Autonomy in residential facilities and community functioning of adults with mental retardation

Over a 3-year period, we examined whether the autonomy of 58 adults living in residences for people with developmental disabilities was associated wit h their adaptive behavior and community integration. Degree of resident aut onomy included measures of opportunities for choice-making and level of inv olvement in policymaking. All of the participants lived in nursing homes at baseline and in residential settings for people with developmental disabil ities at follow-up. Results indicated that opportunities for autonomy in re sidential settings were related to residents' adaptive behavior and communi ty integration, More opportunities for choice-making in residences was asso ciated with greater adaptive behavior, whereas smaller residence size and m ore resident involvement in decision-making were associated with greater co mmunity integration.