Brief report: Aggressive challenging behaviour in adults with intellectual disability following community resettlement

Abstract

Background: Aggressive challenging behaviour is common in adults with intellectual disability (ID) in long-term care facilities. The government's commitment to the closure of all facilities in England has led to concerns over how to manage this behaviour in the community. The aim of this study was to assess changes in aggressive challenging behaviour and psychotropic drug use in adults with ID following resettlement using a person-centred approach. Method: The Modified Overt Aggression Scale was administered to carers of 49 adults with ID prior to discharge from a long-stay hospital and 6 months and 1 year after community resettlement. Results: All areas of aggressive challenging behaviour reduced significantly between baseline and 6 months following resettlement (P < 0.001). This reduction remained (but did not decrease further) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: Further work is needed to evaluate the role of environmental setting on aggressive challenging behaviour in adults with ID. © 2008 The Author. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.