Stressful life events and psychiatric hospitalization of mentally retarded patients.

The authors compared the type and number of life events experienced by 19 mentally retarded patients and 19 nonretarded control subjects in the month before their admission to the same unit of a state mental hospital. The retarded patients had exhibited fewer changes in eating and other personal habits. On admission they presented fewer signs of intrapsychic disturbance but more of self-destruction or aggression. These results imply that clinicians need specific training to diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders in the mentally retarded patients who now use community mental health facilities, because their presentations may be atypical.