5.2 Explain the impact of own attitudes, values and skills when supporting an individual to manage their behaviour

This guide will help you answer 5.2 Explain the impact of own attitudes, values and skills when supporting an individual to manage their behaviour.

Supporting individuals to manage their behaviour is central to health and social care. The way you think, feel, and act has a direct effect on those you support. Your attitudes, values, and skills shape the support you provide and influence outcomes for the person in your care.

In health and social care, attitudes are your general feelings or ways of thinking about people and situations. Values are the beliefs you hold about what is important or right. Skills are the abilities and techniques you use in your work. Each of these plays a major part when helping someone manage their behaviour.

How Attitudes Influence Behaviour Support

Your attitude reflects how you view the people you support. If you see individuals as capable and worthy of respect, this comes across in your actions. A positive, respectful attitude can build trust. People are more likely to respond well when treated with kindness and dignity.

A negative or judgmental attitude can make behaviour management more difficult. It can:

• Lower self-esteem for the individual
• Make them defensive or withdrawn
• Lead to increased challenging behaviour

Your body language, tone, and facial expressions all reveal your attitude. If you feel frustrated or impatient, those feelings can influence the way you interact. People often notice these small cues, even if you do not say anything.

To minimise the impact of negative attitudes:

• Reflect on your own feelings and triggers
• Use supervision to talk about difficult emotions
• Stay focused on the individual’s needs, not your own frustration
• Remind yourself of the reasons behind the behaviour you see

A non-judgmental attitude supports people to manage their behaviour. It avoids blame and sees challenging behaviour as communication, not just misbehaviour.

The Role of Values in Behaviour Support

Values are deep beliefs that guide the way you work. In health and social care, person-centred values matter most. These include:

• Treating people with dignity and respect
• Promoting independence and choice
• Valuing diversity and difference
• Supporting equal opportunities

Your values will show in the support you give. If you truly believe everyone should be treated fairly, your actions will match. This means you:

• Give each person time to speak and make choices
• Avoid favouritism or discrimination
• Work to understand each individual’s story

Values that focus on control, efficiency, or compliance over care can have a negative effect. For example:

• Rushing support just to “get it done” can lead to mistakes or poor outcomes
• Seeing challenging behaviour as a personal attack rather than a form of communication can damage relationships
• Prioritising organisational rules over individual needs can make someone feel powerless

To keep your values positive:

• Reflect regularly on your reasons for working in care
• Attend training to update your knowledge of best practice
• Discuss values openly in team meetings

Holding strong person-centred values helps you see behaviour as part of someone’s experience, not just something to “fix”. This encourages more effective and compassionate support.

The Impact of Skills When Supporting Behaviour

Skills are the practical abilities you use each day. In behaviour support, you use skills such as:

• Communication (verbal and non-verbal)
• Active listening
• Empathy
• De-escalation techniques
• Problem-solving

When you are skilled, you can recognise early signs of distress or agitation. This means you can offer support before behaviour becomes challenging.

Good communication skills help you:

• Clearly explain what is happening
• Listen to the person’s concerns
• Use calm and reassuring language
• Validate feelings without agreeing to unsafe actions

Active listening involves paying close attention to what someone says and how they say it. It shows respect and builds trust. You can show you are listening by:

• Nodding
• Making eye contact (if appropriate for the person)
• Using simple phrases like “I hear you” or “Tell me more”

De-escalation skills are tools for calming situations. These might include:

• Giving the person space to calm down
• Speaking in a softer voice
• Using distraction or redirecting focus
• Avoiding sudden movements

Problem-solving is about working with the individual to find acceptable ways to manage behaviour. This can include:

• Setting clear and fair boundaries
• Offering alternative activities
• Breaking tasks into smaller steps

Skills can be developed with training, but also by reflecting on your practice. Keep note of what works and where you need more support. Ask for feedback from colleagues or mentors.

The Combined Impact of Attitudes, Values, and Skills

These three factors work together every day. If you have a positive attitude but lack skill, your support may not be as effective. If you have skills but weak values, your actions might not be respectful or person-centred.

When attitudes, values and skills match up, you create a safe, supportive environment where individuals can learn how to manage their own behaviour. This builds independence, confidence, and wellbeing.

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

• You approach each situation with calm confidence (attitude)
• You respect the person’s right to make choices (values)
• You communicate clearly and manage risk using recognised techniques (skills)

Misalignment can cause harm. For example, you may have excellent knowledge of behaviour management plans, but if you do not believe in someone’s ability to change, this attitude comes through. The person may feel labelled or not listened to, and their behaviour can get worse.

Regular reflection helps avoid these issues. Ask yourself:

• Do I treat people as individuals?
• Am I listening to their needs and preferences?
• Are my skills up to date?
• Do my actions match my values?

Supervision and team discussions can help you spot gaps between attitudes, values and skills.

