TITLE The Role of Social Awareness in the Employment Success of Adolescents with Mild Mental Retardation. PUB DATE 1997-12-13

The role of social awareness in the employment success of adolescents with mild mental retardation was examined in a two-phase study. In phase 1, a set of social awareness descriptors designed to measure the three components of social awareness--sensitivity, insight, and communication--was developed and validated in a five-stage process. In phase 2, secondary teachers used the descriptors and two measures of employment success to evaluate 125 adolescents with mild mental retardation. The social awareness ratings approximated a normal distribution and were highly interrelated r>.80). Statistically significant differences in social awareness components were found between the students rated higher and lower on work performance. Approximately 13 % of the variance in different students' work performance was attributable to the three social awareness components considered. The remaining variance was attributed to other factors such as familiarity with job tasks, physical coordination and health, dependability