Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, Vol 13(1), Mar 2026, 1-18; doi:10.1037/tam0000261
University threat assessment teams manage a range of concerning behaviors, including stalking, harassment, and physical assault. Research highlights communication behaviors as key indicators of targeted violence. Scholars have conceptualized such behavior in the form of the intensity of effort construct, which is a validated predictor of problematic approach behavior. The construct reflects the person of concern’s (POC) effort in communicating grievances or intent to harm. A greater frequency of communication and engagement in multimodal communication of concerning content is associated with intensity of effort. The proliferation of digital communications (e.g., social media) has expanded the means through which POCs can threaten, intimidate, or harass their targets with relative ease. Expansion of the digital threat landscape necessitates an examination of whether the relationship between intensity of effort and problematic approach still applies, given the evolving contact modalities. To address this question, 494 university threat assessment cases were coded for problematic approach behavior, communication patterns, threats, grievances, and POC–target relationships. POCs were primarily White (69.0%) males (81.6%) of 32.91 mean years of age. Analyses revealed that POCs exhibiting intensity of effort were more likely to approach targets with whom they had a prior engagement, regardless of whether they used digital modalities. These findings suggest that an accurate assessment of problematic approach behavior should encompass all communicative elements of the intensity of effort construct, including digital communications, and contextualize intensity of effort with relational factors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)