Community residential adjustment: the relationship among environment, performance, and satisfaction.

A cohort of 153 persons released from a state school for mentally retarded persons was studied with regard to two outcome measures of community residential adjustment: (a) adaptive behavior as measured by the percentage of mastered skills that a subject performed regularly and independently and (b) subjects' satisfaction with aspects of their residential environments. Five environmental dimensions of six residential program types were examined, and significant differences among the program types on these environmental dimensions were reported. A multiple regression analysis was performed to explain the relationship between the measures of adaptive behavior and individual and environmental characteristics. Benefits of this study's measurement of community adjustment were discussed in terms of their potential use for future research and for use by planners and providers of services.