A STUDY OF COGNITIVE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING IN ADOLESCENTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

The present study was a hospital based cross sectional study to assess cognitive executive functioning in adolescents with Mental Retardation and to compare cognitive executive functioning between adolescents with Mental Retardation and normal controls. A sample of 20 adolescent patients with mental retardation who were matched on the basis of age and sex with normal controls. All the subjects were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria, GHQ-12 was administered on normal sample as a screening tool for the presence of any psychiatric condition. Similarly, adolescent mentally retarded patients were confirmed by scoring less than 70 on I.Q assessment using WISC, VSMS, GDT and DDT. All subjects were tested on different measures of cognitive executive functioning like Trial Making Test, Stroop test, and Wisconsin Colour Sorting Test. Independent t- test was used to compare patient and normal controls with respect to their different continuous demographic variables. Chi-square was used in order to compare the discrete demographic variables between the two groups. Multivariate linear model was used to see the difference between the two groups on their different neruo-psychological measures, while controlling education variable statistically. Results revealed significant difference between the two groups in all measures of tests administered. There was significant difference between adolescents with mental retardation and normal controls with respect to cognitive executive functioning. Cognitive executive functioning was found to be impaired in adolescent with mental retardation.