A data-driven classification of outcome behaviors in those who cause concern to British public figures

Abstract

Fixated individuals pose a significant threat to public figures. Previous research compares individuals labeled ‘approachers’ to those labeled ‘communicators.’ Typically, such studies compare a number of risk factors among the two groups to identify significant differences. This has impactful implications for the threat assessment and management of the pathologically fixated. The present study builds upon this established body of work by considering if more nuance can be disaggregated from a universe of cases referred to the Fixated Threat Assessment Center (FTAC). FTAC is a joint police and mental health unit in the U.K. which applies a public health approach to managing the pathologically fixated. The present study takes a deductive approach to detect profiles of cases from the data. First, we use cluster analysis to detect unmeasured subgroups of concerning behavior in the case files of 2,118 referrals to FTAC. We identify 5 patterns of concerning behavior: incoherent offline communicators, incoherent online communicators, angry/abusive communicators, concerning approachers, and problematic approachers. Second, we examine the rate of diagnosed mental disorder, the nature of concerns evoked, and case management actions taken among each of the five profiles identified. We conclude by highlighting how our results could inform triaging large volumes of cases, the allocation of limited resources, and more generally, how the success of the FTAC model has relevance across the management of grievance-fueled violence in general. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)