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The RECON Typology of Stalking: Reliability and Validity Based Upon a Large Sample of North American Stalkers
Abstract
A new typology of stalking, RECON (relationship and context-based), is proposed, based upon the prior relationship between the pursuer and the victim, and the context in which the stalking occurs. The static typology yields four groups: Intimate, Acquaintance, Public Figure, and Private Stranger. The typology was tested on a large (N = 1005) nonrandom sample of North American stalkers gathered from prosecutorial agencies, a large police department, an entertainment corporation security department, and the authors' files. Interrater reliability for group assignment was 0.95 (ICC). Discriminant validity (p < 0.01) was demonstrated on a variety of demographic, clinical, pursuit, threat, and violence characteristics among and between groups. Findings confirm and extend the work of other researchers, most notably the very high risk of threats and violence among prior sexually intimate stalkers, the very low risk of threats and violence among public figure (celebrity) stalkers, and the negative relationship between stalking violence and psychosis.
... Research focusing on different types of stalkers and utilising various statistical frameworks consistently demonstrates that individuals who were once intimate partners, particularly those who were involved in previous sexual relationships, are more likely to pose a risk of danger to their former partners (the victims) compared to stalkers who did not have a prior intimate relationship with the victim (Meloy et al., 2002). This can be seen in other studies, such as Mohandie et al. (2006), which summarises the danger of an ex-intimate stalker by stating that when it comes to stalking, ex-intimate partners are the most dangerous. ...
... Alarmingly, more than 50% will, at some point, hurt the victim directly. Subsequently, almost one in three of these stalkers will threaten their ex-partner or carry a weapon (Mohandie et al., 2006). ...
... Participant 4's argument is consistent with Monckton-Smith et al. (2017), who argued that obsession and fixation are one of the main links between stalking and homicide. This finding also aligns with Brewster (2003), who found that a majority of victims believed that the perpetrator gaining control over them was the main reason behind the stalking, whilst Mohandie et al. (2006) argued that the perpetrator's pursuit of their former ex-partner gets more intense the closer they get. ...
Intimate partner stalking is a prevalent global issue, representing the most dangerous form of stalking behaviour. This study explores the nuanced definitions of intimate partner violence and stalking, with a particular focus on intimate partner stalking and its alarming connection to intimate partner homicide. It meticulously examines the primary risk factors inherent in cases of intimate partner stalking and violence, employing a localised perspective to identify key escalation indicators from stalking to homicide. Through a detailed case study of an intimate partner homicide preceded by stalking, this research unveils the complex factors contributing to such tragic outcomes. Utilising qualitative methods, the study conducted interviews to offer rich contextual insights while maintaining stringent ethical standards. Critical evaluation of the research findings emphasises vital discoveries, including identifying behavioural traits characteristic of stalking, pinpointing red flags indicative of violence escalation and homicide, analysing the trajectory from stalking to murder within former intimate partnerships, and elucidating prominent red flags identified by participants. The findings underscore the heightened risk of violence in intimate partner stalking, emphasising the pressing need for improved collaboration among criminal justice agencies to prevent stalking from escalating into lethal violence within intimate relationships.
... Risk factors associated with stalking, however, are not necessarily the same as those for general violence, 21,22 and stalking recidivism rates appear elevated in comparison to rates of general or nonstalking violent reoffending among justice-involved persons in the community. [7][8][9] This raises the question of whether widely used violence risk assessment tools such as the Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20 (HCR-20 20 ) are suitable for assessing stalking risk, or whether there are additional, stalking-specific risk factors that could optimize the accuracy of risk estimates in this population. Greater knowledge of the dynamic (i.e., mutable) components of risk, including risk for stalking-related violence, is also needed. ...
... Common diagnoses included personality (50%) and substance use (46%) disorders, whereas just 10 percent were found to have a psychotic disorder. In their review of over 1,000 stalking-related legal case files, Mohandie et al. 8 found that half (46%) of individuals had some type of psychiatric diagnosis, whereas 14 percent were psychotic when they engaged in stalking. ...
... 23,37,38 Although psychosis typically confers a modest increase in risk for violence, 39,40 among samples of stalking offenders, those with psychotic disorders are generally less likely to perpetrate physical violence or target ex-intimate partners. 8,12,41,42 They are, however, more likely to engage in stalking for longer durations of time 43 and to stalk strangers or acquaintances. [43][44][45] Despite these findings, there has been little research to validate stalking risk assessment tools in groups characterized by high rates of SMI. ...