The Role of Reflective Practice

Reflective practice means looking back over situations and considering what worked and what could have been different. This is a key part of behaviour support.

By reflecting, you become aware of your own attitudes and values. You notice patterns or reactions that may influence your support, often without thinking. For example, if you find yourself feeling annoyed by a particular behaviour, ask why. Could it be linked to your own beliefs or past experiences?

Practical ways to use reflective practice:

• Keep a diary or notes about support sessions
• Use supervision to discuss difficult or successful cases
• Take part in debriefs after incidents of challenging behaviour

Reflection can lead to positive change. By understanding yourself better, you can adjust the way you work. This improves outcomes for those you support.

Supporting Behaviour Through Person-Centred Approaches

Person-centred support focuses on the unique individual. It sees past behaviour to the person’s strengths, wishes, and goals. Your own attitudes, values and skills are key to delivering this type of support.

This approach looks like:

• Listening actively to what the person wants
• Adapting to cultural or personal preferences
• Responding to behaviour as communication

For instance, someone might shout or withdraw if routines change suddenly. By recognising this as a response to anxiety or confusion, you can work with the individual to manage their feelings.

Person-centred approaches rely on believing in the person’s potential and worth. They need you to value their input and support their choices, even when behaviour is challenging.

Impact of Cultural, Religious, and Personal Values

Your upbringing, background, and beliefs can affect the way you view behaviour. For example, different cultures have their own views about eye contact, physical touch, or displays of emotion.

When supporting behaviour, consider how your own beliefs shape your actions. Are you making assumptions about what is “right” or “wrong”? Are you respecting the individual’s own background and beliefs?

To avoid negative impact:

• Find out about the individual’s culture or faith
• Ask questions in a respectful way if you are unsure
• Be open to learning and changing your approach

Person-centred values remind you to put the individual’s beliefs and wishes first.

Setting Professional Boundaries

Professional boundaries are limits that keep your relationship with individuals supportive, not personal. Your own attitudes can affect how you set and maintain these boundaries.

If you become too emotionally involved, you may:

• Find it hard to be objective
• Try to solve problems for the person, rather than with them
• Lose sight of professional responsibilities

If you are too distant, the person may feel unsupported or rejected.

Keeping the right balance is a skill. It means:

• Being friendly but not a friend
• Offering support while encouraging independence
• Using self-awareness to spot when lines are getting blurred

Clear boundaries support safe behaviour management for all involved.

Impact on Safeguarding and Risk

Your attitudes, values and skills can affect how you recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns linked to behaviour. If you ignore or downplay signs of distress or abuse, the individual may remain at risk.

A skilled worker will:

• Notice changes in behaviour that may signal harm
• Take all concerns seriously, no matter their own opinions
• Follow correct procedures for reporting safeguarding issues

Reflect on whether your own beliefs could prevent you from acting. Always put the individual’s safety and wellbeing before your own feelings or opinions.

Supporting Positive Behaviour

Supporting positive behaviour involves recognising and rewarding good choices, not just responding to challenging actions. Your attitude here matters.

A positive outlook helps you spot small successes and encourage the individual. Skills in giving feedback, praise, and setting achievable goals make a difference.

Focus on:

• Setting clear expectations
• Praising effort, not just outcomes
• Offering consistent support

When you believe in a person’s ability to change, your support is more effective.

The Impact of Training and Continued Professional Development

Skills are never fixed. Health and social care changes all the time, so regular training helps keep your skills and knowledge current.

New research and approaches to behaviour support appear regularly. Make time for regular learning, whether through courses, reading, or sharing with colleagues. This helps avoid falling into old habits that might not work for the individual.

Supervision, team meetings, and mentoring support skill development. They also offer space to talk about attitudes and values in a safe setting.

Working With Others

Behaviour support often involves working with others. These can include:

• Family members
• Other professionals (nurses, doctors, psychologists)
• Social workers

Good teamwork means understanding your own attitudes, values, and skills, and respecting those of others. Disagreements may happen if values or approaches differ. Open, honest communication helps prevent misunderstandings.

Always keep the person you support at the centre of all decisions.

Challenges and Barriers

Awareness of your own attitudes, values and skills can bring up challenges. You may face:

• Strong personal reactions to certain behaviours
• Conflict with the values of the service user or their family
• Lack of skill in some areas of behaviour support

The best approach is honesty and a willingness to improve. Seek support, acknowledge limits, and be ready to learn.

Final Thoughts

Attitudes, values, and skills are not fixed qualities. They develop over time and can be shaped by reflection, learning and experience. How you think, what you believe, and what you do all work together to support the people in your care.

By staying aware of the impact your attitudes, values, and skills have on behaviour support, you become a more thoughtful and effective worker. This benefits both you and those you support. Each day is a chance to practise, reflect, and grow. Keep asking questions, stay open, and always remember the value of your role in helping people live better, more independent lives.