The cloak of competence: years later

A sample of the persons in Edgerton's 1960-1961 study, The Cloak of Competence, was revisited in 1972-1973. The life circumstances of many of these persons had improved, but predictions of the direction and nature of community adjustment in a number of cases proved to be inaccurate. We discussed the issue of diversity in these cases and factors which make prediction problematic, such as environmental variables (as opposed to personal ones) and the effects of time on individual adaptation. Caution was suggested in looking at short-term adaptation without considering these factors. The importance of recognizing the individual's own definition of success was also stressed.