Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1995 Choice Assessment in Residential Settings Christopher A. Kearney, 1 V. Mark Durand, 2 and Jodi A. Mindell 3 The availability of choice has been suggested as an important aspect of quality of life for persons with severe handicaps. However, the psychometric properties of proposed methods of measuring choice have not been fully assessed. The present study introduces the Resident Choice Assessment Scale, a measure designed to assess daily choices available to persons with severe handicaps. Results indicated the instrument to be reliable across raters and time, and to distinguish choice availability across developmental center, nursing home, and group home settings. The scale may be useful for determining the restrictiveness of a living environment for purposes of modification and as a dependent measure for future research. KEY WORDS: choice; assessment; severe handicaps. INTRODUCTION Several investigators (e.g., Landesman, 1986) have called for identi- fying components of "quality of life" and "satisfaction" for persons with severe handicaps. Evans and Scotti (1989) indicated that quality of life for this population is related to possession of "effective behaviors" (p. 95), or those that produce a meaningful environmental effect. The authors also stated that such behaviors could be enhanced via the opportunity for choice. Indeed, autonomy or degree of choice within the living environment (e.g., Guess et al., 1985) have been proposed as potential dimensions of quality of life. Consequently, The Association for Persons with Severe 1University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154. 2State Universityof New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12203. 3St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131. 203 1056--263X/95/0900-0203507.50/0 @ 1995 Plenum Publishing Corporation