COMBATIVES · RESEARCH & STUDY NOTES
Understand violence before trying to explain it.
COMBATIVES studies what happens before, during and after violent events.
This section brings together research, institutional documents, documented cases and study notes on behavior, prevention, protection and response.
The work covers different fields: targeted violence, interpersonal violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child protection, school violence, human factors, public safety and related areas.
These fields are not treated as if they were the same problem. Each study must be understood within the population observed, the context, the method used and the question the researchers were attempting to answer.
HOW WE READ RESEARCH
From source to application.
Finding a study is only the beginning. Before turning a finding into a practical conclusion, we need to know what was actually observed, in whom, under what conditions and with what limitations.
01 Source
Who conducted the research, when it was published, which population was studied and which method was used.
02 Evidence
What was actually observed, measured, recorded or found.
03 Interpretation
What the findings allow us to discuss â and what they do not allow us to conclude.
04 Application
Whether, and to what extent, that knowledge may be useful outside the original study.
Fundamental limitation
A finding from targeted violence cannot automatically be transferred to domestic violence, a street assault, sexual violence, a police encounter or another context. Similarity between situations does not make them equivalent.
Behavior. Context. Assessment.
Behavioral Threat Assessment is a structured approach to gathering information about concerning behaviors and circumstances, evaluating a situation and determining what management measures may be appropriate.
It is not profiling
The approach does not depend on identifying the appearance, personality or demographic profile of a potentially violent person. The focus is on observed behavior, circumstances and change over time.
It is not prediction
Assessing a concern does not mean predicting with certainty what a person will do. The purpose is to organize available information in support of prevention and management.
COMBATIVES NOTE
The question is not âWho does this person look like?â The question is: What is happening, what has changed, and what information supports the concern?
Reference
Not all violence follows the same dynamics.
Targeted violence refers to violence in which a specific person, group or location has been selected as a target before the attack.
Planning
Some cases involve research, planning, preparation, target-related behavior or other observable activity before an attack.
Limitation
This does not describe every form of violence. An impulsive assault, a fight, domestic violence or a police encounter may involve different processes and variables.
DISTINCTION
Before comparing two violent events, we need to ask whether we are actually studying the same type of phenomenon.
References
Protection can begin before the approach.
Protective Intelligence involves the collection, assessment and use of information related to possible threats against protected persons or other identified targets.
Perspective
Barriers, protective personnel and physical security address one part of the problem. Information about behavior, intent, capability, target interest and approach behavior may reveal another.
QUESTION
What could be known before a potential threat reaches the target?
Reference
Making a threat is not the same as posing a threat.
A verbal or written threat is important information, but it does not complete the assessment. Likewise, the absence of an explicit threat does not automatically mean the absence of concern.
Context
Communications need to be considered alongside behavior, circumstances, relationships, capability, access and other available information.
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Words are part of the picture. They are not the entire picture.
Reference
Pathway to Violence
Pathway to Violence is an analytical model used to organize behaviors that may appear during the development of some cases of planned violence.
Not a mandatory sequence
Individuals do not have to pass through every stage, follow the same order or move at the same speed. Behaviors may overlap, remain hidden, stop or never progress to violence.
COMBATIVES NOTE
The model helps organize retrospective observations and situations under assessment. It does not turn a sequence of behaviors into an individual prediction of violence.
Reference
Change can be more informative than appearance.
Warning behaviors are dynamic behavioral patterns used in the threat assessment literature to identify changes that may increase concern in a particular case.
Fixation
An increasingly intense or persistent preoccupation with a person, cause, grievance or issue.
Leakage
Communication or other expression that may reveal elements related to violent thoughts, intentions or planning.
Energy Burst
An increase in the frequency or variety of activities related to the concern, planning or target.
Last Resort
Behaviors or communications associated with a perception of desperation, urgency or lack of alternatives.
FUNDAMENTAL LIMITATION
None of these behaviors, by itself, establishes that an individual will commit violence. Meaning depends on pattern, change, context and the other information available in the case.
Reference
One person rarely holds all the information.
Family members, friends, coworkers, teachers, professionals, neighbors and others may observe different parts of the same situation.
Fragmentation
One person knows about a communication. Another notices a change. Someone else knows about a conflict or recent behavior. In isolation, each piece may appear insignificant.
PRINCIPLE
Information can only be assessed together when it reaches people or systems capable of bringing it together and evaluating it.
References
Grievance is common. Violence is not.
In the targeted violence literature, grievance describes a perceived injustice, harm, humiliation or resentment that may form part of the motivation of some attackers.
The finding
In the National Threat Assessment Center study of 173 attacks in public or semi-public locations in the United States between 2016 and 2020, grievance was identified as a component of motivation in 51% of the attacks studied.
What the finding does not mean
It does not mean that people who hold grievances are violent. Rejection, conflict, anger, perceived injustice and humiliation are widespread human experiences.
