A RISK MANAGEMENT DILEMMA - HOW DAY CENTER STAFF UNDERSTAND CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR

This paper describes a qualitative study which explored the views abou t challenging behaviour of staff in day centres for people with learni ng difficulties. Respondents' abstract definitions stressed the relati vity of the concept. However, they readily, cited concrete illustrate incidents of challenging behaviour which involved physical, sexual and verbal assault, noise, non-compliance, non-communication and exposure to danger. Staff explained specific incidents variously, but mono-cau sally, in terms of service users' dispositions, circumstances and inte raction strategies. Respondents' own actions were included in explanat ory schema only rarely. Despite its nebulous definition, challenging b ehaviour became organisationally, fixed through staff allocation metho ds, and through a regulatory system designed to prevent abuse. Staff, caring for large numbers of service users en masse, faced a risk manag ement dilemma. Labelling an individual as challenging could forewarn c olleagues about possible dangers. However, such strategies could damag e the quality of services which a labelled person received, exacerbati ng the initial problem.