rch in brief

related skills took place, but this conclusion must be tentative due to the lack of controls within this study. Further experimental work would be useful to clarify these findings.

References La Monica E. (1981) Construct Validity of an Empathy

Instrument. Research in Nursing and Health 4,

Reynolds W. (1986) A study of Empathy in Student Nurses. Master of Philosophy Degree, University of Abertay, Dundee.

Reynolds W. (1994) The influence of clients’ perceptions of the helping relationship in the development of an empathy scale. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 1,23-30.

ANN MASON 40 Winks

5 Resaurie Scotland

389-400.

Controlled comparison of three interventions with parents of children with learning disabilities exhibiting challenging behaviours

Background to the study

There has been considerable attention in the field of learning disabilities to the approach known as Gentle Teaching. Gentle Teaching can be defined as

a non-aversive method of reducing challenging behaviour which aims to teach bonding and interdependence through gentleness, respect and solidarity. (McCaughy & Jones 1990)

Initial findings on the success of Gentle Teaching have been mixed, with a minority of studies report- ing some reduction in challenging behaviour. However despite the current lack of empirical evi- dence to support its claims, Gentle Teaching con- tinues to have considerable support amongst health care professionals.

Aim of the study

The aim of the research presently being conducted by the Institute of Nursing Studies is to investigate the effectiveness of three different interventions, each offered as a training package to parents of children with learning disabilities who exhibit chal- lenging behaviour. Within this study ‘challenging behaviour’ is operationalized according to the six

subcategories of behaviour described by Nihira (K. Nihira unpubl. observ. 1978). The three interven- tions being offered are Gentle Teaching, Behaviour Modification and Social Support.

Methodology

Following a baseline assessment of the child’s behaviour and level of independence, parents will be randomly assigned to one of the three interven- tions and will undergo training in that intervention. Repeated measures of the child’s behaviour will be taken at 3-, 6- and 12-month intervals following parent training. Validated instruments including The AAMD Adaptive Behaviour Scale and The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales will be used before and after training to enable comparisons to be made of the relative efficacy of the interventions. Quantitative analysis of outcome measures will be supplemented by other measures such as diary keeping, analysis of parent-child interactions using video recording and individual problem and target behaviour scores. The extent to which services are used by parents will also be monitored.

Expectations of the study

It is hoped that by the end of the study the research team will have:

established the existence or otherwise of differ- ences in outcome among the three groups, accord- ing to a range of outcome measures;

conducted a controlled trial of brief tuition in behaviour modification and Gentle Teaching tech- niques;

determined whether Gentle Teaching is more effective than behaviour modification in reducing the problems of challenging behaviour;

demonstrated the service use patterns of partici- pants in the three treatment conditions. Given the current professional interest in Gentle Teaching and the relative lack of documented evi- dence to support its claims, a controlled stud) of the efficacy of Gentle Teaching is both timely and necessary.

References

McCaughy R. E. & Jones R. S. P (1990) The Effectiveness

JANE WRAY Institute of Nursing Studies, University of Hull, England

of Gentle Teaching. Mental Handicap 20,7-14.

0 1995 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurskg 2