Reply #64: Thanks for the welcome.

[Red State Blues]

Well on that one issue I was leaving it up to you to try to prove me wrong. It's frustrating for me because the implicit question is "Where did you get your information from?" People have a tendency to dismiss everything you say if they can find any flaw in your argument and I don't like re-researching something I already know (from College, several classes actually) and taking the danger that one of these sources I will present is fatally flawed. Getting back to my implicit argument, whatever sources I present won't actually be where I got my information from.

I've also had problems in the past on other message boards with people demanding that you back up even the most mundane statements.

Anyway, the above isn't meant as any attack on you, it's probably more of a cry for advice. I don't see how some of the people around here do it. I really wasn't planning to spend all of my internet time yesterday (and then some) on one board, much less one thread, but yet to properly reply to UL below (and your agreement with him) I can see this easily going in to tomorrow.

Thanks again for the welcome and for the civil discussion.

Mental Retardation Male Female Ratio Argument Support:

from: http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutour/articles/about_mr.html
"Who is likely to have it?

The prevalence of mental retardation in adults has been estimated at approximately 1%, or roughly 1 in 100. However, as many as 3% of school-age children are diagnosed as mentally retarded. The difference between child and adult rates may be due to the fact that some children may improve their adaptive abilities so that the diagnosis no longer applies. Mental retardation is more common in males, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.5:1. Mental retardation occurs in upper and lower socioeconomic classes, except that certain etiological factors (e.g., lead poisoning and premature births) are linked to lower socioeconomic class. Individuals with mental retardation exist in all cultures, educational, racial and ethnic groups."

from: http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic605.htm

Frequency:

In the US: The frequency of MR of all degrees ranges from 1.6-3% of the population.
Internationally: A study with excellent ascertainment conducted in Aberdeen, Scotland, yielded a prevalence of 1 in 300 for severe MR and 1 in 77 for mild MR. Among those with severe MR were more boys than girls (male-to-female ratio 1.2:1), and among those with IQ >70, in the mild range of deficiency, boys exceeded girls by a ratio of 2.2:1.

Although prevalence rates vary from country to country, the variance in prevalence may be attributed to ascertainment bias, the standardization methods employed from study to study, and a generalized upward drift in IQ scores over time. Even so, the greatest variance in statistics of prevalence is most likely to fall within the category of mild MR, a group for which the ascertainment bias is large.