Predictors of elderly nursing home admissions were identified using the 1982-1984 National Long-Term Care Survey. The authors found age and health factors were important predictors. Gender was not a significant predictor for disabled elderly admissions when controlling for other variables, even though women constitute the vast majority of nursing home residents. Three of four measures of informal support availability and use were not significantly related to nursing home admission by the disabled. Income and asset wealth were also nonsignificant predictors of institutionalization by the disabled community population.