Behavior Sequence Analysis of Victims’ Accounts of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) relates not only to physical forms of abuse, but also psychological, emotional, economic, and financial controlling behaviors. IPV is a dynamic, complex phenomenon that occurs over a relatively long period of time. While several measures of IPV exist, a method that can track the progression and escalation of such behaviors in relationships could offer more understanding and highlight key intervention points for individuals in such relationships. Behavior Sequence Analysis is used in the current research to map the chain and progression of behaviors in multiple real-world cases of IPV. Results indicate clear sequential clusters of behaviors such as physical and psychological abuse, and coercive controlling behaviors such as gaslighting, restricting movement, and removing freedoms. Overall, this research stands as a foundation framework to build a greater understanding of the processes and pathways of IPV, and offers workers in the field a novel method to assist with interviewing and intervening in such cases.

Different Scripts, Different Casts: A Crime Script Analysis Indicating Intimate Partner Violence Is Not All the Same

“…BSA has been used in a comparable way to crime scripts to develop temporal accounts of interpersonal violence with samples of 30 to 60 cases (Keatley et al, 2021;Quinn-Evans et al, 2021). Using similar principles to crime script analysis, BSA maps events and behaviors over time (Keatley et al, 2021).…”

“…BSA has been used in a comparable way to crime scripts to develop temporal accounts of interpersonal violence with samples of 30 to 60 cases (Keatley et al, 2021;Quinn-Evans et al, 2021). Using similar principles to crime script analysis, BSA maps events and behaviors over time (Keatley et al, 2021). Behaviors are coded and categorized qualitatively (Keatley et al, 2021) in the same way crime scripts are developed to better understand the step-by-step nature of crime (Leclerc et al, 2011).…”

“…Using similar principles to crime script analysis, BSA maps events and behaviors over time (Keatley et al, 2021). Behaviors are coded and categorized qualitatively (Keatley et al, 2021) in the same way crime scripts are developed to better understand the step-by-step nature of crime (Leclerc et al, 2011). The sequences identified are then compared statistically (Keatley et al, 2021;Quinn-Evans et al, 2021).…”

“…Behaviors are coded and categorized qualitatively (Keatley et al, 2021) in the same way crime scripts are developed to better understand the step-by-step nature of crime (Leclerc et al, 2011). The sequences identified are then compared statistically (Keatley et al, 2021;Quinn-Evans et al, 2021). Benefits of the BSA method include the ability to chart both physical and non-physical forms of abuse, identify points of transition from one behavior to another, and provide a visual graphic of the complex nature of intimate partner violence.…”

“…Although a few crime scripts studies to date have explored offender–victim interactions ( Leclerc et al, 2011 ), several studies have explored variations in victimization and offending and offender typologies using multiple correspondence analysis ( González-Álvarez et al, 2021 ), cluster analysis ( Dawson & Piscitelli, 2021 ; Mennicke, 2019 ), and behavior sequence analysis (BSA; Keatley et al, 2021 ) ( Quinn-Evans et al, 2021 ). In one study ( Mennicke, 2019 ) cluster analysis was performed using quantitative cross-sectional survey data ( n = 714) to group “like” observations together.…”