Development of a measure of extraversion and neuroticism for mentally retarded persons

A conventional British questionnaire for measuring extraversion and neuroticism of EMR individuals was reexamined for its application to adolescents in a special school for EMR students in Edmonton, Canada. The items were revised on the basis of principal axes factor analysis and alpha reliabilities. Using this revised scale, we found that EMR female students had significantly higher neuroticism scores than did EMR male students, whereas their extraversion scores were comparable. Likewise, mental age variations appeared to be related to neuroticism but not to extraversion. Subsequent studies were suggested for developing a video form to test these two basic personality traits so that TMR persons may be assessed.