Research has shown the beliefs people have about the cause of challenging behaviour affects how they respond to it. In investigating the relationship between student nurses’ attributions about behaviour and their confidence in managing it, Karen McKenzie and colleagues came to the conclusion that they should be given appropriate training much earlier in their education preparation

There has been a growing debate about the role of learning disability nursing as a profession (Pennington 2000). Alongside this has come an increasing emphasis on the need to illustrate that nursing interventions are effective (Parrish and Sines 1997). Various authors have argued that it is crucial that the profession is underpinned by research and that interventions are evidence based. Most nurses on qualifying obtain work in the NHS (Tingle 2001) and increasingly the profession is taking on specialist roles. One area is in relation to challenging behaviour (Cox 1993, Pennington 2000). It is unclear, however, if nurse education adequately prepares nurses to take on these roles.