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The effects of basketball training on the maladaptive behaviors of trainable mentally retarded children
Pergamon
Research in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-10, 1997 Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0891-4222/97 $17.00 + .00
PII S0891-4222(96)00029-7
The Effects of Basketball Training on the Maladaptive Behaviors of Trainable Mentally Retarded Children Faruk Gen~;6z Middle East Technical University
The effects of basketball training on the maladaptive behaviors of 19 trainable mentally retarded children attending a special state school were investigated. Children in the experimental group took 7 weeks of basketball training (Special Olympics Inc.) designed for mentally retarded children, whereas the control group children engaged in free play activities with the ball. Both groups were assessed before the training and free play activi b, applications (preassessment), immediately after the applications (postassessment) and 30 days after the applications (follow-up assessment). All the children were observed (Classroom Behavior Checklist developed for this study) in their classroom during the academic tasks in which they were involved. Furthermore, their mothers were interviewed to get information about manifested maladaptive behaviors at home. To assess the children's level of improvement in basketball skills, the Sports Skills Assessment was utilized. Children trained in basketball skills showed a reduction in their level of maladaptive behavior both at home and in the school. This reduction was maintained in the follow-up period. Thus, basketball training can be proposed as an effective and practical rehabilitation program fi)r trainable mentally retarded children attending an institution. Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Tlae author is grateful to Nuray Karancl, under whose direction the master thesis on which this article based was completed at Middle East Technical University. Address correspondence to Faruk Gen~0z, Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey.
2
F. GenqOz.
Psychological benefits of physical activity were summarized by the International Society of Sport Psychology (1992). The purpose of this summary was to motivate people to engage in physical activities and to promote health by increasing the level of engagement. The same rationale is employed by Special Olympics for people with mental retardation. Therefore, individuals with mental retardation have been increasingly exposed to many types of physical fitness programs and organized sports activities. Furthermore, as the consequences of these programs and activities are better understood, the belief that physical activity may also contribute to improvement in psychological variables has been strengthening (Gabler-Halle, Halle, & Chung, 1993; Moon & Renzaglia, 1982). An initial attempt to study the effects of physical activity on the psychological well-being of mentally retarded individuals was undertaken by Oliver (1958). He explained the increase in intelligence level of the experimental group subjects on the basis of their success experience, improved social adjustment, improved physical conditions, and the effects of feeling important. Later findings supported these conclusions. First, exposing institutionalized persons with mental retardation to sports automatically improved their physical condition via an enriched environment. An enriched and stimulating environment may lead to IQ gains (Scar & Weinberg, 1976). Moreover, physical activity can be seen as a potentially useful source of reinforcement for mentally retarded children (Simpson & Meaney, 1979) because they experience more failures than other children (Cromwell, 1959). On the other hand, since cognitive demands are usually less in physical activity, the likelihood of experiencing success is high, which in turn enhances self-concept (Simpson & Meaney, 1979; Wright & Cowden, 1986) and positive body image (Chasey, Swartz, & Chasey, 1974). Furthermore, Tomporowski and Ellis (1985) suggested that exercise training may be seen as a more practical rehabilitation program to adapt to the demands of life than the programs typically employed in the institutional settings for mentally retarded children. in the theoretical sense, adaptation involves, first, recognition of a specific demand from the environment; second, acknowledgment of environmental standards in relationship to fulfillment of specific demands; and finally, ability to implement appropriate behavior. Mentally retarded children are in both theoretical (Hirsch, 1959) and practical (Nihira, 1969) senses vulnerable to patterns of maladjustment that may obstruct adaptive functioning. Therefore, to increase level of adaptation, any education system in an institution should consider the factors that elicit maladjustment and ways to reduce the inappropriate behavior. A physical activity, like basketball, involving face-to-face interaction of members of different groups can be an alternative to accelerate process of adaptation in an institution. Basketball involves development of gross and fine motor abilities and coordination of body, eye, and hand. Training mentally retarded children in groups may also increase the child's awareness of others (Stocker, 1972) and of regulations about cooperation and competition which
Effects of Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
3
constitute a part of adaptation. How and when to cooperate and compete are explicitly given when describing offensive and defensive play. Therefore, mentally retarded children are assisted to recognize that there are some demands required in winning, such as dribbling, passing, shooting, recognition of teammates, and general rules of basketball. These demands are specially analyzed and organized for mentally retarded children by Special Olympics, Inc. (1981). The purpose of this research was to examine whether the Special Olympics Sports Skill Instructional Program (Special Olympics Inc., 1981) could be successfully applied to trainable mentally retarded children in a state school and to find out the effects of this training on the maladaptive behavior patterns of mentally retarded children. It was expected that as the children learned skills and the rules, they would reduce their level of maladaptive behavior and that this reduction would generalize to the classroom and home setting.
