This is a quantitative study focussing on the experiences of paid carers working with people who have learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. Staff working with people displaying these behaviours are likely to experience high levels of stress and face significant challenges in understanding and managing this behaviour. This study assessed the amount of support carers for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour receive from the organisations they work for, and how helpful they find this in managing the challenging behaviour of their residents. This support includes supervision, training and team meetings. It assessed the attributions made by care staff about the causes of challenging behaviour, their emotional reactions to challenging behaviour and their perceived self-efficacy in managing this behaviour, using previously developed scales. Organisational support was measures using two scales. A previously validated measure was used to assess general perceptions of a supportive environment, whilst a new measure was designed to assess aspects of support given around challenging behaviour. 66 participants were recruited from 13 residential units in three London boroughs. Significant links were found between staff support and self-efficacy, and self- efficacy and negative emotional reactions to challenging behaviour. Both staff support related to challenging behaviour and more general features of a supportive organisation were found to be important in promoting self-efficacy. The measure designed for this study showed promise as a quick, reliable method of assessing staff support around challenging behaviour. Limitations of the study, clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:679918 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Head, D. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1446713/ |
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