Sticks, Stones, and Stigma: A Study of Students' Use of the Derogatory Term "Retard".

The present study explored the prevalence of the derogatory invective "retard" (i.e., "r-word") in everyday speech among American youth. A total of 1,169 youth between the ages of 8 and 18 years old participated in the present study. Results showed high prevalence of the r-word, as 92% of youth had heard someone use the word as a slang invective. Results also indicated that youth responded differently depending on who the word was directed toward (i.e., person with or without an intellectual disability), who said the word (i.e., friend vs. nonfriend), and who heard the word (i.e., females vs. males; younger vs. older youth). Implications for eliminating the r-word from everyday use are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]