METHOD
Subjects Children were chosen from a state school for persons with trainable mental retardation. The school teachers suggested 26 out of 100 students whose parents were likely to participate in the study. These students were screened on the Turkish adapted form of the Portage (Gilleard, 1987). Twenty children with the highest scores were selected. These subjects were then tested on the Turkish adapted form of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Katz & Onen, 1974) and matched according to their chronological and receptive language ages, grossmotor abilities, and sex (average age = 12 years, one month; range = 10 to 14 years; SD = one month, 4 days). One associate of each pair was randomly assigned either controls or experimentals.
Instruments Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). PPVT is an individual, wide-range picture vocabulary test (Dunn, 1965) from which the receptive language age of a subject can be calculated. Receptive language age of the subjects was calculated according to the Turkish translation and adaptation of PPVT (Katz & Onen, 1974). Portage. Portage is an education system (Shearer & Shearer, 1972) for developmentally delayed children, aiming to teach developmental abilities of normal children between 0 and 6 years of age. It is also used as an assessment device for evaluating the skills of six different developmental areas. In the Turkish adapted form (Gilleard, 1987), the category called Motor Development includes three subcategories: Fine, Gross, and General Motor. Subjects who could pass
4
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50% of the Gross Motor and General Motor items were considered suitable to participate. Portage was used to screen severe deficits in gross motor abilities that would have made it impossible to teach basketball skills in 7 weeks.
American Association on Mental Deficiency Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS). This scale has been developed (Nihira, Foster, Shellhaas, & Leland, 1969) to assess persons with mental retardation on functioning in adaptive and maladapfive areas. The Turkish translation and adaptation of the scale (Epir, 1976) consists of two parts. Only the second part was used to evaluate maladaptive behaviors manifested at home. Maladaptive behavior domains included in Part 2 are violent and destructive behavior, antisocial behavior, rebellious behavior, untrustworthy behavior, withdrawal, stereotyped behavior and odd mannerisms, inappropriate interpersonal manners, unacceptable vocal habits, unacceptable or eccentric habits, self-abusive behavior, hyperactive tendencies, sexually aberrant behavior, psychological disturbances, and use of medications. Classroom Behavior Checklist (CBC). CBC was developed for the present study to assess maladaptive behaviors in the classroom setting during courses. The checklist has been designed to use when directly observing children in the classroom. It contains nine categories of maladaptive behavior. These categories were derived from the interviews conducted with the teachers about the most frequent problematic behaviors manifested by the students. The names of the categories and operational definitions of them are given in the Appendix. Observations in the classroom were made by two independent observers. Interobserver reliability between them has been found, r = .92. Sports Skills Assessment. This assessment device is a part of Special Olympics Sport Skills Instructional Program (Special Olympics Inc., 1981). It is a criterion-referenced test to determine the students' level of functioning in basketball skills. Sports Skill Instructional Program (SSIP). SSIP has been designed to teach basketball to children with mental retardation (Special Olympics Inc., 1981). The program includes identification of the skills to be learned, skill sequences that specify sequence of behavior the learner must engage, task analysis that analyzes the skill in detailed steps the student must master, and teaching suggestions. During training sessions a stop watch, a whistle, and colored adhesive tapes were used. The sessions were conducted in a large conference room that was also usable for sports and games. Boundaries of the basketball court were marked by colored adhesive tapes. Children in the experimental group played with junior-size basketballs, whereas children in the control group played with light, softer balls.
Effects of Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
5
PROCEDURE 1. Training and Play Sessions Forty-min training sessions were conducted three times a week for 7 weeks. Experimental group training. SSIP was used for the experimental training including skills and rules of basketball, sportsmanship, and some team tactics. Sessions were started with warm-up exercises. They involved exercises without the ball, including stretching, coordination, strengthening, and running and exercises with the ball including some ball-handling drills. These exercises and drills took 20 rain for the first five sessions. The time reserved for warming up gradually decreased to 10 rain due to improvements in the skills of the subjects. After warming up, the subjects engaged in basketball skills. In the initial sessions the teaching procedure included simple passing, catching, shooting, dribbling, rebounding, and defensive play skills. As the subjects progressed, most of them received Level 2 training, which included more difficult skills in the same areas as Level 1 and the rules of basketball, some simple tactics, and sportsmanship.
Control group activity. The subjects in the control group were allowed to play with the balls in any manner they wished during the play sessions. While they were playing, the instructor did not get involved in their play and gave no specific instruction.
Assessments. Assessments were made over the three phases of the study: (a) before the training and play sessions started (pre-training assessment), (b) immediately after training and play sessions were completed (post-training assessment), and (c) 45 days after the posttraining assessment (follow-up assessment). In pretraining assessment, 26 students were tested on Portage to be screened for their gross and general motor abilities, and on PPVT to be matched according to receptive language age, which can reflect subjects' level of ability to understand verbal commands. After forming experimental and control groups, subjects were tested on SSA, ABS, and CBC during pretraining, posttraining, and follow-up assessments.
RESULTS A 2 X 3 X 3 (Group X Time X Assessment) ANOVA with repeated measures on time and assessment factors revealed significant Group X Time interaction, F (4, 68) = 15.39, p < .0001. For three different assessment measures, the following results were obtained.
