A study of 398 young adults (ages 21-26) with severe disabilities who had been out of school for 1.75 to 5 years was conducted to validate a four-factor model of quality of life for youth with severe disabilities in transition from school to community and from youth to adulthood. Information was gathered on life satisfaction, employment-economic integration, employment stability, personal choice/control, residential integration, social networks, community assimilation and acceptance, social/recreational-leisure integration, family integration, formal support services, citizenship/contribution, and educational involvement. Results of the study found that the four-factor model of quality of life reflects and corresponds to those defining dimensions proposed by the related quality-of-life literature. The first dimension is "adult performance/independence," defined by personal control in adult life, citizenship, residential integration, and educational attainment. The second dimension is "interpersonal relationship/community and family integration," which is characterized by family integration, social network, and community assimilation and acceptance. The third dimension of "productivity (economic stability)" is defined by an individual's involvement in stable and integrated daily work or related activities, occupational or employment characteristics, income, and degree of self-sufficiency. The last dimension is "psychological well-being (satisfaction)," which is determined by personal overall satisfaction and involvement in recreation-leisure activities. (Contains 64 references.) (CR)