Background: Aggressive behaviour (AB) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are common in people with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning, leading to adverse consequences for themselves and those around them. Method: We investigated the relationship between AB (both total and physical in particular) and NSSI and risk…

Background: Longitudinal research is needed to strengthen evidence for risk factors for challenging behaviour in children with intellectual disabilities and to understand patterns of change over time. Methods: Data on challenging behaviour were collected for 225 students in one school over four annual time points and a range of potential risk…

Background: In the UK, people with intellectual disabilities who exhibit aggressive behaviour often receive community-based specialist health services from a community learning disability team (CLDT). Our aim was to estimate costs associated with this provision and to identify predictors of higher costs. Method: Costs were estimated for 60 adults…

Background: Previous studies of anger management in people with intellectual disability failed to control for the effects of the number of provocative stimuli presented and lacked direct measures of behaviour and treatment integrity data. Methods: This experiment systematically assessed and presented discriminative stimuli for aggressive…

Background: Obsessive-compulsive (O-C) traits, and excessive food intake are well known behavioural manifestations among individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Other unwanted behaviours are also frequently observed, but they need a more specific investigation, especially in the adult population. Methods: The behaviour of 31 PWS adults was…

Background: Intrusive interventions, once implemented, may remain in place longer than necessary unless their continued effectiveness is evaluated. Method: We conducted a phased timeout-evaluation for 34 individuals with developmental disabilities who received services from the same agency and whose treatment programmes contained timeout for…

Background: Previous research has suggested that severity of intellectual disability (ID) and topography of behaviour may influence staff causal attributions regarding challenging behaviour. Subsequently, these causal attributions may influence helping behaviours. This study investigated the relationship between attributions of control over…

Background: There is little research on the safety of the various types of restraint commonly used with individuals with intellectual disabilities who exhibit severely aggressive or self-injurious behaviour. Method: This study analysed the use of restraint with 209 individuals with intellectual disabilities over a 12-month period. Results: Planned…

Background: The aim of this study was to reevaluate the reliability (internal consistency, inter-rater and re-test) and the factor structure of the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) with adults with intellectual disabilities who resided in a state-run developmental centre. Methods: BPI-01 was administered to informants who had known…

Background: Reliable measures of aggressive challenging behaviour are required if interventions aimed at reducing this behaviour among people with intellectual disability (ID) are to be formally evaluated. The present authors examined the reliability of the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS), an instrument not yet formally tested in those with…

Background: This study examines the relationship between the topography of challenging behaviour, subsequent attributions and emotional responses, with whether carers use physical intervention and their satisfaction with their intervention. Method: Thirty-seven carers described incidents where a person with an intellectual disability had exhibited…

Background: Recent studies have suggested that cognitive biases may play an important mediating role in aggressive outbursts from people with mild intellectual disabilities (IDs). Essentially, some individuals may frequently perceive other people as acting towards them in a hostile fashion. This biased perception may develop through repeated…