Background: Behavioural problems, such as aggressive behaviour, are common among people with intellectual disabilities (Deb & Bright, 2001; Janssen, Schuengel & Stolk, 2002). People with...Show moreBackground: Behavioural problems, such as aggressive behaviour, are common among people with intellectual disabilities (Deb & Bright, 2001; Janssen, Schuengel & Stolk, 2002). People with intellectual disabilities are also at higher risk of developing unsafe attachment with their caregivers, which can be one cause of their behavioural problems (Dekker-van der Sande & Janssen, 2009). The current research examined whether setting goals related to building a safe attachment with the care staff is effective for lessening behavioural problems in people with an intellectual disability with attachment problems. Method: The research group concerns clients (n= 25) with an intellectual disability with a care package 6 or 7, with attachment problems. The questionnaire DBC-A (Mohr et al., 2011) was used to examine behavioural problems. Attachment problems and goals were derived from the personal care plans. Results: The results show that almost no specific goals on enhancing safe attachment are accumulated. Interpersonal relationship can be viewed as an indirect measure of attachment. Research shows a significant decrease in disruptive behaviour, when there are goals focussed primarily on interpersonal relationships. There were no significant effects on the other subdomains of behavioural problems when goals related to interpersonal relationships were set. Conclusion and discussion: To conclude, there should be more awareness for the importance of setting goals aimed at creating safe attachment with care staff. Setting goals aimed at interpersonal relationships also leads to a decrease of disruptive behaviour.Show less