6
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1. Adaptive Behavior Scale Part 2 Measures A 3 X 2 (Time × Group) A N O V A with repeated measures on Time factor revealed significant Time x Group interaction; F (2, 34) = 6.19, p < .005. For the preassessment period, group differences emerged, F (1, 18) = 7.43, p < .05, favoring the performance of the experimental group subjects. Since significant group differences are detected at preassessment, group differences at posttraining and follow-up periods were subanalyzed by controlling preassessment differences by means of analysis of covariance. Analysis of covariance revealed significant group differences both at the postassessment, F (1, 18) = 7.21, p < .05, and the follow-up assessment, F (1, 18) -- 17.18, p < .001. The experimental group exhibited less maladaptive behavior than the control group both at postassessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
2. Classroom Behavior Checklist (CBC) Measures A 3 × 2 (Time × Group) ANOVA with repeated measures on Time factor revealed significant Group × Time interaction, F (2, 34) = 7.29, p < .005. There were no group differences at the preassessment. The differences between groups emerged at postassessment, F (1, 18) --- 46.82, p < .0001, and follow-up assessment, F (1, 18) = 121.09, p < .0001. The experimental group manifested less maladaptive behavior in the classroom than the control group both at postassessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
TABLE 1 Means and (Standard Deviations) as a Function of Group, Time and Assessment Type
Group ABS Experimental Control CBC Experimental Control SSA Experimental Control
Preassessment
Postassessment
Follow-up
32.00 (10.57) 48.00 (14.87)
17.90 (9.48) 46.67 (19.00)
18.50 (7.88) 46.44 (13.70)
14.30 (6.88) 19.11 (8.17)
4.90 (2.42) 22.00 (7.50)
4.60 (2.99) 21.11 (3.55)
9.90 (2.68) 9.22 (2.59)
33.20 (9.55) 15.58 (2.79)
31.20 (14.80) 9.00 (2.45)
Note. For ABS and CBC lower scores indicate reduction in the frequency of maladaptive behavior whereas higher scores on SSA indicate increase in acquired skills.
Effects of Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
7
3. Sports Skills Assessment
A 3 × 2 (Time × Group) ANOVA with repeated measures was run. Significant Group × Time interaction, F (2, 34) = 24.78, p < .0001, was found. The analysis of this interaction exhibited that there were no significant group differences at the preassessment, whereas, significant differences emerged between groups at both post, F (1, 18) = 18.02, p < .0005, and follow-up, F (1, 18) = 30.51, p < .0001, assessments, These group differences showed the superiority of the experimental group subjects over the control group subjects both at post-assessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
DISCUSSION The results of Sport Skill Assessment revealed that trainable mentally retarded children were able to learn not only basic dribbling, shooting, and passing skills, but they also learned the regulations of basketball and developed sportsmanship. By the fourth week, five of the experimental group children passed Level 2 training, and at the seventh week they were spontaneously congratulating their opponents when the game was over. The childen controlled their tempers during the games, and when they violated the rules, they exactly obeyed the referee's whistle. During the training sessions the children should listen to and observe carefully the instructions, understand them clearly, and initiate the appropriate skills. The same demands happen in their classroom also. They should listen to and observe their teacher and complete the task according to the instructions. In the case of basketball training, however, the subjects were intrinsically motivated to engage in the skills, since these children seemed to enjoy playing with the ball, running, jumping, etc. They seemed to prefer to engage in sports activities rather than being in a traditional classroom setting and engage in an academic activity. The answers given to the question, "Whom would you like to be when you are grown up?" supported this observation. Most of the children, especially those who were highly active, tried to express that they would like to be Erman, Ere, Tanju, Rldvan, etc., who are very famous basketball and football players in Turkey. Only one female responded that she wanted to be a teacher, and one male wanted to be a doctor. Both of these children had relatively lower levels of maladaptive behaviors. The result of the SSA also indicated that the children who learned the skills and regulations did not forget what they learned. On the other hand, the teachers reported that these children usually forget what they learned in the classroom activities, so they were surprised when the children were playing basketball following the regulations at the follow-up assessment. The second expectation was that the subjects who progressed in basketball training would have reduced maladaptation level and this reduction might have generalized to the home. Postassessment of ABS and CBC has fulfilled this
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expectation. Children who were trained in basketball skills reduced their maladaptation level both in the classroom and at home. Mothers' attitudes toward this reduction were positive. In the follow-up study, many of the interviewed mothers stated that the change in the mood of their child was significant at home and he/she was more social in their relations with peers. Klein, Gilman, and Zigler's (1993) study about parents' attitudes toward Special Olympics yielded similar result. Parents evaluated the program as beneficial, particularly in terms of social adjustment and life satisfaction. The experience of success in a relationship can reinforce and maintain it. Basketball is a group activity that gives players a chance to feel success and in turn satisfaction. Children in the experimental group probably found a way to get satisfaction when playing with others. Thus, after they are able to recognize the demands of play and are able to manifest the appropriate skills to fulfill the demands, there may be no reason for them to manifest maladaptive behaviors. Therefore, it was not surprising that in the follow-up assessment their performance was similar to that of postassessment. Although not a direct scientific concern, sports have a great impact on the policies and attitudes toward mentally retarded people. Sports organizations like Special Olympics attract thousands of observers, mass media, and, of course, financial aid. Public interest in these organizations will provide integration of retarded people into the society in which they live. Fortunately, in recent years there have been movements to form such organizations in Turkey. On the other hand, currently these organizations are not efficient at attracting public attention, nor do special schools have a large enough number of physical educators and playgrounds. The author and thousands of mentally retarded children hopefully wait for increased interest in the policy of sports organizations from government, schools, and society.