This study investigates the predictive validity of two risk instruments for stalking, the Guidelines for Stalking Assessment and Management (SAM) and the Stalking Risk Profile (SRP), in a sample of 86 forensic psychiatric patients. We compare these tools against a well-validated violence risk assessment measure (Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20, Version 3 (HCR-20V3)) for violent and stalking-related outcomes. Dynamic (mutable) components of each tool were rated at three annual intervals and revealed significant change across time. The HCR-20V3, SAM, and SRP measures showed comparable ability to classify those who recidivated with further stalking from those who did not (area under the curves = .72-.73, P < 001). Time-varying scores from the dynamic subscales of the HCR-20V3 and SAM contributed significantly to the prediction of stalking, whereas nonstalking violence was primarily forecast by the static (Historical) scale of the HCR-20V3. This suggests comparable validity of general violence and stalking risk tools for assessing the risk of stalking in forensic patients. Stalking-specific risk factors on the SAM and SRP will likely be of added clinical value in terms of tailoring risk management and treatment plans. Findings also emphasize the importance of attending to changes in risk status over time and incorporating time-sensitive methodologies into predictive models.
... Intimate partner stalking is the largest category of stalking (Mohandie, et al., 2006). According to a study of 1,005 stalking cases in North America that were known to law enforcement agencies, 50% of the stalkers were current or past intimate partners with their victims, 27% were stalkers of public figures, 13% had stalked acquaintances, and 10% had stalked strangers who were not public figures (Mohandie, et al., 2006). ...
... Intimate partner stalking is the largest category of stalking (Mohandie, et al., 2006). According to a study of 1,005 stalking cases in North America that were known to law enforcement agencies, 50% of the stalkers were current or past intimate partners with their victims, 27% were stalkers of public figures, 13% had stalked acquaintances, and 10% had stalked strangers who were not public figures (Mohandie, et al., 2006). ...
... Belying this image, those who stalk intimate partners are less often psychotic or otherwise psychologically impaired than those who stalk public figures or acquaintances (Rosenfeld, 2004.) According to Mohandie, et al. (2006), violence on the part of intimate partner stalkers, "is not the product of a major mental illness, with the possible exception of depression." This contrasts with public figure stalkers, many of whom have pathological features that most often include an "erotomanic" but imaginary attachment to their victim (Rosenfield, 2004;Meloy, et al., 2000). ...
Stalking in the context of intimate partner relationships
... Although stalking is publicly perceived as being an especially intractable behaviour (Amar & Alexy, 2010;Weller et al., 2013), few studies have sought to examine whether recidivism rates are high among those convicted of stalking offenses. Among studies that have examined recidivism among convicted stalking offenders, most have found that approximately half go on to commit another stalking-related offence (Coupland et al., 2023;Eke et al., 2011;Hehemann et al., 2017;Mohandie et al., 2006;Rosenfeld, 2003), although some studies have reported lower stalking recidivism rates ( 30-35%, Foellmi et al., 2016;Malsch et al., 2011;Shea et al., 2018). This literature is further confounded by uncertainties regarding the degree of intervention or management strategies and effectiveness of these approaches (e.g., Foellmi et al. (2016) examined recidivism among those who had participated in an intensive treatment programme, whereas Rosenfeld (2003) examined recidivism without known intervention). ...
... In terms of predictors or risk factors for engaging in future stalking, studies have found the presence of a Cluster B Personality Disorder, particularly Borderline, Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorders (Rosenfeld, 2003), history of substance use (Rosenfeld, 2003), presence of mental health diagnoses (Eke et al., 2011), higher Cormier-Lang criminal history score (Eke et al., 2011), and prior intimate relationship (Mohandie et al., 2006;Rosenfeld, 2003) to be predictive of stalking recidivism. In particular, Rosenfeld (2003) found the interaction between a Cluster B Personality Disorder and history of substance abuse to be strongly associated with an increased risk of re-offending. ...
... Several stalking typologies have been proposed, with a focus on the stalker-victim relationship (Sheridan and Boon, 2002), the stalker's initial motivation (Mullen et al., 1999) or the stalking context (Mohandie et al., 2006). For more details on stalking typologies, see McEwan and Davis (2020). ...
... For more details on stalking typologies, see McEwan and Davis (2020). However, there is a consensus that using the stalker-victim relationship led to more valid and reliable classifications over other types of categorizations (Mohandie et al., 2006). Stalkers are generally classified into three groups: (1) ex-intimates, (2) acquaintances, or (3) strangers (Spitzberg, 2002); with ex-intimates representing up to half of the stalkers (Sheridan and Davies, 2001;White et al., 2020). ...
