台北市民眾對重度智障者社區安置態度之研究

Public Attitudes Toward Community Placement for People with Severe Mental Retardation in Taipei, Taiwan

隨著「回歸主流」之理念，將重度智障者安置於社區中乃為時代趨勢。本研究的目的在於探討台北市民眾對社區安置之態度、贊成社區安置之民眾背景、及贊成（或反對）的因素。本研究係運用自編的「民眾對重度智障者社區安置態度量表分別對一千名系統隨機取樣之台北市民眾作問卷調查，其中373人寄回問卷。從本研究所搜集之資料經由統計分析結果顯示：一、大部份的民眾贊成社區安置（73.4％），其中57.1％贊成社區家園的安置。二、民眾的背景中年齡、教育程度、職業及接觸經驗對社區安置之態度有顯著差異；年輕、大等學歷、專業人員、有接觸經驗者，較贊成社區安置。三、88.7％的民眾認為智障者有權利居住於社區中。四、76.4％的民眾認為社區家園的建立須先取得社區民眾的同意。五、民眾反對社區安置的主要考慮為智障者會影響社區的交通、安寧、房地產值下降、社區安全、及智障者的不正當行為等。六、民眾認為重度智障者安置於社區中有助於其生活自理能力、溝通技能、適應行為、休閒技能、及被同儕接受。

In Taipei, the primary placements for people with severe mental retardation are natural homes and institutions. Very few group homes for community placement exist at the present time. However, as the deinstitutionalization movement continues, it is expected that community placement will become a favorable choice among professionals in the field. Since community placement programs experienced significant public resistance in the past, it is obvious that an evaluation of the public's attitude toward this issue is essential in planning a community placement.The purpose of this study is to investigate public attitudes toward community placement for people with severe mental retardation in Taipei, Taiwan and to identify the demographic characteristics of people who express favorable attitudes toward community placement. The goal was achieved through a mail survey and the subsequent statistical analyses. One thousand households were randomly chosen from the phone directory of Taipei city. Among them, 373 individuals returned their questionnaires. Appropiate statistical analyses were then conduct to analyze these data.The r results of this study indicate that people who took part in this study expressed an favorable attitude toward community placement for people with severe mental retardation. Demographic characteristics such as age, education, occupation, as well as previous contacts contributed to differences in attitudes toward community placement. Younger, college graduates, professionals, and people who have had previous contact with individuals with mental retardation expressed more favorable attitudes toward community placement. Most respondents (88.7%) recognized the right of the people with mental retardation to live in the community. A high percentage (76.4%) of respondents felt that group home planners should obtain consent from neighborhood dwellers before a group home could be established. The respondents also expressed concerns on the problems a community placement program may bring to the community. The significant ones are traffic (32.4%), loitering (25.5%), lowered property values (23.9%), noise (22.5%), indecent conducts (22.0%)，and safety (20.4%). The findings aslo indicate that 57.1 % of the respondents considered group homes to be the most appropriate placement, 26.3% chose institutions, and the remaining 14.2% and 1.9% chose natural homes and foster homes respectively.