The Effect of Eelf-determination and Self-advocacy of People with Developmental Disabilities on Their Choice of Residence from the Perspective of Their Guardians

This study analyzed the impact of self-determination and self-advocacy on the housing type choices of individuals with developmental disabilities. To do so, we utilized data from the '2022 Survey on the Work and Life of People with Developmental Disabilities' and conducted research with 3,000 guardians of individuals with developmental disabilities aged 15 and older. The key findings are as follows. First, self-determination in individuals with developmental disabilities showed significant differences based on gender, disability type, age, and education level. Notably, younger generations demonstrated stronger self-determination through educational opportunities. Second, self-advocacy showed significant differences based on factors such as cohabitation status, presence of multiple disabilities, and education level. In particular, older women appeared to be positively influenced by an independent lifestyle, which might have contributed to higher levels of self-advocacy. Third, the analysis of housing types revealed that higher education levels were associated with a greater likelihood of living independently. Moreover, individuals with higher self-determination were 2.29 times more likely to live alone. Fourth, higher self-advocacy was associated with a preference for institutional or community-type living arrangements, while higher self-determination was linked to a preference for independent living. Self-advocacy plays a role in helping individuals with developmental disabilities choose environments where they can receive appropriate support. Fifth, the multinomial logistic regression model confirmed that both self-determination and self-advocacy significantly influence housing type choices for individuals with developmental disabilities.