How do staff psychological factors influence outcomes for people with developmental and intellectual disability in residential services?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A broad range of organizational issues can have an impact on client outcomes in residential services for people with intellectual disabilities, and staff psychological factors are increasingly being recognized as important. This review explores some of the recent literature on staff attitudes, attributions, well being and other factors that may impact on outcomes for residents. RECENT FINDINGS: Staff beliefs are associated with the relationship between challenging behaviour and burnout experienced by staff; resident outcomes such as placement breakdown may also be influenced by staff attributions. There is also a body of evidence emerging that suggests staff psychological factors may influence the quality of physical healthcare received by people with intellectual disabilities. SUMMARY: Sufficient evidence exists to suggest that clinicians should routinely consider assessing and evaluating staff psychological factors in clinical interventions in order to assess their potential impact on client care. Further research is required, particularly, to evaluate the specific impact of staff psychological factors on resident outcome.