[wpf] Change background color for selected ListBox item

If selection is not important, it is better to use an ItemsControl wrapped in a ScrollViewer. This combination is more light-weight than the Listbox (which actually is derived from ItemsControl already) and using it would eliminate the need to use a cheap hack to override behavior that is already absent from the ItemsControl.

In cases where the selection behavior IS actually important, then this obviously will not work. However, if you want to change the color of the Selected Item Background in such a way that it is not visible to the user, then that would only serve to confuse them. In cases where your intention is to change some other characteristic to indicate that the item is selected, then some of the other answers to this question may still be more relevant.

Here is a skeleton of how the markup should look:

    <ScrollViewer>
        <ItemsControl>
            <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
                <DataTemplate>
                    ...
                </DataTemplate>
            </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate>
        </ItemsControl>
    </ScrollViewer>