Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory

Abstract

The Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory (UPBI) is a specialized, 26-item self-report psychological scale designed to quantify the frequency and severity of behaviors directed toward an individual by a former intimate partner following a romantic relationship dissolution. This comprehensive instrument moves beyond simple contact to assess a spectrum of actions, ranging from mild, persistent communication attempts to severe, high-risk behaviors, including property damage, physical injury, and explicit threats. The UPBI allows for the calculation of a total score and, crucially, an Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Severity Index, which weights the reported negative behaviors by their frequency and potential harm, providing a nuanced assessment critical for understanding post-breakup stalking and victimization patterns.

Keywords

Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory, UPBI, Stalking, Post-breakup violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Relationship dissolution, Harassment, Victimization assessment, Coercive control, Psychological measurement.

Authors

Langhinrichsen-Rohling J, Palarea RE, Cohen J, Rohling ML.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory (UPBI) is to systematically measure and categorize the continuum of unwanted contact and actions directed toward an individual by a former intimate partner. It serves as an essential tool for both researchers and clinicians investigating the often-escalating behaviors that follow the termination of a romantic relationship, specifically capturing acts that span from simple, unwanted communication to severe forms of stalking and violence.

Furthermore, the instrument is designed to provide critical differentiation between relatively mild, persistent pursuit and highly aggressive or coercive behaviors. This distinction is vital for accurate risk assessment and intervention. The UPBI also captures the victim’s perceived impact and reaction (positive or negative) to the unwanted contact, facilitating the calculation of a robust severity index that directly reflects the negative consequences experienced by the respondent.

Construct

The UPBI measures the psychological construct of Unwanted Pursuit Behavior, which is fundamentally conceptualized as the manifestation of stalking or precursor behaviors, particularly within the context of former intimate relationships. This construct is recognized as inherently multidimensional, reflecting the varied methods an ex-partner might use to maintain control or contact despite the victim’s wishes following relationship dissolution.

The 26 items are divided empirically into two primary dimensions of severity:

• Mild Acts (Items 1–13): These encompass behaviors characterized by persistent, non-threatening attempts at communication or contact, such as unwanted calls, sending gifts, or unexpectedly appearing in public places.
• Severe Acts (Items 14–26): These behaviors involve explicit aggression, aligning closely with legal definitions of criminal stalking and Intimate Partner Violence. Examples include making threats, causing property damage, physical harm, or sexual coercion.

Validity

The development of the UPBI was firmly rooted in empirical research that identified common harassing behaviors reported by victims of post-breakup pursuit, establishing strong initial face and content validity. The scale’s comprehensive nature ensures it covers the full spectrum of behaviors commonly reported in these situations.

The structural separation of the 26 items into two distinct subscales—Mild Acts and Severe Acts—provides evidence of established construct validity, allowing researchers to differentiate statistically between low-level harassment and high-risk violent acts. Furthermore, subsequent studies referenced in the primary literature have provided statistical evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, confirming the UPBI’s ability to correlate appropriately with established measures of violence and psychological distress.

Reliability

The reliability of the Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory is typically established through measures of internal consistency, most commonly using Cronbach’s alpha for the total scale and its two subscales. High internal consistency is expected and generally reported, confirming that the items within the Mild Acts subscale and the Severe Acts subscale consistently measure their respective underlying dimensions of unwanted pursuit behavior.

In addition to internal consistency, test-retest reliability is considered crucial for the UPBI, as it confirms the stability and consistency of the victim’s reporting of these behaviors over time. This temporal stability is particularly important in studies tracking the progression of pursuit behaviors, which may naturally escalate or diminish following the initial termination of the relationship.

Factor Analysis

The foundational structure of the UPBI is based on a clear, empirically derived factor structure established through statistical factor analysis during its development. This analysis confirmed that the 26 items cluster effectively into two primary, distinct factors: the Mild Acts subscale (Items 1–13) and the Severe Acts subscale (Items 14–26).

This two-factor solution is a key methodological strength, as it permits separate, detailed analyses of low-level harassment versus high-risk behaviors. This approach yields a more granular profile of the unwanted pursuit experience than relying solely on a single total score. Notably, the Severe Acts subscale specifically isolates behaviors that are highly predictive of physical harm and severe victimization risk to the respondent.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale assessing victimization.

Format: 26 Likert-style and dichotomous items, followed by an open-ended qualitative description section.

Language Available: English (Primary).

Population Group: Individuals who have experienced the dissolution of a romantic relationship.

Age Group: Adults (Typically utilized with college populations and general adult samples).

Population Details: Respondents are assessed specifically regarding the unwanted behaviors exhibited by a former intimate partner following the breakup.

Test Methodology: Respondents first indicate whether the specified contact occurred (Yes/No/N/A). If the behavior occurred, they then rate its frequency (on a scale ranging from 1= More than daily to 5= Less than monthly), confirm whether they replied (Yes/No), and indicate the valence of their response (Positive/Negative). The total score is the sum of endorsed items. The Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Severity Index is a calculated metric that weights negative pursuit behaviors by their reported frequency, with items belonging to the Severe Acts subscale (Items 14–26) being double-weighted to reflect higher risk.

Keywords

Post-relationship conflict, Violence assessment, Psychological measurement, Coercive control, Dating violence, Relational aggression, Frequency index, Severity index.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory was first developed as an unpublished measure by Palarea and Langhinrichsen-Rohling in 1998. It was subsequently published in peer-reviewed academic literature in 2000. While sometimes cited as an unpublished measure, its use is extensive within academic and clinical research settings.

The instrument is considered publicly available and is included in the CDC Compendium of Assessment Tools, suggesting that it is frequently used for research purposes without proprietary fees. The original PDF of the instrument can be found on pages 99-100 of the comprehensive volume, Measuring Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/IPV_Compendium.pdf

Reference’s

The primary references for the Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory are:

• Langhinrichsen-Rohling J, Palarea RE, Cohen J, Rohling ML. Breaking up is hard to do: unwanted pursuit behaviors following the dissolution of a romantic relationship. Violence and Victims 2000;15:73–90.
• Palarea RE, Langhinrichsen-Rohling J. Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory, 1998. Unpublished measure.

Items of the Unwanted Pursuit Behavior Inventory

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Did your ex-partner:

1. leave you unwanted phone messages or hang-up calls
2. send/leave you unwanted letters/e-mails/faxes/pages/gifts
3. engage you in an unwanted phone conversation
4. talk with you unwantedly in an Internet chat room
5. engage you in an unwanted conversation in person
6. give you unwanted items (e.g.‚ letters/gifts) in person
7. ask your friends for information about you
8. contact your family/friends without your permission
9. show up in places where he/she thought you might be
10. go out of his/her way to run into you “unexpectedly”
11. unexpectedly visit you at your home
12. unexpectedly visit you at school/ work/some other public place
13. wait outside of your home/work/school
14. follow you
15. make vague or implied threats to you
16. threaten to release information that would be harmful to you
17. threaten to harm/kill you
18. threaten to harm/kill someone close to you or to your pet
19. threaten you with a weapon
20. release information that was harmful to you
21. steal items from you
22. cause damage to your property (home/car/etc.)
23. cause harm to someone close to you or to your pet
24. physically injure you
25. kidnap you or hold you against your will
26. force you to engage in sexual contact after the break-up

If your ex-partner contacted you after the break-up‚ please describe his/her typicalpattern of contacting you afterthe break-up occurred (e.g.‚ he/she called me 10 times a day for two weeks at my work and followed me homefrom work every day; he/she showed up at several parties that they thought I might be at and left 40 messages onmy phone machine over a 10-day period).