Decision-Making Opportunities: A Key Aspect in Processes Aimed at Fostering Independent Living.
Community placement only boosts self-determination when staff weave frequent, real choices into everyday routines.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Armas Junco et al. (2025) tracked adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who left large facilities and moved to small community homes.
Six months later the team measured how much choice the adults had each day and how self-determined they felt.
The study asked: do daily choice opportunities explain why some people gain more independence than others after the move?
What they found
People who received the same level of staff support but had more chances to choose showed bigger jumps in self-determination.
In fact, choice fully carried the benefit: supports only helped when they opened real decision moments each day.
How this fits with other research
Navas et al. (2025) ran a similar 2025 study and saw even larger quality-of-life gains, confirming choice is the active ingredient.
Gabriels et al. (2001) first showed self-determination rises after community moves; Laura’s team now pinpoints why—daily choice acts as the bridge.
Friedman (2023) adds a safety angle: every extra unit of service choice cut injuries by one third, so choice helps bodies as well as minds.
Why it matters
You can stop measuring success by “moved out” alone. Build a checklist of tiny daily choices—what to eat, wear, buy, watch—and track them. If choices are low, coach staff to pause and offer options before every routine. More choices today equals stronger self-direction six months from now.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this study is to analyze the determining factors and processes associated with changes in self-determination of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and extensive support needs who moved to ordinary homes within the community. A repeated measures design was carried out, collecting data of 54 participants before the transition and 6 months after. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine complex relationships between variables to estimate the models. After transition, participants' levels of self-determination, received supports, and choice significantly increased. The effect that received supports had on self-determination was fully mediated by choice, meaning that if supports are not geared towards facilitating autonomy in daily decision making, there will be no improvement in quality of life.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2025 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-63.3.230