Purpose-The purpose of this study is to examine the latent structure of stalking. Stalking can be defined as a pattern of repeated and unwanted behaviours that cause another person to be afraid. The consequences for the victims can be severe and potentially happen over a long period of time. While stalking is considered as a taxon, empirical evidence and an absence of pathognomonic criteria point towards a dimensional structure.
Design/methodology/approach-The aim of this study is to examine the latent structure of stalking using taxometric analyses on the Severity of Stalking Behaviours Scale. Analyses were conducted on a sample of N = 1,032 victims' accounts, who had contacted the National Stalking Helpline in the UK.
Findings-Taxometric analyses revealed that stalking presents a dimensional structure, and no taxonic peaks emerged. The results were consistent across analyses (MAMBAC, MAXEIG and L-Mode), indicators (CCFI, curves) and measures (items, factors).
Research limitations/implications-A dimensional structure implies that individual variation is a matter of intensity, and the present results suggest that the conceptualization of stalking should be modified. Understanding stalking from a dimensional perspective provides support to study stalking in non-clinical populations. Scales that measure stalking should provide discrimination along the entire continuum rather than focusing on putative taxonic boundaries and arbitrary threshold.
Originality/value-This paper is proposing the first set of taxometric analyses on stalking. The results are providing empirical support to the idea that stalking exists on a continuum. It also strengthened the validity of previous findings in non-clinical populations and their applications all along the continuum, including with clinical populations.
... As an example, Mohandie et al. (2006) developed a relationship and context-based typology. According to their typology, there are four groups in which stalkers can be classified: intimate, acquaintance, public figure, and private. ...
... Stalking laws, in their limited capacity to protect victims, are enforced by local agencies. Analyzing reports from police agencies and prosecutor's offices, Mohandie et al. (2006) reported that 59% of stalking incidents did not interfere with the victim's life or cause undue hardship, in the present study referred to as "invasion." However, it was also reported that violence occurred in over half of the cases. ...
The current research utilized the National Crime Victimization Survey Supplemental Victimization Survey to investigate stalking in the United States. These data, collected from stalking victims, address the relationship between victims' perceptions of the stalker's motives on two post‐victimization outcomes. Specifically, we examined the relationship between the victim's assessment of motive and the degree of harm they reported, along with exploring the relationship between harm and the likelihoods of engaging in self‐protective behaviors. Here, harm was measured through an index of specific fears, concerns, and emotional distresses. We found that the frequency of stalking behaviors, the duration of the stalking experience, and the overall invasiveness of the victimization, in addition to certain motives, were positively correlated with harm. Furthermore, we found that harm was positively correlated with a number of protective actions. For researchers, this work may serve to provide entry points in the development of new grounded theory. For practitioners in law enforcement, this work may provide insights into the invasive nature of stalking and the fear and harm caused to the victim.
... Stalking can be defined as a course of conduct that creates a threat and fear or concern for safety in the target (Logan & Walker, 2017). Additionally, a history of abuse, threats, and violence toward intimate partners are risk factors for stalking persistence, escalation, and life sabotage as well as violence within the context of stalking (Eke et al., 2011;Ferreira & Matos, 2013;Gibson et al., 2020;Logan, 2017;McEwan et al., 2007;Mohandie et al., 2006;Rosenfeld, 2004;Sheridan & Roberts, 2011). Although significant work has been done on risk factors for intimate partner revictimization and lethality (Petrosky et al., 2017;Salari & Sillito, 2016;Spencer & Stith, 2020), more limited research has been done on risk factors within the stalking context to differentiate higher risk cases (Logan & Walker, 2017), which is problematic, in part, because stalking is often not taken seriously by the justice system Lynch & Logan, 2015;Ngo, 2019Ngo, , 2020Taylor-Dunn et al., 2021). ...
