Abstract
Aggression and violence are a subset of challenging behaviors seen in individuals with neurodevelopmental and intellectual disabilities, which can impact services and lifestyles of individuals. Aggressive behavior carries the risk of physical and emotional harm to caregivers, family members, self, and community. This chapter focuses on aggression in the form of physical acts against self, others, and property, excluding specialty areas such as suicide and criminal or sexual violence. We review the prevalence of violence-aggression in the IDD population, the adverse impact on services, safety, health and well-being to self and others, and quality of life. The chapter introduces behavioral risk assessment, distinguished from other forensic assessment practices, and as a complement to functional behavior assessment suitable for cases with risk for violence and aggression. Behavioral risk assessment evaluates factors such as (a) unusual forms of aggression (topography), (b) the intensity and frequency of aggression, (c) the potential targets and location of occurrences, and (d) the presence of any complicating features that increase risk. Understanding these variables helps clinicians and agencies develop more options for risk prevention or mitigation than functional assessment alone. A comprehensive approach to assessment based on record review and clinical interview is described. Findings can be used to develop individualized risk reduction strategies, prevention, and staffing decisions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, D., Handley, L., Simkiss, D., Walls, E., Jones, A., Knapp, M., et al. (2018). Service use and access in young children with an intellectual disability or global developmental delay: Associations with challenging behaviour. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 43(2), 232–241.
Allen, D. (2000). Recent research on physical aggression in persons with intellectual disability: An overview. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 25(1), 41–57.
Allen, D. (2008). The relationship between challenging behaviour and mental ill-health in people with intellectual disabilities: A review of current theories and evidence. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 12(4), 267–294.
Allen, D. G., Lowe, K., Moore, K., & Brophy, S. (2007). Predictors, costs and characteristics of out of area placement for people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 51(6), 409–416.
Bowring, D. L., Totsika, V., Hastings, R. P., Toogood, S., & Griffith, G. M. (2017). Challenging behaviours in adults with an intellectual disability: A total population study and exploration of risk indices. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(1), 16–32.
Brosnan, J., & Healy, O. (2011). A review of behavioral interventions for the treatment of aggression in individuals with developmental disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32(2), 437–446.
Cooper, S. A., Smiley, E., Jackson, A., Finlayson, J., Allan, L., Mantry, D., et al. (2009). Adults with intellectual disabilities: Prevalence, incidence and remission of aggressive behaviour and related factors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 53(3), 217–232.
Crotty, G., Doody, O., & Lyons, R. (2014). Aggressive behavior and its prevalence within five topographies. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 18, 76–89.
De Winter, C. F., Jansen, A. A. C., & Evenhuis, H. M. (2011). Physical conditions and challenging behaviour in people with intellectual disability: A systematic review. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 55(7), 675–698.
Didden, R., Lindsay, W. R., Lang, R., Sigafoos, J., Deb, S., Wiersma, J., et al. (2016). Aggressive behavior. In Handbook of evidence-based practices in intellectual and developmental disabilities (pp. 727–750). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Drieschner, K. H., Marrozos, I., & Regenboog, M. (2013). Prevalence and risk factors of inpatient aggression by adults with intellectual disabilities and severe challenging behaviour: A long-term prospective study in two Dutch treatment facilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(8), 2407–2418.
Emerson, E., & Bromley, J. (1995). The form and function of challenging behaviours. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 39(5), 388–398.
Hensel, J. M., Lunsky, Y., & Dewa, C. S. (2012). Exposure to client aggression and burnout among community staff who support adults with intellectual disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 56(9), 910–915.
Holland, T., Clare, I. C. H., & Mukhopadhyay, T. (2002). Prevalence of ‘criminal offending’ by men and women with intellectual disability and the characteristics of ‘offenders’: Implications for research and service development. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 46, 6–20.
Hounsome, J., Whittington, R., Brown, A., Greenhill, B., & McGuire, J. (2018). The structured assessment of violence risk in adults with intellectual disability: A systematic review. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(1), e1–e17.
