Determinants of Negro Family Decisions in Management of Retardation

An attempt was made to isolate the effects of social class, child-rearing attitudes, and advice on Negro parents' decision to institutionalize their retarded children. Negro families who had formal plans to institutionalize and others who planned to keep their children at home were interviewed. Similar groups of white families were used for comparisons. Social class, domestic placement of the child, and child-rearing attitudes all failed to explain planning. Advice to institutionalize did differentiate in the expected direction especially for Negroes. This tendency of Negro parents to follow advice might be based on the Negro's history in the society, which may lead to a compliance with advice.