Staff reports of setting events associated with challenging behavior

This study identified the setting events reported by caregivers as more and less likely to be associated with challenging behaviors of people with intellectual disabilities. Sixty-five staff working with 22 individuals were interviewed using a setting event inventory. Some setting events (e.g., being in a crowded room) were reported as strongly associated with challenging behavior, some (e.g., one-to-one support) as strongly associated with its absence. Some (e.g., day of week) were reported to be largely "inert"; many were idiosyncratically associated with occurrence, absence, or inertness. Different categories of setting events contributed different amounts to reported variation in challenging behavior. The inventory described here, or modified versions, may help identify relationships between setting events and challenging behaviors. The relationships reported in this study suggest ways in which service provision might be modified to help prevent challenging behavior.