Conflict escalation to violence and escalation of violent conflicts

The objective of this article is to propose definitional, theoretical, and operational frameworks as a first step in the study of escalation of conflicts in intimate relationships. The second part of the article discusses the escalation of violent conflicts (across conflicts); the third and fourth parts address the individual and interpersonal aspects of conflict escalation to violence (within a single conflict). In the fifth and final part a new approach is proposed for the study of escalation in intimate partner violence.