There has been more limited research on risk factors for stalking dangerousness and on factors that overlap between intimate and nonintimate violence. In 2022, the majority of the mass killings were done by individuals with far-right extremist beliefs, making extremist beliefs a risk factor for mass violence. However, far-right extremist beliefs have not been explored within partner abuse and stalking situations. The present study examines stalking victim’s reports of their ex-partner far-right extremist beliefs with intimate and nonintimate threats of violence. Ex-partner stalking victims identified through screening were invited to participate in an online survey about their relationship abuse and stalking experiences. Three groups were used to examine associations, including victims who reported their ex-partner: (a) did not hold any extremist beliefs (n = 191), (b) had some (one or two) extremist beliefs (n = 191), and (c) had 3+ extremist beliefs (n = 179). Results found that far-right extremist beliefs were associated with violence involvement, threats toward the victim, and threats toward others after controlling for victim age, length of time since last stalking incident, abuse, and ex-partner problem behavior. These results suggest that far-right extremist beliefs may be an important risk factor overlapping intimate and nonintimate threats and violence. Future research is needed to better understand overlapping risk factors between intimate and nonintimate violence as well as how to best disrupt violence when threats are made by abusive and stalking ex-partners.
... Intimate partner violence can also take the form of stalking. The relationship between stalking and IPV cannot be overemphasized, as the lion share of the total number of stalking cases are perpetrated by intimate partners (Mohandie et al., 2006;Roberts & Dziegielewski, 2006;Tjaden, & Thoennes, 1998). Stalking is often an indicator or prelude to other forms of violence and perpetrators use it to control and intimidate their victims (Roberts, & Dziegielewski, 2006). ...
Little or nothing is really known about a man’s victimization in a domestic violence situation. Generally, domestic violence is viewed from the lens of a woman with the typical idea that women are the victims while men, are the perpetrators of violence. Over time, this societal perception is beginning to subside as researchers have proven that men are also victims of domestic violence (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980). Despite this revelation, not much is known about male victimization as most men prefer not to report their victimization. This study examines the reasons for not reporting victimization and the effect of this decision on men. The study does so by employing a cross-sectional research carried out in 1994-1996, that was designed to assess the prevalence and impact of violence and threat of violence on women and men across the United States.
... As mentioned previously, this is likely an inflation of the true reoffending rate because this is optimally calculated from when the health intervention concludes, and this date was not captured by IASU in the tight project timescales. The reoffending rate presented is lower than the 60% persistence rate found by Mohandie et al. (2006) which was the most comparable study based on sample type (community based), intervention type (threat assessment and legal) and included ex-intimate partners in the sample (see Appendix). Although with a small sample such as the one here it is naturally prudent to advise caution on the reliability of these results. ...
... Eles podem ser identificados como ex-parceiros, familiares, amigos, conhecidos ou completos estranhos. Todavia, segundo Mohandie et al (2006), o crime é cometido mais predominantemente por ex-parceiros, os quais apresentam "maior risco de violência física, de persistência e reincidência dos comportamentos". ...
A violência contra a mulher é um fenômeno que atinge diversas esferas da sociedade e causa danos irreparáveis às vítimas, tal qual suas tipologias se reconfiguram de acordo com a mudança social e histórica. Todavia, pesquisas voltadas aos agressores que praticam tal crime ainda são escassas na literatura brasileira. O objetivo foi analisar o perfil sociodemográfico, familiar e psicossocial e tipos de violência contra a mulher praticados por homens, no município de Chapecó, Santa Catarina, Brasil, no ano de 2022 e as características dos ofensores que cometeram o crime de stalking. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem mista, cujo método é quantitativo e qualitativo, de tipo descritiva exploratória. Foi aplicada uma entrevista semiestruturada com 4 homens que cometeram algum tipo de violência contra a mulher. Além disso, foram coletados os dados secundários a partir de 698 Boletins de Ocorrência (B.O), vinculados ao Sistema Integrado de Segurança Pública (SISP), do ano de 2022, com acesso por meio do programa de Proteção à Mulher da Polícia Militar de Santa Catarina, Rede Catarina. Os resultados obtidos constaram que o perfil de agressores é predominantemente do sexo masculino, média de 37 anos de idade, solteiro e ex-companheiros da vítima. O tipo de violência mais praticada foi a psicológica (81,4%). O crime de stalking apresenta 4,9% e embora reconhecidamente novo da tipificação, tem sua incorrência e importância. A dependência emocional, a raiva, o ciúme e a posse estão ligados a violência contra a mulher e esse crime causa impactos a longo prazo para os agressores também.
... Several stalking typologies have been proposed over the years. Of these, Racine and Billick (2014) identified three of the most common stalking typologies: (i) Zona's Stalker-Victim Types (Zona et al., 1993), (ii) Mullen's Stalker Typology (Mullen et al., 1999) and (iii) the RECON Typology of Stalking (Mohandie et al., 2006). Mullen's typology classification system for stalking cases has become a popular system both within academic literature and within clinical practice, incorporated into the Stalking Risk Profile assessment tool (MacKenzie et al., 2009). ...
