– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of a six-and-a-half day, Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) informed training course on staff’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations of managing challenging behaviour (CB). Training programmes for other non-psychology staff were deemed necessary due to the high demand for services and the specialist knowledge held by other professionals or carers.
– A repeated measures design was used to capture changes in specific self-efficacy and outcome expectations before and after the training programme. A questionnaire methodology was employed.
– Staff self-efficacy and positive outcome expectations increased on all four measured variables following training: understanding of CB, working out the functions of CB, developing and implementing a PBS plan, and managing CB for the benefit of the service user.
– These findings are considered in light of previous research suggesting an impact on staff practice and burnout.
– The findings suggest that the training model delivers changes in staff cognition and may be useful in other locations where demand for services is likely to increase in the future.
– This research considers the impact of a medium length PBS training on staff cognition, evidencing the model’s utility in the current service context.
