Background: ASC (autism spectrum conditions) may result from a failure of striatal beta endorphins to diminish with maturation. Many symptoms of ASC resemble behaviours induced in animals or humans by opiate administration, including decreased socialisation, diminished crying, repetitive stereotypies, insensitivity to pain and motor hyperactivity.…

Background: Self-injuring acts are among the most dramatic behaviours exhibited by human beings. There is no known single cause and there is no universally agreed upon treatment. Sophisticated sequential and temporal analysis of behaviour has provided alternative descriptions of self-injury that provide new insights into its initiation and…

Background: Beliefs about the controllability of behaviour have been consistently shown to be important in understanding the responses of carers to the challenging behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). This paper reports the reliability and validity of the Controllability Beliefs Scale (CBS), a 15-item measure of beliefs…

Background: The Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions About Behavioral Function (QABF) are frequently used to assess the learned function of challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability (ID). The aim was to explore and compare the psychometric properties of the MAS and the QABF. Method: Seventy adults with ID and…

Background: Behavioural interventions conceptualise self-injurious behaviour (SIB) as developing from early repetitive behaviours through acquisition of homeostatic functions in regulating stimulation and subsequent shaping into SIB through socially mediated or automatic operant reinforcement. Despite high success rates, such interventions rarely…

Background: In most individuals, injury results in activation of peripheral nociceptors (pain-sensing neurons of the peripheral nervous system) and amplification of central nervous system (CNS) pain pathways that serve as a disincentive to continue harmful behaviour; however, this may not be the case in some developmental disorders that cause…

Background: The Behavior Problems Inventory-01 (BPI-01) is an informant-based behaviour rating instrument that was designed to assess maladaptive behaviours in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Its items fall into one of three sub-scales: "Self-injurious Behavior" (14 items), "Stereotyped Behavior" (24 items),…

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is a devastating problem observed in individuals with various neurodevelopmental disorders, including specific genetic syndromes as well as idiopathic intellectual and developmental disability. Although an increased prevalence of SIB has been documented in specific genetic mutations, little is known about…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been identified as a risk marker for self-injurious behaviour. In this study we aimed to describe the prevalence, topography and correlates of self-injury in individuals with ASD in contrast to individuals with Fragile X and Down syndromes and examine person characteristics associated with self-injury…

Background: Challenging behaviour is a major problem among people with intellectual disabilities. Physical factors may be an important cause. The aim of the present systematic review was to determine the physical conditions associated with challenging behaviour. Methods: A literature search was conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane systematic…

Background: The Behavior Problems Inventory-01 (BPI-01) is an informant-based behaviour rating instrument for intellectual disabilities (ID) with 49 items and three sub-scales: "Self-injurious Behavior," "Stereotyped Behavior" and "Aggressive/Destructive Behavior." The Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form (BPI-S) is…

Background: Physical distress resulting from medical problems has been found to cause increased behaviour problems in patients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Despite this fact, little has been documented on the medical problems of individuals with ID admitted for inpatient psychiatric care. We conducted an exploratory investigation based on…

Background: Self-injurious and aggressive behaviours are reported as components of some behavioural phenotypes but there are few studies comparing across syndrome groups. In this study we examined the prevalence of these behaviours and the associated person characteristics in seven genetic syndromes. Methods: Questionnaire data on self-injury and…

Background: The diagnostic validity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been challenged in Down syndrome (DS), because of the high prevalence of cognitive impairments in this population. Therefore, we attempted to validate DSM-based diagnoses via an unbiased categorisation of…

Background: Previous research has identified that staff-client interactions play an important role in the origin and maintenance of challenging behaviour. Particularly, the reciprocity between staff behaviour and client behaviour has been considered a key issue. Furthermore, severe challenging behaviour has been found to elicit negative emotional…