USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications

It's not where you live but how you live: Choice and adaptive/maladaptive behavior in persons with severe handicaps.

SelectedWorks Author Profiles:

V. Mark Durand

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

ISSN

1056-263X

Abstract

Although it is generally accepted that beneficial effects accrue when relocating persons with severe handicaps from large to smaller facilities, a specific analysis of concurrent environmental changes is needed. The present study investigated the relationship between choice availability and levels of adaptive and maladaptive behavior in persons with severe handicaps following their relocation to smaller residential facilities. Specifically, 57 residents of a large developmental center (30 men and 27 women, mean age 35 years) were relocated to either a transitional developmental center before placement into smaller residential facilities or directly into separate smaller community residences. AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale, Vineland Maladaptive Behavior Scale, and Resident Choice Assessment Scale data were obtained for both groups over a 1-year follow-up period. Degree of resident choice was significantly correlated with areas of adaptive and, to a lesser extent, maladaptive behavior. Choice availability is proposed as a meaningful variable for modifying residential programs, developing effective behaviors, and classifying living facilities for persons with severe handicaps.

Comments

Abstract only. Full-text article is available only through licensed access provided by the publisher. Published in Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 7, 11-24. doi: 10.1007/BF02578711. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.

Language

en_US

Publisher

Springer

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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