An Investigation of Factors Predictive of Continued Self-Injurious Behaviour in an Intellectual Disability Service

Background: Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) is among the most serious problems faced by intellectual disability services. It is very difficult to treat and can become a chronic problem. Method: Information on a number of variables was collected through a survey of service-users identified as displaying SIBs. Clinical opinion and a literature review guided the selection of potential predictors of continued SIB. Univariate statistical analyses were used to investigate associations between continued SIB and each of the variables identified. Variables shown to have a significant association with continued SIB were subjected to a multivariate analysis to isolate those variables that still predicted continued SIB once the influence of the others had been accounted for. Results: Two factors, self-biting and verbal ability, were found to independently predict continued SIB. Conclusion: The results have implications for intellectual disability services, in terms of the importance of multidisciplinary team working, training and guidelines for problem management.