REFERENCES Chasey, W. C., Swartz, J. D., & Chasey, C. G. (1974). Effect of motor development on body image scores for institutionalized mentally retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 78, 44O-445. Cromwell, R. A. (1959). A methodological approach to personality research in mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 64, 333-340. Dunn, L. M. (1965). Peabody Picture VocabulaD, Test. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Epir, S. (1976). ]lkokul focuklan if in AAMD uyumsal davrams, skalast: Tiirkfe adaptasyon el kitabl. Ankara: Milli E~itim Bakanll~ Talim ve Terbiye Dairesi. Gabler-Halle, D., Halle, J. W., & Chung, Y. B. (1993). The effects of aerobic exercise on psychological and behavioral variables of individuals with developmental disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 14, 359-386. Gilleard, E. (1987). Portaj e~itim sisteminin zihinsel 6jirlii focuklar iizerinde uygulams,t. Unpublished manuscript, Middle East Technical University, Department of Psychology. Hirsch, E. A. (1959). The adaptive significance of commonly described behavior of mentally retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 63, 639-646.
Effects o f Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
9
International Society of Sport Psychology (1992). Physical activity and psychological benefits: A position statement. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 23, 86-91. Katz, J., & t3nen, E (1974). A Turkish Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Hacettepe Bulletin of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6, 129-142. Klein, T., Gilman, E., & Zigler, E. (1993). Special Olympics: An evaluation by professionals and parents. Mental Retardation, 31, 15-23. Moon, M. S., & Renzaglia, A. (1982). Physical fitness and the mentally retarded: A critical review of the literature. The Journal of Special Education, 16, 269-287. Nihira, K. (1969). Factorial dimensions of adaptive behavior in mentally retarded children and adolescents. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 74, 130-141. Nihira, K., Foster, R., Shellhaas, M., & Leland, H. (1969). Adaptive Behavior Scale manual. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency. Oliver, J. N. (1958). The effects of physical conditioning exercises and activities on the mental characteristics of educationally subnormal boys. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 28, 155-165. Scar, S., & Weinberg, R. A. (1976). IQ test performance of black children adopted by white families. American Psychologist, 3, 726-739. Shearer, M. S., & Shearer, D. E. (1972). The Portage project: A model for early childhood education. Exceptional Child, 39, 210-217. Simpson, H. M., & Meaney, C. (1979). Effects of learning to ski on the self-concept of mentally retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 84, 25-29. Special Olympics, Inc. (1981). Special Olympics sport skill instructional program. Washington, DC: Author. Inc. Stocker, M. A. (1972). Planning a day for the trainable retarded child. In Molloy, J. S. (Ed.), Trainable children (pp. 20-25). New York: The John Day Company. Tomporowski, P. D., & Ellis, N. R. (1985). The effects of exercise on the health, intelligence, and adaptive behavior of institutionalized severely and profoundly mentally retarded adults: A systematic replication. Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 6, 465-473. Wright, J., & Cowden, J. E. (1986). Changes in self-concept and cardiovascular endurance of mentally retarded youths in a Special Olympics swim training program. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 3, 177-183.
APPENDIX Operational Definitions of the Categories of Classroom Behavior Checklist 1. Physically aggressive to friends: Intentionally hits, kicks, throws something, spits, and/or pulls about the clothes of peers. 2. Physically aggressive to teacher: Intentionally hits, kicks, throws something, spits, and/or pulls about the clothes of teacher. 3. Physically aggressive to objects: Intentionally breaks, tears, throws, spoils, and/or pulls about. 4. Verbally aggressive to friends: Swears, curses, and/or threatens. 5. Verbally aggressive to teacher: Swears, curses, and/or threatens. 6. Verbally inappropriate to the friends: Interrupts the speech of peers, speaks very loudly, mocks, and/or gives order. 7. Verbally inappropriate to teacher: Interrupting the speech of others, speaks very loudly, mocks, gives order, and/or speaks without permission.
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8. Off task - - active: Does not stay in his/her seat, does not stay in class, and/or busies himself/herself with something other than the task. 9. Passive: Does not start the task, waits without completing, pretends not to have heard the instruction, looks around, and/or sleeps.
