ABSTRACT
Evidence on aggression and mental retardation parallels to some extent the findings reported for the mentally ill. Evidence regarding aggression and mental illness suggests that early emotional or personality disturbance does in fact influence later social and emotional growth to the extent that resulting behavior is frequently labeled as criminal. The ambiguities in the definitional issue become increasingly apparent when attempting to estimate the proportion of the criminal or offender population that is mentally retarded. Lakin, Hill, Hauber, and Bruininks pointed out that despite the feeling that a major aim of deinstitutionalization is avoidance of first admission to institutional settings, there is a serious gap between the concept and the process of deinstitutionalization. From a deinstitutionalization strategy the literature on mentally retarded offenders, maladaptive behavior, and mental retardation suggests an intractable situation unless specified behavior problems can be controlled or eliminated before or shortly after community placement.
