Some common behavioral traits associated with mental retardation, such as a low tolerance for frustration; do not appear with the criteria that must be present for diagnosis. Easily frustrated mentally retarded individuals sometimes become aggressive and may engage in self-injuries behavior. Not all mentally retarded individuals are easily frustrated, however. While some are impulsive, stubborn, and immature, others are passive and pleasant.
Other common behavioral traits include low self-esteem and difficulty sustaining attention. Co-morbid mood disorders (including depression) often accompany mental retardation. However, many mentally retarded individuals show no signs of mood disorders and appear happy and amiable.
Some individuals with mental retardation have unique physical characteristics that mark them as retarded, including being short of stature or processing unique facial characteristics associated with conditions related to their mental retardation. Others have a perfectly normal physical appearance.
Although intellectual functioning is always deficit across the entire mental retardation classification, there are fewer characteristics that uniquely identify someone as being mentally retarded. For example, there are no particular personality characteristics unique to mental retardation (although specific syndrome that causes mental retardation to occur may tend to have particular personality characteristics, e.g., children with Williams’s syndrome tend to be outgoing). The wide variety of personality characteristics displayed by people with mental retardation reflects the heterogeneity (wide differences) of that group. Their personalities are as different as the personalities in the general populations are. Some mentally retarded people are easygoing, while others are impulsive or aggressive.
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