Chain Analysis: How to examine and change problem behaviors

The skill we are going to talk about today is Chain Analysis! Chain analysis is an introductory skill that is one of the main bedrocks of DBT. If you can master this, you can begin to incorporate most DBT skills with success! Let’s talk about how to do it! 

Chain analysis begins with understanding when to use it. When you find yourself engaging in behavior that is consistently leading to problems in your day to day life, or if you find yourself reacting ineffectively to something that happened to you, it might be time to break out Ye Olde Chain Analysis. Maybe it’s yelling at your partner in an argument, or reaching for the bottle or drugs every time something stressful comes up. If it’s ineffective or unwanted, it can be analyzed with chain analysis. 

The steps are as follows (and I will share my thoughts on each of them in turn). The text in bold can be used as the mnemonic that can help you remember these steps. Feel free to write them down on a stick note or in a note on your phone to help you remember them in the moment. 

1. Describe the problem behavior. 

2. Describe the prompting event that started the chain of events leading to the problem behavior. 

3. Describe factors that may have made you vulnerable in the first place. 

4. Describe in great detail the chain of events that led to the problem behavior. 

5. Describe the consequences of the problem behavior. 

I find that it is most helpful to use real life situations as examples in demonstrating these skills, thus I will share one from my life! The other day, my partner and I got into an argument about who was going to do the dishes after we finished up with dinner. Look, I’m human, and I hate doing dishes. It’s my second-least favorite chore (after laundry) and I was not in the mood. As we go through the skill, I will share examples from this argument to help ground this in reality. 

Starting with step one, identify the actual behavior that is the problem or behavior you are wanting to change. In my case, the problem behavior was becoming defensive as we decided who was going to do the dishes after dinner was done. After we identify the problem behavior we want to address, we can then move to step two which is to describe the prompting event. 

In my case, the prompting event was my partner admitting that he didn’t want to do the dishes after dinner was done, a perfectly normal feeling to have. This led to a chain of events that made the problem behavior surface, but we also need to identify ways in which I was vulnerable to this situation becoming reality. Step three involves identifying vulnerabilities that made it harder to handle the situation effectively. My vulnerabilities were: 1) I was tired from doing leg day at the gym, 2) my back was hurting after having stood for an hour making dinner, 3) my shoulder was hurting from my recent injury and subsequent physical therapy, and 4) I had forgotten to take my medications that morning. I may have also been hopped up on pre-workout…

Once we identify the ways in which we are vulnerable to ineffectiveness, we can then begin to describe the chain of events in detail that led to the problem behavior. In my case, we finished dinner, I was tired, and I asked him if he wanted to do the dishes, not if he’d be willing to do them. He answered me truthfully, and I elected to become defensive and pick a fight. Granted, vulnerabilities are simply explanations for behavior, not justifications. Developing insight into them is not meant to provide justifications for them, rather to provide you with more information to help combat future ineffectiveness. 

Finally, we explore what the consequences of the behavior were. We ended up having a 20 minute argument about doing dishes and ended dinner feeling stressed. Don’t worry, we made up, but had I been more effective in the moment, we might have had a more pleasant outcome! 

Worry not, friends. DBT also has an answer to how to change behavior, which can be used both in the moment and after the fact. You’ll hear me say, time and time again, that DBT is not about preventing ineffectiveness from ever happening again, but rather it helps to shorten the gap of time between when something ineffective happens and when we institute a more effective response. If we can master that, we’ve mastered DBT. In order to change behavior after or during chain analysis, do the following: 

1. Describe skillful behaviors to replace problem links in the chain of events. 

2. Develop prevention plans to reduce vulnerability to stressful events. 

3. Repair important or significant consequences of the problem behavior. 

In my case, it was probably more skillful for me to 1) dialogue around the problem, rather than take my partner’s word for what I wanted to hear, 2) express that I was feeling hurt and frustrated, rather than becoming defensive, and 3) ask for clarity around what he meant rather making assumptions about what he had said. To prevent this from arising in the future, I might sit down while I’m chopping veggies (rather than forcing myself to stand up the whole time), or I may have sat down or taken a shower after getting home from the gym rather than launching right into making dinner. What ways do you think I might have been able to be more effective? 

We’ll talk more about repair attempts as we delve into interpersonal effectiveness, but trust me when I say, a simple “I’m sorry for ____ “ goes a really long way in making repairs from the consequences. Changed behaviors are also an excellent way to make repairs. Make a resolution to handle the behavior differently next time, and then allow yourself to make a different choice the next time an ineffective moment happens.

I hope this helps give a good starting point for DBT skills. Remember, chain analysis is a powerful tool in analyzing our behavior from a non-judgmental and outcomes-based approach that can begin to help us deal with problems with more efficacy and grace.