CONTEXT
A grievance becomes analytically meaningful when considered alongside behavior, circumstances, change over time and other relevant information.
Reference
Intimate partner violence extends beyond physical assault.
Public-health literature includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression among forms of violence committed by a current or former intimate partner.
Patterns
Coercion, controlling behavior, stalking, threats and physical violence may form part of a broader pattern within a relationship.
Prevention
Public-health approaches to prevention include promoting safe relationships, strengthening protective environments and support networks, improving access to services and reducing harm.
COMBATIVES NOTE
Looking only at the physical incident may conceal part of the sequence that preceded it.
Reference
Prevention does not begin at the moment of attack.
Sexual violence is studied in public health as a preventable problem requiring action before violence occurs, as well as protection, care and harm reduction after victimization.
Multiple levels
Prevention strategies can address individuals, relationships, environments, organizations and broader social conditions.
Outcomes
An intervention should not be evaluated only by its intent. The relevant question is what it actually changes and what outcomes have been observed.
COMBATIVES NOTE
Physical-response training may be one component of a program. It does not replace the study of prevention, behavior, context, human responses under acute stress and post-incident support.
Reference
Child protection also means protecting the environment around the child.
Child maltreatment includes different forms of abuse and neglect and must be understood within the relationships of care, dependency and responsibility surrounding the child.
Risk and protection
Research examines individual, relational, family, community and societal factors associated with both risk and protection.
Environment
Safe relationships, stability, appropriate supervision, family support and access to services are among the protective conditions examined in the literature.
COMBATIVES NOTE
Protecting a child also means organizing environments and relationships in ways that make abuse and neglect harder to begin, conceal and continue.
Reference
Prevention is different from trying to predict who will attack.
Research on targeted school violence examines behaviors, communications, circumstances, planning and opportunities for intervention observed before attacks or disrupted plots.
No simple profile
Isolated demographic characteristics do not provide a reliable method for identifying a potential attacker in advance.
Intervention
Disrupted plots illustrate the importance of communication, assessment and response when concerning information emerges before violence.
Information
Peers, family members, teachers and others may hold different pieces of information. The challenge is creating a process through which relevant information can be brought together and appropriately assessed.
PRINCIPLE
The objective is not to build a profile of an attacker. It is to identify situations that warrant assessment and create meaningful opportunities for prevention.
References
TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
Key terms.
These terms are retained in the form commonly used in the original literature, making it easier to locate and compare technical sources.
Behavioral Threat Assessment
A structured process for gathering and evaluating information about concerning behaviors and circumstances.
Protective Intelligence
The collection and use of information to identify, assess and manage possible threats related to a protected person or target.
Targeted Violence
Violence in which a specific person, group or location has been selected as a target before the attack.
Grievance
A perceived injustice, harm, humiliation or resentment that may be relevant in some targeted violence cases.
Fixation
An increasingly intense or persistent preoccupation with a person, cause, grievance or issue.
Leakage
Communication or expression that may reveal elements related to violent thoughts, intentions or planning.
Warning Behavior
A dynamic behavioral pattern used to assess changes that may increase concern in a particular case.
Risk Factor
A characteristic or circumstance statistically associated with a higher probability of a particular outcome within a defined population or context.
Bystander Reporting
The communication of concerning information or behavior observed by other people.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
The source must be identifiable.
COMBATIVES research draws on scientific literature, technical documents, public data, institutional reports and studies produced across different fields.
No institution is treated as an argument from authority by itself. What matters is the material being used, its methodology, the evidence presented and the limits of what can reasonably be concluded.
View the research sources and institutional references library â
Research references
References to universities, public agencies, research centers, law enforcement organizations, health institutions or specialized units identify the origin of materials consulted. They do not imply affiliation, certification, sponsorship, endorsement or an institutional relationship with COMBATIVESâą.
RESEARCH LIBRARY FOR THIS PAGE
Primary references.
The references below support concepts discussed on this page. Each source must be understood within its population, methodology, time period and intended purpose.
COMBATIVES STANDARD
Conclusions must remain within the limits of the evidence.
Association does not automatically establish causation. A pattern found in one sample does not necessarily represent other populations. An observational study does not answer the same questions as an experiment.
Behavior must be interpreted within context and sequence. Missing information should not be converted into evidence that something did not occur.
When a source supports only a limited conclusion, the conclusion remains limited.
When studies produce different or conflicting findings, that disagreement is also part of the research.
COMBATIVES Research & Study Notes is an educational and editorial project. The material presented here does not constitute a clinical diagnosis, individual psychological assessment, legal advice, law enforcement threat assessment or individualized security assessment. Situations involving immediate danger should be referred to the appropriate emergency services, law enforcement agencies, medical services or qualified professionals within the relevant jurisdiction.