Factor Structure of the Motivation Assessment Scale for Persons with Mental Retardation
- 1 June 1991
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Psychological Reports
- Vol. 68 (3_suppl) , 1235-1238
- https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1991.68.3c.1235
Abstract
The rating scale used to assess the motivators of maladaptive behaviors in persons with mental retardation was the Motivation Assessment Scale. In the current study, we validated the factor structure of the scale on a sample of 118 subjects with predominately severe or profound mental retardation. They exhibited deviant behaviors such as self-injurious and tantrum behavior, aggression, and passivity. The results of the factor analysis with varimax rotation validated the assumptions of the developers of the scale that the motivators could be grouped into sensory, escape, attention, and tangible reinforcers. These four subscales are easily interpretable and should continue to provide valuable information.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Conducting a Functional Assessment of Problem Behavior in Applied SettingsJournal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 1989
- Reinforcer Assessment I: Using Problem Behavior to Select ReinforcersJournal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 1989
- A guide for conducting a comprehensive behavioral analysis of a target behaviorJournal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 1989
- Identifying the variables maintaining self-injurious behaviorJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1988
- REDUCING BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS THROUGH FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAININGJournal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1985
- Toward a functional analysis of self-injuryAnalysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 1982