Can attribution theory explain carers' propensity to help men with intellectual disabilities who display...

This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to test the theory that helping behaviour is determined by emotional responses (positive and negative emotional reactions, and optimism), which in turn are determined by causal attributions (respectively: controllability and stability of the incident depicted in the vignette).

The vignettes varied in response topography and the age of the victim. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between causal attributions, emotional responses, and willingness to invest extra time and effort in the service user's care.

No support was found for the pathway: low controllability --> increased sympathy and/or decreased negative emotions --> increased helping. However, strong support was found for the pathway: low stability --> high optimism --> increased helping, particularly in direct care staff. High levels of sympathy were also associated with increased helping, the effect again being mediated by feelings of optimism.

The data provide support for one (but not the other) strand of attribution theory as applied to inappropriate sexual behaviour. The discussion considers the discrepancy between the present data and the far less encouraging literature on attribution theory as applied to challenging behaviour.