Labeling the Mentally Retarded: Clinical and Social System Perspectives on Mental Retardation

This eight-year study of an American city traces the answer to the question "Who is retarded?" by analyzing the labeling process in a large number of community agencies. Data for the study are drawn from a representative sample of 7,000 persons under fifty years of age who were tested ans screened for "symptoms" of mental retardation.

The author finds that that schools label more persons as mentally retarded than any other agency and share their labels more widely with others in the communi...