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A representative sample of 420, 15- and 16-year old students, participated in a short educational programme about mental handicap; the main feature of which was a well-structured contact session with a group of mentally handicapped adults. This lasted 40 min and took place in the students' school. Various control procedures ascertained that the programme was effective at increasing their confidence in meeting mentally handicapped people and in their knowledge of the causes of mental handicap. Moreover the majority of students voluntarily visited a local mental handicap centre and a proportion maintained regular contact. These findings were replicated in a second study involving a further 368 students but this time the programme was presented by teachers and/or personnel from a local mental handicap service. The salient features of the contact sessions are discussed and directions for future research noted, particularly explicit guidance for adolescents on interacting with atypical peers.

Over 1300, 15 and 16-year-old students throughout Ireland, completed a range of questionnaires which covered their past contact with mentally handicapped adults, their perceptions of them, their views on integration within society and their knowledge about the causes of this disability. It was found that only one quarter of the students had ever interacted with a mentally handicapped adult and nearly half of them had never been in their company. There were marked differences between these subgroups in their perceptions of, and attitudes to, mentally handicapped people. Equally striking were the differences between male and female students, although the effects of social background, city versus country and socio-economic status, were less pronounced. The implications for school-based, educational programmes on disability are discussed and areas for further research are highlighted.

Over 160 adults attending day workshops for people with mental handicap were interviewed regarding the persons they had talked to in the community and who was usually with them on these occasions. The number of community contacts was heartening, with most occurring around the neighbourhood, fewer in the city, and least of all at home. However, there were only three groups of people with whom the majority of respondents had recent contact – local shopkeepers, bus conductors, and chemists. In general, community contacts were rarely in the company of friends – cinema-going was the only exception. Usually they were with their family, or alone. Results from surveys of this type can help to establish the effectiveness of our social education programmes, can challenge parental assumptions about their son or daughter's abilities, and can identify groups within the community who would best benefit from guidance on how to interact with a person who is mentally handicapped.

BackgroundThe Adolescent to Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (ADAPFA) a modification of the Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA) is described. It may be used to assess specific and general social dysfunction in the transition from childhood to adult life.MethodTwo raters independently rated 38 audiotaped interviews to test the interrater reliability of the instrument. The relationship between dysfunction in specific domains and overall psychosocial dysfunction was examined.ResultsInterrater reliabilities for the total ADAPFA score and for the majority of the domains were high. Agreement on type of dysfunction and on categorical ratings indicating the presence of personality disorder were good.ConclusionThe ADAPFA is a useful measure of interpersonal and social role performance in the transition between adolescent and adult life.