Research in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-10, 1997 Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0891-4222/97 $17.00 + .00
PII S0891-4222(96)00029-7
The Effects of Basketball Training on the Maladaptive Behaviors of Trainable Mentally Retarded Children Faruk Gen~;6z Middle East Technical University
The effects of basketball training on the maladaptive behaviors of 19 trainable mentally retarded children attending a special state school were investigated. Children in the experimental group took 7 weeks of basketball training (Special Olympics Inc.) designed for mentally retarded children, whereas the control group children engaged in free play activities with the ball. Both groups were assessed before the training and free play activi b, applications (preassessment), immediately after the applications (postassessment) and 30 days after the applications (follow-up assessment). All the children were observed (Classroom Behavior Checklist developed for this study) in their classroom during the academic tasks in which they were involved. Furthermore, their mothers were interviewed to get information about manifested maladaptive behaviors at home. To assess the children's level of improvement in basketball skills, the Sports Skills Assessment was utilized. Children trained in basketball skills showed a reduction in their level of maladaptive behavior both at home and in the school. This reduction was maintained in the follow-up period. Thus, basketball training can be proposed as an effective and practical rehabilitation program fi)r trainable mentally retarded children attending an institution. Copyright © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Tlae author is grateful to Nuray Karancl, under whose direction the master thesis on which this article based was completed at Middle East Technical University. Address correspondence to Faruk Gen~0z, Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey.
2
F. GenqOz.
Psychological benefits of physical activity were summarized by the International Society of Sport Psychology (1992). The purpose of this summary was to motivate people to engage in physical activities and to promote health by increasing the level of engagement. The same rationale is employed by Special Olympics for people with mental retardation. Therefore, individuals with mental retardation have been increasingly exposed to many types of physical fitness programs and organized sports activities. Furthermore, as the consequences of these programs and activities are better understood, the belief that physical activity may also contribute to improvement in psychological variables has been strengthening (Gabler-Halle, Halle, & Chung, 1993; Moon & Renzaglia, 1982). An initial attempt to study the effects of physical activity on the psychological well-being of mentally retarded individuals was undertaken by Oliver (1958). He explained the increase in intelligence level of the experimental group subjects on the basis of their success experience, improved social adjustment, improved physical conditions, and the effects of feeling important. Later findings supported these conclusions. First, exposing institutionalized persons with mental retardation to sports automatically improved their physical condition via an enriched environment. An enriched and stimulating environment may lead to IQ gains (Scar & Weinberg, 1976). Moreover, physical activity can be seen as a potentially useful source of reinforcement for mentally retarded children (Simpson & Meaney, 1979) because they experience more failures than other children (Cromwell, 1959). On the other hand, since cognitive demands are usually less in physical activity, the likelihood of experiencing success is high, which in turn enhances self-concept (Simpson & Meaney, 1979; Wright & Cowden, 1986) and positive body image (Chasey, Swartz, & Chasey, 1974). Furthermore, Tomporowski and Ellis (1985) suggested that exercise training may be seen as a more practical rehabilitation program to adapt to the demands of life than the programs typically employed in the institutional settings for mentally retarded children. in the theoretical sense, adaptation involves, first, recognition of a specific demand from the environment; second, acknowledgment of environmental standards in relationship to fulfillment of specific demands; and finally, ability to implement appropriate behavior. Mentally retarded children are in both theoretical (Hirsch, 1959) and practical (Nihira, 1969) senses vulnerable to patterns of maladjustment that may obstruct adaptive functioning. Therefore, to increase level of adaptation, any education system in an institution should consider the factors that elicit maladjustment and ways to reduce the inappropriate behavior. A physical activity, like basketball, involving face-to-face interaction of members of different groups can be an alternative to accelerate process of adaptation in an institution. Basketball involves development of gross and fine motor abilities and coordination of body, eye, and hand. Training mentally retarded children in groups may also increase the child's awareness of others (Stocker, 1972) and of regulations about cooperation and competition which
Effects of Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
3
constitute a part of adaptation. How and when to cooperate and compete are explicitly given when describing offensive and defensive play. Therefore, mentally retarded children are assisted to recognize that there are some demands required in winning, such as dribbling, passing, shooting, recognition of teammates, and general rules of basketball. These demands are specially analyzed and organized for mentally retarded children by Special Olympics, Inc. (1981). The purpose of this research was to examine whether the Special Olympics Sports Skill Instructional Program (Special Olympics Inc., 1981) could be successfully applied to trainable mentally retarded children in a state school and to find out the effects of this training on the maladaptive behavior patterns of mentally retarded children. It was expected that as the children learned skills and the rules, they would reduce their level of maladaptive behavior and that this reduction would generalize to the classroom and home setting.