Despite an increasing number of studies which examine the interplay between autism and offending mechanisms, there has been a lack of research investigating the interplay between autism and stalking. It was anticipated that findings from this investigation would inform future interventions with individuals with autism who stalk. This secondary data analysis research used a qualitative case study approach to explore the experiences of an individual with a High Functioning Autism (HFA) diagnosis, who had been convicted of stalking. Interview data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to gain a rich understanding of stalking behaviour from the perspective of the individual and to identify the key issues associated with Criminal Justice Service interventions. The following superordinate themes were identified; 'What she means to me', 'Problematic, but unstoppable'' and 'Life after prison'. A key implication of the findings was that autistic traits can play a contextual role within stalking behaviour. Future recommendations of a specifically tailored treatment approach recognising and considering autism-related responsivity issues are discussed.
... Other stalking typologies include Mohandie et al. (2006) RECON typology, which proposed four distinct categories of stalking perpetrator based on the perpetrator-victim relationship and context of the behavior. An early typology by Zona et al. (1998) also identified three categories of stalking perpetrator, based on the perpetrator-victim relationship and motivation for the stalking behavior. ...
... Stalking is "the unwanted activities and behaviors exhibited from one individual to another," and it often happens in tandem with or following other types of physical or non-physical abuse (White et al., 2020, p.3). White and colleagues (2020) conducted analyses on 1,626 stalking victim reports and discovered that stalking happened from ex-intimate partners significantly more than from acquaintances and strangers. Stalking can be a form of sexual misconduct when it is based on gender or associated with an intimate partner relationship, and it is often a precursor to sexual abuse (Mohandie et al., 2006). ...
Domestic abuse has long been regarded as a significant public health issue, but intimate partner violence cases increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading some reporters to label it as “an opportunistic infection.” The United Nations attributed the increase in domestic abuse to COVID-19 quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, which forced victims to remain trapped in their homes with their abusers. Cosmetics brand, Avon, which has a history of responding to women’s health issues, launched the #IsolatedNotAlone abuse intervention campaign on its social media platforms. The campaign sought to educate the public about the ubiquitousness of domestic abuse and inform victims about available intervention resources. The #IsolatedNotAlone campaign was most active during the spring and summer months of 2020. During that time, the campaign reached an estimated 2.9 million social media users and provided supportive services to nearly 16,000 domestic abuse survivors. Although the campaign was a success, it didn’t reach near as many social media users as other abuse-related initiatives, like the #MeToo movement, which achieved 12 million reposts within its first 24 hours.
This dissertation explores the usefulness of the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) for understanding how publics organize and react to #IsolatedNotAlone and similar abuse intervention campaigns. STOPS is commonly used to examine public reactions to organizational crises and health messages, and this dissertation took a deeper dive into its applications for online health interventions. The research questions ask how situational antecedents, as outlined in STOPS, motivate social media users to learn more about domestic abuse, and how situational motivations and referent criteria influence the communicative actions of social
media users. Additionally, the research questions ask how communicative behaviors influence online social support group formation and organization. The sample in this research included
ethnically diverse men, women, and non-binary participants who identified as white, Black, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic. I chose to keep the sample demographics wide because I wanted to better understand how diverse people experience and understand domestic abuse and domestic abuse intervention messages, and their motivations for communicating or not communicating about abuse. Twenty-eight social media users participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews via telephone or Zoom. The data suggests social media users with alike situational antecedents are similarly motivated to communicate about domestic abuse interventions unless they individually recognize significant constraints. Individuals with strong problem recognition and involvement recognition display a wider range of communicative
actions than those with low problem recognition and involvement recognition. Based on the findings, this study produces practical implications for abuse intervention message design and distribution. The findings also demonstrate that STOPS has some utility for understanding public response to health intervention messages, though the framework may require adaptation for
use in future online health communication initiatives. The data suggest that referent criteria, time, and power have a larger role in online health communication and influence audience members’ problem recognition, involvement recognition, and communicative actions.
... While victims of cyberstalking are more likely to experience stalking by strangers relative to victims of traditional stalking, they are still at increased susceptibility to being the target of current or former intimate partners relative to non-intimate perpetrators Reyns et al., 2012;Roberts 2008). Intimate partner perpetrators appear to impose more harm (e.g., severer threats, stalking violence) and persistence, relative to non-intimate perpetrators (Barnes & Biros, 2007;Björklund et al., 2010;Mohandie et al., 2006;White et al., 2020). Illustrating the differential impact of cyberstalking by an intimate partner relative to other nonstrangers or strangers, findings by Fissel and Reyns (2020) suggest that cyberstalking victims are significantly less likely to report experiencing school, work, and social consequences if the cyberstalker was a stranger or a non-stranger other than an intimate partner. ...
