Every year, more children and youths are sent to Secure Children’s Homes while moving through the criminal justice system. Aggressive and violent incidents in these settings are common, and staff are often required to intervene and restrain violent individuals. The research literature has many examples of aggression and violence questionnaires and measures; however, for staff in communal areas it is the observable behaviors that they react to most. The current research, therefore, analyzed observable behaviors leading-up to violent episodes, and used Behavior Sequence Analysis to highlight the typical chains of behaviors that tend toward violence. The outcomes of this research show pathways to violence that staff can use to highlight potential spirals of aggression and violence. The current results show the links between non-confrontational behaviors (e.g., talking) through to more confrontational (staring, approaching, and pushing others). Overall, the research forms the foundation for future investigation into these and similar settings and outlines a novel approach to understanding violence escalation in a way that can be interpreted and used by service staff.

每年都有更多的儿童和青少年在通过刑事司法系统的过程中被送往安全儿童之家。这些环境中的攻击性和暴力事件很常见，工作人员经常需要干预和抑制暴力个体。研究文献中有许多关于侵略和暴力问卷和措施的例子；然而，对于公共区域的工作人员来说，他们对可观察到的行为反应最大。因此，当前的研究分析了导致暴力事件的可观察行为，并使用行为序列分析来突出倾向于暴力的典型行为链。这项研究的结果显示了员工可以用来突出攻击和暴力的潜在螺旋的暴力途径。目前的结果显示了非对抗性行为（例如，谈话）与更具对抗性（凝视、接近和推动他人）之间的联系。总体而言，该研究为未来对这些和类似环境的调查奠定了基础，并概述了一种以服务人员可以解释和使用的方式理解暴力升级的新方法。