UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOURS
Siobhan White
Definition of Behaviour:-
The way a person functions in reaction to certain circumstances.
Reaction to their upbringing and how they were taught to conduct themselves
Reaction to how nature structured their personality, i.e. temperament which may be inherited
Different Types of Behaviour:-
Attention seeking behaviour, I have seen this from both a personal and professional standpoint.
One person that I have a relationship with attention seeks quite often by playing the victim. She falls in love easily and at the drop of a hat. One such relationship was very full on from day one, it was publicised as having found her soul mate after about 2 days. Everyone was hugely sceptical, particularly after having met him and couldn’t be further from the Mr Darcy type description she had given us. It ended after a few weeks and was a massive tragedy. He actually treated her quite badly, although she couldn’t see it. This was played out over Facebook and the washing duly done in public. Then, her ex who was a much older, well known man who also had treated her badly, committed suicide. The relationship was portrayed as being the love of her life. It gave her a huge amount of attention. It is rolled out every birthday, hers and his, Christmas, New Year, valentine day, the Grand National etc. It results in lots of messages of support on a regular basis. It is fed by lots of attention.
Professionally, I have seen a few young girls who have been promiscuous in the attempt to gain affection and love. This is normally due to lacking love and affection at home, whether it has been through the loss of a parent or through a lack of affection in the home. This can be attributed to Erickssons theory of psychosocial development and the 8 stages of development (Eriksson 1963) stage 6 intimacy vs Isolation. It is unlikely that this stage was completed successfully and therefore it has been difficult for them to form close and meaningful relationships.
Suspicious/paranoid behaviour.
I have met a young woman who has trust issues. This can be in romantic or personal relationships. This manifests itself by checking details of information given to them, checking text messages on boyfriends’ phone. This may be due to the lack of basic needs being met when a baby, the care was inconsistent and could be quite harsh. There was a lack of affection. This can be referenced from Erickssons theory of psychosocial development (Eriksson 1963). Level one trust vs mistrust wasn’t completed successfully which led to an inbuilt lack of trust.
Terms of behaviour within our organisation.
Attention seeking
Lack of focus
Control issues
Aggressive tendencies
Challenging Behaviour definition
Behaviour(s) of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is likely to be put in jeopardy, or behaviour which is likely to limit the use of, or result in the person being denied access to ordinary community facilities.
(Challenging behaviour Emerson and Einfeld, 2011)

I see it as any behaviour that makes it difficult for others to function in a reasonable way. Perhaps it is disruptive and the person is finding it difficult to control their emotions, temper etc. It is also symptomatic that there is something not working and needs to be addressed.

Examples of where I have come across challenging behaviour

I have come across challenging behaviour at the Activity Centre, whilst at childrens panel, working on Pub Doors, youth clubs I have worked at, my son at home.

A young man is accustomed to using bad language. This is accepted by his father who is the only care giver. The young man has learning difficulties. We have discussed what is acceptable when he is in the centre and made a list of the words which won’t be tolerated. He can also be quite threatening and offensive towards people. We have identified what kind of