Years of research and experience reveal that the actions of individuals engaging in workplace targeted or intended violence are rarely sudden and impulsive, but almost invariably unfold in an escalating and deliberate "pathway to violence." Such movement is also detectable, as it is very common for the individual contemplating violence to communicate his or her feelings and intentions in some form to third parties, such as co-workers and friends.

         The items of the WAVR-21 reflect the static and dynamic risk factors known to predict workplace targeted or intended violence, with its emphasis on this notion of an escalating pathway. The item domains include psychological, behavioral, historical, and situational factors associated with workplace violence, including intimate partner violence posing a threat to the workplace. In practice, threat assessment and threat management are intertwined. Dynamic risk factors become the focus of ongoing interventions intended to reduce risk. Assessment and monitoring are ongoing, and an individual’s response to various interventions (e.g., escalation, de-escalation, or no apparent change) become part of the evolving opinion of risk level.

         Based on our own and the work of other researchers, the process or pathway of intended, targeted, or predatory violence may be described as a series of sequential steps – from its beginning with a felt grievance, to violent ideation, research and planning, specific preparations for violence, critical breaches of security or other boundaries, to a concluding attack. A workplace graphic of this model follows: