title: The Diagnostic Guideline for Anxiety and Challenging Behaviour for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: Preliminary Outcomes on Internalizing Problems, Challenging Behaviours, Quality of Life and Clients' Satisfaction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  People with intellectual disabilities are vulnerable to develop psychopathology (in particular anxiety) and related challenging behaviour. A diagnostic guideline was developed to support professionals to better diagnose and thus treat psychopathology and related CB. This study examined preliminary outcomes from the application of this guideline.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comparative multiple case study with an experimental and a control condition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The application of the guideline showed a trend of decreases of internalizing problems (P = 0.07) and anxiety/depressed problems (P = 0.09). We found no statistically significant decreases of externalizing problems and no increases in perceived quality of life as compared with care as usual. Clients were not more satisfied with the support they received for coping with their emotional and behaviour problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The application of the Diagnostic Guideline for Anxiety and Challenging Behaviour did not show statistically significant changes in externalizing problems and Quality of Life. Despite the small sample size of n = 59, we did find a trend in decreasing internalizing problems and anxiety/depressed problems. Further research into either or not confirming these trends is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Research Group Mental Health Nursing, Department of Health, Sports & Welfare/Cluster Nursing, Inholland University for Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Esdégé-Reigersdaal (a service provider for people with (intellectual) disabilities), Broek op Langedijk, The Netherlands.|Inholland University, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Addy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pruijssers
authors.affiliation: Research Group Mental Health Nursing, Department of Health, Sports & Welfare/Cluster Nursing, Inholland University for Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Inholland University, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.|Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Parnassia Academy, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Berno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Meijel
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.|Stichting Pergamijn (service provider for people with intellectual disabilities), Echt, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maaskant
authors.affiliation: Section Biostatistics, Department for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teerenstra
authors.affiliation: Quality of Care, Centre for Health Services and Nursing Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: van Achterberg
keywords: anxiety; challenging behaviour; diagnostics; guideline; intellectual disabilities