The Effect of Individual and Environmental Characteristics on Outcomes in Residential Services

Research over a number of years has shown the damaging and dehumanising effects of institutional living on people with learning disabilities (e.g. King, Raynes & Tizard, 1971), and has exposed the fact that the quality of life experienced in such settings is not solely a consequence of having a learning disability, but is as much a consequence of the nature of the service offered. Increasingly, evidence has suggested that smaller, community based facilities are ‘better’ than large institutions. This study builds on this evidence; it uses data from some London residential services to not only compare the outcomes for clients of different types of residential service, but also to investigate the actual factors and processes which produce those outcomes.