Assessing the acceptability of behavioral treatments to persons with mental retardation

Individuals with mild to moderate mental retardation living in community residential settings (Experiment 1) or an institutional setting (Experiment 2) rated the acceptability of differential reinforcement and time-out applied to a mild and a severe behavior problem. Using analogue methodology similar to previous treatment acceptability studies (e.g., Miltenberger, Lennox, & Erfanian, 1989; Tarnowski, Rasnake, Mulicke, & Kelly, 1989), and a simplified rating scale developed for persons with mental retardation, community-based subjects rated differential reinforcement as more acceptable than time-out for the mild problem, whereas institutionalized subjects rated time-out as more acceptable than differential reinforcement when applied to the severe problem. These results were discussed and future research suggested.