METHOD
Subjects Children were chosen from a state school for persons with trainable mental retardation. The school teachers suggested 26 out of 100 students whose parents were likely to participate in the study. These students were screened on the Turkish adapted form of the Portage (Gilleard, 1987). Twenty children with the highest scores were selected. These subjects were then tested on the Turkish adapted form of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Katz & Onen, 1974) and matched according to their chronological and receptive language ages, grossmotor abilities, and sex (average age = 12 years, one month; range = 10 to 14 years; SD = one month, 4 days). One associate of each pair was randomly assigned either controls or experimentals.
Instruments Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). PPVT is an individual, wide-range picture vocabulary test (Dunn, 1965) from which the receptive language age of a subject can be calculated. Receptive language age of the subjects was calculated according to the Turkish translation and adaptation of PPVT (Katz & Onen, 1974). Portage. Portage is an education system (Shearer & Shearer, 1972) for developmentally delayed children, aiming to teach developmental abilities of normal children between 0 and 6 years of age. It is also used as an assessment device for evaluating the skills of six different developmental areas. In the Turkish adapted form (Gilleard, 1987), the category called Motor Development includes three subcategories: Fine, Gross, and General Motor. Subjects who could pass
4
E GengOz
50% of the Gross Motor and General Motor items were considered suitable to participate. Portage was used to screen severe deficits in gross motor abilities that would have made it impossible to teach basketball skills in 7 weeks.
American Association on Mental Deficiency Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS). This scale has been developed (Nihira, Foster, Shellhaas, & Leland, 1969) to assess persons with mental retardation on functioning in adaptive and maladapfive areas. The Turkish translation and adaptation of the scale (Epir, 1976) consists of two parts. Only the second part was used to evaluate maladaptive behaviors manifested at home. Maladaptive behavior domains included in Part 2 are violent and destructive behavior, antisocial behavior, rebellious behavior, untrustworthy behavior, withdrawal, stereotyped behavior and odd mannerisms, inappropriate interpersonal manners, unacceptable vocal habits, unacceptable or eccentric habits, self-abusive behavior, hyperactive tendencies, sexually aberrant behavior, psychological disturbances, and use of medications. Classroom Behavior Checklist (CBC). CBC was developed for the present study to assess maladaptive behaviors in the classroom setting during courses. The checklist has been designed to use when directly observing children in the classroom. It contains nine categories of maladaptive behavior. These categories were derived from the interviews conducted with the teachers about the most frequent problematic behaviors manifested by the students. The names of the categories and operational definitions of them are given in the Appendix. Observations in the classroom were made by two independent observers. Interobserver reliability between them has been found, r = .92. Sports Skills Assessment. This assessment device is a part of Special Olympics Sport Skills Instructional Program (Special Olympics Inc., 1981). It is a criterion-referenced test to determine the students' level of functioning in basketball skills. Sports Skill Instructional Program (SSIP). SSIP has been designed to teach basketball to children with mental retardation (Special Olympics Inc., 1981). The program includes identification of the skills to be learned, skill sequences that specify sequence of behavior the learner must engage, task analysis that analyzes the skill in detailed steps the student must master, and teaching suggestions. During training sessions a stop watch, a whistle, and colored adhesive tapes were used. The sessions were conducted in a large conference room that was also usable for sports and games. Boundaries of the basketball court were marked by colored adhesive tapes. Children in the experimental group played with junior-size basketballs, whereas children in the control group played with light, softer balls.
Effects of Basketball on Maladaptive Behaviors
5
PROCEDURE 1. Training and Play Sessions Forty-min training sessions were conducted three times a week for 7 weeks. Experimental group training. SSIP was used for the experimental training including skills and rules of basketball, sportsmanship, and some team tactics. Sessions were started with warm-up exercises. They involved exercises without the ball, including stretching, coordination, strengthening, and running and exercises with the ball including some ball-handling drills. These exercises and drills took 20 rain for the first five sessions. The time reserved for warming up gradually decreased to 10 rain due to improvements in the skills of the subjects. After warming up, the subjects engaged in basketball skills. In the initial sessions the teaching procedure included simple passing, catching, shooting, dribbling, rebounding, and defensive play skills. As the subjects progressed, most of them received Level 2 training, which included more difficult skills in the same areas as Level 1 and the rules of basketball, some simple tactics, and sportsmanship.
Control group activity. The subjects in the control group were allowed to play with the balls in any manner they wished during the play sessions. While they were playing, the instructor did not get involved in their play and gave no specific instruction.
Assessments. Assessments were made over the three phases of the study: (a) before the training and play sessions started (pre-training assessment), (b) immediately after training and play sessions were completed (post-training assessment), and (c) 45 days after the posttraining assessment (follow-up assessment). In pretraining assessment, 26 students were tested on Portage to be screened for their gross and general motor abilities, and on PPVT to be matched according to receptive language age, which can reflect subjects' level of ability to understand verbal commands. After forming experimental and control groups, subjects were tested on SSA, ABS, and CBC during pretraining, posttraining, and follow-up assessments.
RESULTS A 2 X 3 X 3 (Group X Time X Assessment) ANOVA with repeated measures on time and assessment factors revealed significant Group X Time interaction, F (4, 68) = 15.39, p < .0001. For three different assessment measures, the following results were obtained.
