Residential Facilities in the Community for People with Intellectual Disabilities: How Neighbours' Perceptions are Affected by the Interaction of Facility and Neighbour Variables

The present paper reports a study of neighbours' perceptions of community-based residential facilities for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Whereas earlier studies have researched the effect of single variables, the present paper breaks new ground by taking a multidimensional perspective. It analyses neighbourhood acceptance as a variable explainable by interactions between facility variables and the nature of the neighbourhood population itself. Two hundred and eight neighbours of 36 urban community facilities for people with IDs were surveyed, plus the facility managers. The individual characteristics of the neighbours which were found to relate to facility impact included: having young children at home; having a disabled family member; knowing that the neighbourhood contained a facility; and visiting the facility. Pertinent facility variables were: size, degree of supervision, and the pre- and post-entry strategies used by managers to gain local acceptance for the facility. Most importantly, the present study found that none of these variables can be considered or used in isolation. The direction of their effect can be positive or negative according to the variables which they interact with. Theoretical aspects of the findings are discussed and interventions are suggested which might improve the community integration of people with IDs.