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 which required immediate medical attention; 5% of individuals were reported to have themselves received injuries which required immediate medical attention as a direct result of their aggressive behaviors. In non-disabled population, in Denver and Pittsburgh, 82вЂ"88 percent of these samples of high-risk youth reported engaging in some form of aggression or violence before age 13, with roughly 60 percent of Denver children and nearly 80 percent of boys in Pittsburgh reporting these behaviors before age 9. Approximately 24вЂ"33 percent reported involvement only in aggression in which no one was injured. The prevalence of minor assaults in which the victim was injured was approximately 50 percent in Denver (57 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls) and 32 percent of boys in Pittsburgh.

Target for intervention

Aggressive behavior is good target for intervention. For the client, the intervention produces comprehensive lifestyle changes and uses procedures that are practical, relevant, and capable of generating long-term maintenance.

Define of pulling hair and its measure

Aggressive acts can be measured by considering their frequency, intensity, type of act, e.g., impulsive, premeditated, target of the act, and patterns or cycles. Pulling hair can measure by direct observation, teacher report; interview the client’s family or carer. Also there are some Interview tools and techniques that can be measured nowadays, e.g. projective techniques, observer-rated scales, and self-report questionnaires

Cause of aggressive behavior

In Luiselli, Blew, Keane, Thibadeau and Holzman’s study (2001) stated the frequency and intensity of aggression can be so severe that extreme restrictions must be placed on an individual's access to activities, environments, and socialization opportunities. For example, some people who engage in aggressive behavior receive habilitation services in highly supervised and secure residential settings, with little or no exposure to the community or their natural homes. In the development of aggression there are involved psychosocial factors, linked to the metabolic and physiological pathways, and with genetic characteristics. Yet we tend to think of aggression as the effect of our biologyвЂ"вЂ"i.e., hormonal influence on aggression, whereas it can also be a causal component, influencing hormones. Hormones, likewise, may be considered potential causes, consequences, and mediators of aggression. For example, behavioral experiences