Although interactions among parents and Youth with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) may be stressful at times, most studies focus on the effects of stressful interactions on the parents. This study considers the Youth's perspective -- particularly their beliefs about the reason for the parent's actions as well as how they would respond in the…

Background: The use of traditional/alternative medicine for health care in Africa has been examined for various conditions. However, there is limited research about traditional/alternative health care for intellectual disability. The present authors explored the explanatory models (EMs) of intellectual disability held by traditional/faith healers…

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability are subject to stigmatization, even among those providing services to them. Method: Employees from an intermediate care facility (n = 97) and undergraduate students (n = 92) completed measures on their attitudes, beliefs of etiological causes and endorsement of helpful treatments and supports.…

Background: This study examines Weiner's recent cognitive emotional model which makes a distinction between judgements of control and responsibility and emphasizes the moderation of control by "mitigating" factors. Method: In response to four vignettes describing two conditions of control (high or low) and mitigating factors (present or…

Background: Children with intellectual disabilities have high rates of behaviour problems. This study explored parents' causal beliefs and attributions for general problematic child behaviour in children with different aetiologies of intellectual disabilities. Materials and Methods: Ten parents of children with intellectual disabilities…

Aim: This paper reviews the evidence for changes in carers' attributions regarding the behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities as a consequence of carer training in challenging and complex behaviour. Method: Papers were included in the review if they reported outcomes for carer training on the behaviour of people with intellectual…

Background: The evidence supporting the application of Weiner's motivational model of helping to the behaviour of carers' of people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour is inconsistent. One suggested reason for this is that many studies use stimuli that might generate different responses from those to actual instances of…

Background: Accounting for the effects of knowledge of and experience with autism, the relationships of cognitive attribution (perceived controllability), emotions (anger and sympathy), as well as helping and punitive behavioural intentions towards children with autism were examined. Based on the attribution model, mediating effects of anger and…

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: We examined whether staff attributions, emotions and helping behaviours in reaction to "real" incidents of challenging behaviour (CB) exhibited by children with intellectual disabilities were different from reactions to "vignettes". We also examined whether these reactions are congruent with that predicted by attribution theory.…

Introduction: Attribution theory posits that helping behaviour is determined in part by the potential helper's attributions and emotions regarding the behaviour that requires help. Specifically, helping is considered to be more likely if stability is perceived as low, generating optimism for change, and if controllability is perceived as low,…

Background: This exploratory study investigated the relationships between illness beliefs and treatment acceptability among parents of children with a developmental disability living at home who had sleep onset or maintenance problems. Materials and Methods: A within-subject correlational design was employed. The parents of 58 children each…

Background: This study sought to gather information about the impact of extended training in positive behaviour support on staff knowledge, causal attributions and emotional responses. Methods: Students completed questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of a University Diploma course to measure changes in their knowledge of challenging…

Background: Whereas there is a knowledge base on staff attributions of challenging behaviour, there has been little research on the effects of training, type of behaviour and biological context on staff attributions of controllability in the context of people with intellectual disabilities and dementia. Methods: A mixed design was used to…

Aim: This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to identify psychological factors that influenced their assessment of risk and the perceived need for risk management strategies. Method: The vignettes varied in…