| Summary: | Various measures of community and leisure use have been reported. However a range of problems exist with these that may compromise the reliability and validity of the data generated. In addition, rarely has normative data been produced that would enable comparison of individuals and groups of people with disabilities with non-disabled people. The thesis describes the development of the Guernsey Community Participation and Leisure Assessment (GCPLA). This is a comprehensive assessment of community participation and the use of leisure, which produces both quantitative and qualitative data. Data are presented that suggest that the instrument is potentially both valid and reliable. A study comparing community and leisure use of service users and a staff control group showed that service users had a smaller range of activities, were less busy(had fewer frequent activities), and were more likely to access their communities in the presence of staff or carers, rather than alone or with friends. Suggestions for the use of the GCPLA are discussed including individual planning, service evaluation and training. The impact of resettlement for the residents of a small learning disability hospital on their use of their communities and leisure was investigated using a mixed design in which changes in the dependent variable (GCPLA scores) were measured within-subjects (before and after leaving hospital) and between-subjects (using a comparison group of people who lived in the community throughout the study). This revealed that resettlement from hospital corresponded with significant increase in the range and frequency of leisure and community contacts. In addition, a standard multiple regression design was employed in order to explore the relative contribution of client and service variables to GCPLA scores. Community and leisure use was found to be related to place of residence, adaptive behaviour and the robustness of community goals within the service users individual plan.
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