Reflection-Impulsivity and Work Adjustment Among Mentally Retarded and Emotionally Impaired Adults.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between reflection-impulsivity, as measured in two different ways, and work adjustment and performance on a sorting task. The 102 mentally retarded and emotionally impaired adults in the study were enrolled in a sheltered or work activity rehabilitation program at Workskills Corporation in southeastern Michigan. The instruments administered were Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures tests (1965) (MFF) (elementary and adult forms to measure reflection-impulsivity), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (1981) (WAIS-R), and a shell sorting subscale (SS) from the Bay Area Functional Performance Evaluation (Bloomer and Williams, 1979). Eight counselors' ratings on the Vocational Adjustment Rating Scale for the Retarded (Song and Song, 1971) to measure work adjustment in five areas (work ability, habits, withdrawn, aggressive, bizarre behavior) were obtained and served as dependent variable measures. It was hypothesized that reflective individuals when compared to impulsive individuals would have higher work adjustment ratings, higher IQ scores, and better performance on the sorting task. Data for each variable were submitted to student t tests, analysis of variance and /or covariance, Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regression, as appropriate. The results indicated that the reflective individuals when compared to the impulsive had higher IQ scores, took more time to complete and made fewer errors on a sorting task, had better work abilities, demonstrated less bizarre behavior and had higher overall work adjustment ratings (all p $<$.05). The sheltered group had higher IQ scores, was more reflective, more efficient, and made fewer sorting errors than the work activity group (all p $<$.05). Results indicated that MFF performance was strongly influenced by IQ and that the MFF efficiency score was a strong predictor of work adjustment. Age and diagnostic group differences were found on the MFF variables. Implications for program training, client-job matching, and future research needs are discussed.