Out-of-home placement of children and adolescents with severe handicaps: behavioral intentions and behavior.

This study tracked the thoughts and actions regarding out-of-home placement in 100 families who had a child or early adolescent with severe handicaps. Parents' behavioral intentions regarding out-of-home placement were assessed using a single item measure of placement tendency (The Placement Tendency Index) four times over a total period of approximately 6 years. Statistical models used to predict time until placement indicated that the Placement Tendency Index had modest predictive capacity in the long run, but increased predictive utility over shorter periods. Closer examination of the movement of scores from one wave of data collection to the next revealed three patterns, indicating variability in the speed and direction with which parents move along the scale.