Challenging Behavior

Challenging behavior is the term emphasizes that the behaviors constitute a challenge to other people to find effective ways of responding to them. It underlines the idea that the person is not seen as problematic in them. Rather, the problem lies in the interaction between the person, their behavior and their social environment. Some examples of challenging behavior are destructiveness, self-injury, and stereotypes mannerisms and so on. Aggression is one of the challenging behaviors. Aggressive behavior typically refers to the intended infliction of harm or injury on another person.

Define of aggressive behavior

According to Berkowitz (1993) aggression refers to goal-directed motor behavior that has a deliberate intent to harm or injure another object or person. On the other hand, did not conceptualize aggression to include intentions, but instead considered aggression as harmful behavior that violates social norms. Buss & Perry (1992) defined verbal and physical aggression as the motor components of behavior that involve hurting or harming others. Barratt (1991) further classified aggression into three categories: premeditated, medically related, and impulsive aggression. The distinction between premeditated (proactive) and impulsive (reactive) aggression has been made by others. In people with developmental disabilities, aggressive behavior can occur in many forms or topographies, including hitting, biting, choking, kicking, spitting, and hair pulling.

Prevalence of aggressive behavior in the non-disabled and intellectually disabled population

In intellectually disabled population, the prevalence estimates vary gender (more makes are aggressive then females), age (more adolescents and young adults are aggressive than children), and degree of disability (more people with severe cognitive impairments are aggressive than people with less severe cognitive impairments) Aggressive behavior in people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities (combining physical injury and threat of injury) district in a United Kingdom survey. Aggressive behavior in people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities occurred in 18% of the total population (total sample is 369277) of one health district in United Kingdom survey. Prevalence rates were twice as high in institutional settings compared with community settings. In the United Stated estimates of aggressive behavior also suggest lower rates for individuals living in community-based settings than for individuals residing in institutions (Felce, Thompson & Symons, 2000). In another study of Harris (1993) reported that the most prevalent forms of aggression shown in the past month by 168 people with learning difficulties identified in one administratively defined area were: punching, slapping, pushing or pulling (51% of people showing aggression); kicking (24%); pinching (21%); scratching (20%); pulling hair (13%); biting (13%); head-butting (7%); using weapons (7%); choking, throttling (4%). Emerson et al (in press) reported that the most prevalent behaviors shown by 153 people with intellectual difficulties who showed aggression were: hitting others with their hands (75% of people showing aggression); verbal aggression (60%); hitting others with objects (41%); meanness or cruelty (34%); scratching (27%); pulling hair (23%); pinching (20%) and biting (16%).Secondary analysis of the data collected by Emerson et al (in press) indicates that, among 120 people with learning difficulties whose aggression was considered to constitute a serious management problem: 25% of assaults were reported to involve sustained attack; 29% involved the use of weapons; 26% of individuals were reported to show aggressive behaviors on a daily basis and 37% on a weekly basis; the most common victims of attacks were care staff (37% of individuals) and other people with learning difficulties (23%); for 45% of individuals aggressive incidents usually required the physical intervention of at least one member of care staff; 14% of individuals were reported to have caused injuries to care staff