Professionals' placement recommendations to parents of a newborn with Down's syndrome.

The placement recommendations of 98 professionals to parents, relating to their newborn with Down's syndrome, were studied in respect to social variables relating to their decisions. Using a projective questionnaire with case vignettes it was found that social variables played a significant role in professionals' hypothetical placement recommendations to parents of a newborn with Down's syndrome. Furthermore, these placement recommendations varied according to professional categories (nurses differed from physicians and social workers) and personal attributes (age and professional experience).