
Abstract
Two experiments evaluated the effects of the condition of mental retardation on psychologists'' impressions of emotional problems of a retarded subject. In experiment 1 it was found that the same debilitating phobia was less likely to be considered an example of a neurosis or an emotional disturbance when the subject was also suggested to be mentally retarded as compared to intellectually average. Experiment 2 provided a conceptual replication of the results of experiment 1 and extended findings of diagnostic overshadowing to cases involving schizophrenia and personality disorder. The magnitude of these effects did not differ significantly as a function of whether the case description suggested schizophrenia or personality disorder. The results validate the existence of a diagnostic overshadowing phenomenon.

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