No access

ARTICLE

Published Online: May 1929

ORDER OF BIRTH AND SIZE OF FAMILY : Survey of 10,455 Retarded Children in the Public Schools of Massachusetts

Neil A. DaytonAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 85, Number 6

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.85.6.979

Get Access

Abstract

I. The order of birth of the retardate or mentally defective child is apparently of little significance.

II. The foreign-born mothers (43 per cent of the population of the towns surveyed) are over-represented as mothers of our group. They make up 68 per cent of the mothers of retarded children and 75 per cent of the mothers of mentally defective children.

III. Families having a mentally defective child [I.Q. -.70; mean = 6.24 ± .03 (S. D.)] show a tendency to be larger than families having a retarded child [I.Q. +.70; mean= 5.71 ± .04 (S. D.)]. These figures include all families, both complete and incomplete.

IV. Native-born mothers of retardates and mental defectives in our group have larger families than native mothers of the same age groups in New York State. This condition applies also to foreign-born mothers of retardates and mental defectives of the age groups-20, 20-24, and 25-29 years. Foreign-born mothers of the age groups 30 years and over show a tendency to have smaller families than foreign mothers of the same age in the general population.

V. The mean number of children ever born in completed families is recorded as follows by mental condition of child and nativity of mother:

Native-born mothers of retardates (I. Q., .70+) = 6.52 ± .21(S. D.).

Native-born mothers of mental defectives (I. Q., -.70)= 6.84 ± .23(S. D.).

Foreign-born mothers of retardates (I. Q., .70+) = 7.54 ± . 11(S. D.).

Foreign-born mothers of mental defectives (I. Q., -.70)= 7.64 ± .09(S. D.).

VI. In this sample, completed families with a child in the lower levels of intelligence are approximately twice as large as completed families with a child in the upper levels of intelligence. The stocks represented in this sample which are producing retarded or mentally defective children are more than maintaining themselves.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Get Access

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 85 • Number 6 • May 1929

Pages: 979 - 1006

History

Published in print: May 1929

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Details

Neil A. Dayton

Division of Mental Deficiency, Massachusetts Department of Mental Diseases

View all articles by this author

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format	RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks
Direct importt
Citation style
Style

Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR^® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

ORDER OF BIRTH AND SIZE OF FAMILY : Survey of 10,455 Retarded Children in the Public Schools of Massachusetts

Abstract

Get full access to this article