The research purposes are to examine what happened to a population of mildly retarded (MMR) and borderline retarded (BMR) young people in the 6 years after they left school, how they managed and why some have done better than others. Very few studies have followed MMR young people into adulthood, and no previous follow-up studies have been done of BMR children who were psychometrically in the MMR range but remained in regular classes at school. The study takes advantage of a unique opportunity to use data collected prospectively as part of a program of longitudinal research which followed the study population until the age of 22. Data were also obtained for a comparison population, matched with the MMR subjects on age, sex and social class. We plan to examine what happened to the MMR and BMR young adults in terms of their social adjustment, how well they have maintained themselves in the community, their job histories and how well they met and conformed to standards set by the society in which they lived. To examine why some have done better than others, we will include childhood factors, e.g., family of upbringing, school experiences, health, disabilities and social relations that may have influenced their socialization. We will provide important information about unmet needs of MMR and BMR young adults, as well as about childhood factors that should point to strategic interventions that may alleviate some of the problems of MMR and BMR young people. Systematic descriptions of the various aspects of the young adults' lives will complement statistical analyses comparing populations and examining relationships between childhood and young adult variables. The disciplines of developmental disabilities, epidemiology, longitudinal life history research, sociometrics and social ecology will be drawn upon.