6
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1. Adaptive Behavior Scale Part 2 Measures A 3 X 2 (Time × Group) A N O V A with repeated measures on Time factor revealed significant Time x Group interaction; F (2, 34) = 6.19, p < .005. For the preassessment period, group differences emerged, F (1, 18) = 7.43, p < .05, favoring the performance of the experimental group subjects. Since significant group differences are detected at preassessment, group differences at posttraining and follow-up periods were subanalyzed by controlling preassessment differences by means of analysis of covariance. Analysis of covariance revealed significant group differences both at the postassessment, F (1, 18) = 7.21, p < .05, and the follow-up assessment, F (1, 18) -- 17.18, p < .001. The experimental group exhibited less maladaptive behavior than the control group both at postassessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
2. Classroom Behavior Checklist (CBC) Measures A 3 × 2 (Time × Group) ANOVA with repeated measures on Time factor revealed significant Group × Time interaction, F (2, 34) = 7.29, p < .005. There were no group differences at the preassessment. The differences between groups emerged at postassessment, F (1, 18) --- 46.82, p < .0001, and follow-up assessment, F (1, 18) = 121.09, p < .0001. The experimental group manifested less maladaptive behavior in the classroom than the control group both at postassessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
TABLE 1 Means and (Standard Deviations) as a Function of Group, Time and Assessment Type
Group ABS Experimental Control CBC Experimental Control SSA Experimental Control
Preassessment
Postassessment
Follow-up
32.00 (10.57) 48.00 (14.87)
17.90 (9.48) 46.67 (19.00)
18.50 (7.88) 46.44 (13.70)
14.30 (6.88) 19.11 (8.17)
4.90 (2.42) 22.00 (7.50)
4.60 (2.99) 21.11 (3.55)
9.90 (2.68) 9.22 (2.59)
33.20 (9.55) 15.58 (2.79)
31.20 (14.80) 9.00 (2.45)
Note. For ABS and CBC lower scores indicate reduction in the frequency of maladaptive behavior whereas higher scores on SSA indicate increase in acquired skills.
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3. Sports Skills Assessment
A 3 × 2 (Time × Group) ANOVA with repeated measures was run. Significant Group × Time interaction, F (2, 34) = 24.78, p < .0001, was found. The analysis of this interaction exhibited that there were no significant group differences at the preassessment, whereas, significant differences emerged between groups at both post, F (1, 18) = 18.02, p < .0005, and follow-up, F (1, 18) = 30.51, p < .0001, assessments, These group differences showed the superiority of the experimental group subjects over the control group subjects both at post-assessment and follow-up periods (See Table 1).
DISCUSSION The results of Sport Skill Assessment revealed that trainable mentally retarded children were able to learn not only basic dribbling, shooting, and passing skills, but they also learned the regulations of basketball and developed sportsmanship. By the fourth week, five of the experimental group children passed Level 2 training, and at the seventh week they were spontaneously congratulating their opponents when the game was over. The childen controlled their tempers during the games, and when they violated the rules, they exactly obeyed the referee's whistle. During the training sessions the children should listen to and observe carefully the instructions, understand them clearly, and initiate the appropriate skills. The same demands happen in their classroom also. They should listen to and observe their teacher and complete the task according to the instructions. In the case of basketball training, however, the subjects were intrinsically motivated to engage in the skills, since these children seemed to enjoy playing with the ball, running, jumping, etc. They seemed to prefer to engage in sports activities rather than being in a traditional classroom setting and engage in an academic activity. The answers given to the question, "Whom would you like to be when you are grown up?" supported this observation. Most of the children, especially those who were highly active, tried to express that they would like to be Erman, Ere, Tanju, Rldvan, etc., who are very famous basketball and football players in Turkey. Only one female responded that she wanted to be a teacher, and one male wanted to be a doctor. Both of these children had relatively lower levels of maladaptive behaviors. The result of the SSA also indicated that the children who learned the skills and regulations did not forget what they learned. On the other hand, the teachers reported that these children usually forget what they learned in the classroom activities, so they were surprised when the children were playing basketball following the regulations at the follow-up assessment. The second expectation was that the subjects who progressed in basketball training would have reduced maladaptation level and this reduction might have generalized to the home. Postassessment of ABS and CBC has fulfilled this
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expectation. Children who were trained in basketball skills reduced their maladaptation level both in the classroom and at home. Mothers' attitudes toward this reduction were positive. In the follow-up study, many of the interviewed mothers stated that the change in the mood of their child was significant at home and he/she was more social in their relations with peers. Klein, Gilman, and Zigler's (1993) study about parents' attitudes toward Special Olympics yielded similar result. Parents evaluated the program as beneficial, particularly in terms of social adjustment and life satisfaction. The experience of success in a relationship can reinforce and maintain it. Basketball is a group activity that gives players a chance to feel success and in turn satisfaction. Children in the experimental group probably found a way to get satisfaction when playing with others. Thus, after they are able to recognize the demands of play and are able to manifest the appropriate skills to fulfill the demands, there may be no reason for them to manifest maladaptive behaviors. Therefore, it was not surprising that in the follow-up assessment their performance was similar to that of postassessment. Although not a direct scientific concern, sports have a great impact on the policies and attitudes toward mentally retarded people. Sports organizations like Special Olympics attract thousands of observers, mass media, and, of course, financial aid. Public interest in these organizations will provide integration of retarded people into the society in which they live. Fortunately, in recent years there have been movements to form such organizations in Turkey. On the other hand, currently these organizations are not efficient at attracting public attention, nor do special schools have a large enough number of physical educators and playgrounds. The author and thousands of mentally retarded children hopefully wait for increased interest in the policy of sports organizations from government, schools, and society.
