Staff responses to challenging behaviour shown by people with dementia: an application of an attributional-emotional model of helping behaviour.

There is some evidence to suggest that staff beliefs and emotional responses to challenging behaviour shown by clients are critical factors in guiding their responses to such behaviour. The purpose of this paper was to apply Weiner's cognitive-emotional model of helping behaviour to staff working with people with dementia who exhibit challenging behaviour. The paper also aimed to explore the impact of staff burnout and professional group upon participants' responses to real-life experiences of challenging behaviour. The participants were 25 nurses and 26 psychologists. Methods included questionnaire measures and coding of spoken attributions using the Leeds Attributional Coding System. Non-parametric tests measured between-group differences and correlations between the key variables. There were few differences between the two professional groups for the key variables. Optimism and sympathy were generally associated with willingness to help, and burnout was associated with less willingness to help, low optimism and negative emotional responses to clients' behaviour. No consistent or robust role was found for attributions. The results are discussed in relation to alternative factors, which may promote or reduce staff helping behaviour in the context of services for people with dementia.