Knotter, M. H., Wissink, I. B., Moonen, X. M., Stams, G. J. J., & Jansen, G. J. (2013). Staff’s attitudes and reactions towards aggressive behaviour of clients with intellectual disabilities: A multi-level study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(5), 1397–1407.
Lennox, D., Geren, M., & Rourke, D. (2011). Emergency physical restraint: Considerations for staff training and supervision. In The handbook of high-risk challenging behaviors in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (pp. 271–292). Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
Lloyd, B. P., & Kennedy, C. H. (2014). Assessment and treatment of challenging behaviour for individuals with intellectual disability: A research review. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27(3), 187–199.
Lofthouse, R., Golding, L., Totsika, V., Hastings, R., & Lindsay, W. (2017). How effective are risk assessments/measures for predicting future aggressive behaviour in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID): A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 58, 76–85.
Luiselli, J. K., Sperry, J. M., & Magee, C. (2011). Descriptive analysis of physical restraint (protective holding) among community living adults with intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 15(2), 93–99.
Lundqvist, L. O. (2013). Prevalence and risk markers of behavior problems among adults with intellectual disabilities: A total population study in Örebro County, Sweden. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 34(4), 1346–1356.
Mascitelli, A. N., Rojahn, J., Nicolaides, V. C., Moore, L., Hastings, R. P., & Christian-Jones, C. (2015). The behaviour problems inventory-short form: Reliability and factorial validity in adults with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 28(6), 561–571.
May, M. E., & Kennedy, C. H. (2010). Health and problem behavior among people with intellectual disabilities. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 3(2), 4–12.
McGill, P. (1999). Establishing operations: Implications for the assessment, treatment, and prevention of problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 32(3), 393–418.
McGrath, R. J., Livingston, J. A., & Falk, G. (2007). A structured method of assessing dynamic risk factors among sexual abusers with intellectual disabilities. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 112(3), 221–229.
Merineau-Cote, J., & Morin, D. (2013). Correlates of restraint and seclusion for adults with intellectual disabilities in community services. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 57(2), 182–190.
Murphy, G. (2009). Challenging behavior: A barrier to inclusion? Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 6(2), 89–90.
O’Reilly, M. F. (1995). Functional analysis and treatment of escape-maintained aggression correlated with sleep deprivation. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28(2), 225–226.
Raina, P., Arenovich, T., Jones, J., & Lunsky, Y. (2013). Pathways into the criminal justice system for individuals with intellectual disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 26(5), 404–409.
Ricciardi, J. N. (2013). Co-occurring psychiatric disorders in individuals with intellectual disability. In Handbook of crisis intervention and developmental disabilities (pp. 213–243). New York: Springer.
Ricciardi, J. N., & Rothschild, A. W. (2017). Behavioral risk assessment. In Applied behavior analysis advanced guidebook (pp. 93–116). London: Academic Press.
Ricciardi, J. N., & Weiss, A. (2014). Clinical risk assessment and management of children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Workshop presented at the Annual conference of the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy, Amherst, MA.
Rojahn, J., Matson, J. L., Lott, D., Esbensen, A. J., & Smalls, Y. (2001). The Behavior Problems Inventory: An instrument for the assessment of self-injury, stereotyped behavior, and aggression/destruction in individuals with developmental disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 577–588.
Sheldon, J. B., & Sheldon-Sherman, J. A. (2013). Legal and ethical issues. In Handbook of crisis intervention and developmental disabilities (pp. 261–279). New York: Springer.
Urban, K. D., Luiselli, J. K., Child, S. N., & Parenteau, R. J. (2011). Effects of protective equipment on frequency and intensity of aggression-provoked staff injury. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 23, 555–562.
van den Bogaard, K. J., Nijman, H. L., Palmstierna, T., & Embregts, P. J. (2018). Characteristics of aggressive behavior in people with mild to borderline intellectual disability and co-occurring psychopathology. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 11(2), 124–142.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ricciardi, J.N. (2021). Behavioral Risk Assessment of Violence-Aggression. In: Luiselli, J.K. (eds) Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment of Violence and Aggression in Persons with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities . Advances in Preventing and Treating Violence and Aggression . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68549-2_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68549-2_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68548-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68549-2
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)