A concept analysis of, and proposed new term for, challenging behaviour

Abstract

While the term 'challenging behaviour' is used frequently in literature with reference to people who have learning disabilities, the concept has not been defined comprehensively and empirical indicators for the presence of the phenomenon have not been defined from the perspective of nurses for people with learning disabilities. In this paper the concept 'challenging behaviour', as used in the area of nursing people who have learning disabilities, is analysed. It is suggested that it is an ambiguous term which is unsuitable for use in the field of learning disabilities. A new term is synthesized to replace that of 'challenging behaviour' and an attempt to develop concise indicators which will demonstrate the concept's presence in individuals who have a learning disability will be undertaken. It is suggested that the proposed term is less ambiguous than 'challenging behaviour' and, as such, is more user-friendly for both nurses and other carers of people who have learning disabilities. The paper concludes with the recommendation that further refinement is required in practice to expand and define the operational indicators of the proposed new term 'problematic behaviours'.