Assessing the employment-related interpersonal competence of mildly mentally retarded workers

Interpersonal competence has been identified as a key variable in the vocational success of mentally retarded adolescents and adults. Unfortunately, few tests are available that address this critical skill area. The purpose of this article is to describe the Test of Interpersonal Competence for Employment (TICE), a measure designed to assess mildly retarded worker's knowledge of interpersonal skills in the employment setting. This test was developed using the Behavioral-Analytic Model of Test Development (Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969). This procedure called for the detailed analysis of the problems that mildly retarded workers experience in the vocational setting and the identification of correct responses to those problems by competitive employers. The TICE was standardized on both high school and workshop populations. Overall, the initial psychometric properties of the test are uniformly adequate and encouraging.