REFERENCES Chasey, W. C., Swartz, J. D., & Chasey, C. G. (1974). Effect of motor development on body image scores for institutionalized mentally retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 78, 44O-445. Cromwell, R. A. (1959). A methodological approach to personality research in mental retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 64, 333-340. Dunn, L. M. (1965). Peabody Picture VocabulaD, Test. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Epir, S. (1976). ]lkokul focuklan if in AAMD uyumsal davrams, skalast: Tiirkfe adaptasyon el kitabl. Ankara: Milli E~itim Bakanll~ Talim ve Terbiye Dairesi. Gabler-Halle, D., Halle, J. W., & Chung, Y. B. (1993). The effects of aerobic exercise on psychological and behavioral variables of individuals with developmental disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 14, 359-386. Gilleard, E. (1987). Portaj e~itim sisteminin zihinsel 6jirlii focuklar iizerinde uygulams,t. Unpublished manuscript, Middle East Technical University, Department of Psychology. Hirsch, E. A. (1959). The adaptive significance of commonly described behavior of mentally retarded. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 63, 639-646.
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International Society of Sport Psychology (1992). Physical activity and psychological benefits: A position statement. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 23, 86-91. Katz, J., & t3nen, E (1974). A Turkish Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Hacettepe Bulletin of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6, 129-142. Klein, T., Gilman, E., & Zigler, E. (1993). Special Olympics: An evaluation by professionals and parents. Mental Retardation, 31, 15-23. Moon, M. S., & Renzaglia, A. (1982). Physical fitness and the mentally retarded: A critical review of the literature. The Journal of Special Education, 16, 269-287. Nihira, K. (1969). Factorial dimensions of adaptive behavior in mentally retarded children and adolescents. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 74, 130-141. Nihira, K., Foster, R., Shellhaas, M., & Leland, H. (1969). Adaptive Behavior Scale manual. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Deficiency. Oliver, J. N. (1958). The effects of physical conditioning exercises and activities on the mental characteristics of educationally subnormal boys. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 28, 155-165. Scar, S., & Weinberg, R. A. (1976). IQ test performance of black children adopted by white families. American Psychologist, 3, 726-739. Shearer, M. S., & Shearer, D. E. (1972). The Portage project: A model for early childhood education. Exceptional Child, 39, 210-217. Simpson, H. M., & Meaney, C. (1979). Effects of learning to ski on the self-concept of mentally retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 84, 25-29. Special Olympics, Inc. (1981). Special Olympics sport skill instructional program. Washington, DC: Author. Inc. Stocker, M. A. (1972). Planning a day for the trainable retarded child. In Molloy, J. S. (Ed.), Trainable children (pp. 20-25). New York: The John Day Company. Tomporowski, P. D., & Ellis, N. R. (1985). The effects of exercise on the health, intelligence, and adaptive behavior of institutionalized severely and profoundly mentally retarded adults: A systematic replication. Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 6, 465-473. Wright, J., & Cowden, J. E. (1986). Changes in self-concept and cardiovascular endurance of mentally retarded youths in a Special Olympics swim training program. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 3, 177-183.
APPENDIX Operational Definitions of the Categories of Classroom Behavior Checklist 1. Physically aggressive to friends: Intentionally hits, kicks, throws something, spits, and/or pulls about the clothes of peers. 2. Physically aggressive to teacher: Intentionally hits, kicks, throws something, spits, and/or pulls about the clothes of teacher. 3. Physically aggressive to objects: Intentionally breaks, tears, throws, spoils, and/or pulls about. 4. Verbally aggressive to friends: Swears, curses, and/or threatens. 5. Verbally aggressive to teacher: Swears, curses, and/or threatens. 6. Verbally inappropriate to the friends: Interrupts the speech of peers, speaks very loudly, mocks, and/or gives order. 7. Verbally inappropriate to teacher: Interrupting the speech of others, speaks very loudly, mocks, gives order, and/or speaks without permission.
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8. Off task - - active: Does not stay in his/her seat, does not stay in class, and/or busies himself/herself with something other than the task. 9. Passive: Does not start the task, waits without completing, pretends not to have heard the instruction, looks around, and/or sleeps.