Is it coercive control? / HAR / HAR-1
HAR-1
Communication flooding
Definition
High-volume contact, or contact that functions to occupy the target's attention, make allegations, punish unavailability, and/or compel response, judged by function and cumulative pattern rather than the tone or stated purpose of any single message.
How it operates
Escalating strings within short windows. Sustained repetition that re-raises closed issues or continues after the target has responded, declined, or requested reduced contact. Civil, logistical, or child-framed contact whose volume or persistence outstrips any legitimate need. Contact timed to interrupt sleep, work, or recovery.
Function
Occupy attention, punish unavailability, and compel response.
Harm
Exhaustion, interrupted sleep and work, and the conversion of ordinary channels into a site of punishment for unavailability.
Why this is coercive control
Multiple messages during a genuine emergency, proportionate good-faith contact on a live time-sensitive issue, and ordinary co-parenting coordination within agreed channels are not this conduct. The conduct here occupies attention, punishes unavailability, and compels response.
Constructed example
“I want an answer about what is happening at your house for the children's sake.”
Fictitious. Written to illustrate the behavior. Not a case.
Dragiewicz et al. 2018; Miller & Smolter 2011; Stark 2007; Toews & Bermea 2017; Woodlock 2017.
Literature this family is drawn from
- Harris, B., & Woodlock, D. (2019). Digital coercive control: Insights from two landmark domestic violence studies. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(3), 530-550.
- Forensic linguistic evidence of psychological abuse and discursive manipulation in cyberstalking cases. Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict (2026).
Identifying a behavior described here does not establish a pattern of behavior and does not establish coercive control. A tactic is not a regime. The instrument consolidates peer-reviewed literature so a reader can check when in doubt. The instrument is not a coding manual. Carlton Research does not provide the instrument as a weapon.
© 2026 Carisa Carlton.
Carlton, C. (2026). Is it coercive control?: HAR-1. Carlton Research Instruments. /codebook/har-1. Last reviewed August 31, 2026.