Follow-up of Mentally Retarded Adults Successfully and UnsuccessfuIly Placed in Community Group Homes

State hospital staff members compared 72 retarded adult patients who had been successfully placed in group homes in the community with 13 patients who had been placed but rehospitalized. No significant differences were found between the groups on the four variables of sex, age at the time of the study, age at first admission to the hospital, and time spent in the hospital. A comparison of preplacement problems listed in the patients' hospital records with the reasons for rehospitalization of the unsuccessfully placed group suggests that both hospital staff and group home parents find aggressive behaviors a problem, but that group home parents are more concerned than hospital staff with deficiencies in self-care.