Factors in family decision-making about placement for developmentally disabled individuals

Variables that affect placement requests by families for their developmentally disabled members were examined. Results reaffirmed the importance of degree of disability, behavior problems, and external stressors for the decision-making process but also demonstrated that previous assumptions concerning their relative importance should be reexamined. Among younger disabled individuals (under 21), behavior problems were most important; for older individuals (over 21), disruption of family relations and perceived burden of care were more important. Different decision-making processes appeared to operate for younger and older disabled individuals. These results highlight the need for better specified theories that can explain placement requests among different types of individuals and families.