... Stalking victimization is not always veiled threats but also results in violence and property damage (Hall, 1998;Meloy, 1996;Mullen et al., 2000;Pathé & Mullen, 1997;Slashinski et al., 2003;Tjaden & Thonenes, 1998). Mohandie et al. (2006) used a nonrandom sample of 1,005 North American stalkers, not victims, and found 46% were violent towards and 26% damaged or stole property from their victims and this was most common when they had an intimate relationship with the victim. Using the prior SVS in 2006, Baum et al. (2009) found 21% of stalking victims reported the offender attacked them, 15% reported the stalker attacked another person or pet, and over 24% reported property damage. ...
Victims of stalking use multiple help-seeking behaviors including reporting their experiences to the police, obtaining a restraining order, blocking communication, and relying on informal social networks like friends, family, or therapists. The goal of this study is to, first, identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on their help-seeking behaviors. Next, we identify the direct effect of sex, victim-offender relationship, and offense severity on class membership. Finally, we include negative emotions as a mediating effect. Using the 2016 National Crime Victimization Survey's Supplemental Victimization Survey data, latent class analysis was utilized to identify class membership among 1,459 stalking victims. The results indicate three groups: passive help-seekers, informal help-seekers, and active help-seekers. We found that females are more likely to be assigned to the active or informal group and these two groups appear to experience more severe stalking behaviors compared to the passive group. Specifically, victims were less likely to ask for help actively and ask family, friends, and non-professional people for help for whom stalking took place by other/unable to identify individuals. Victims whose stalkers had a criminal record, whose stalkers threatened themselves or others, as well as who suffered stalking lasting for months and the most often were more likely to ask for help actively and ask family, friends, and non-professional people for help. The significance of victims' perceptions of severity of both groups is only partially mediated by negative emotions.
... Estudos apontam que a maioria das pessoas que sofrem com stalking e cyberstalking é constituída por mulheres (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016;Choon & Sheridan, 2017;Pires, Sani & Soeiro, 2018), perseguidas majoritariamente por homens, sendo esses em grande parte ex-parceiros íntimos (Mohandie et al., 2006;Spitzberg & Cupach, 2007), seguidos de conhecidos, e por último, estranhos (Løkkegaard, Hansen, Bianca Zambelli Alves, Anna Júlia Zanella Machado Carrion, Bianca Ferro Cortazzi de Oliveira, Clarissa De Antoni __________________________________________________________________________________________ 547 Contextos Clínicos, v. 15, n. 2, mai./ago. 2022 Wolf & Elklit, 2019). ...
Os comportamentos do stalking são consideradas manifestações que ocorrem do stalker para com a vítima, perpassando os âmbitos público e privado, e podendo ocorrer por meios virtuais e físicos. O stalker é aquele que persegue, importuna e causa prejuízos na vida da vítima de forma incessante e insistente. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar, agrupar e nomear os diversos tipos de comportamento do stalking a partir da experiência de seis jovens mulheres, vítimas de comportamento do stalking. Foram aplicados um questionário sociodemográfico e entrevista semiestruturada. A partir do método de Análise Temática, identificou-se diferentes tipos de comportamentos do stalking, sendo divididos em três temáticas principais: comportamentos típicos, comportamentos ameaçadores e comportamentos bizarros. Os típicos foram caracterizados pelas perseguições, como as abordagens presenciais e comunicações inconvenientes; os ameaçadores marcados pelas ameaças do stalker em fazer algum mal para a vítima, seja contra algum aspecto de sua vida, ou até mesmo uma ameaça suicida; e os bizarros caracterizados pela sua excentricidade, como a entrega de presentes hiper personalizados, demonstrações peculiares de afeto e comportamentos imitativos. Entende-se que todos os comportamentos relatados causam diversos prejuízos às vítimas, e que merecem mais estudos, visto a falta desta temática na literatura.
... Several studies suggest that stalkers do threaten their victims with weapons, particularly (ex)partner stalkers (Campbell et al., 2003;Logan & Walker, 2010a;Mohandie et al., 2006). One study found that three-quarters of women who experienced threats with a firearm from an abusive (ex)partner were also stalked . ...
This study examined relationship abuse, firearm threats, and threat credibility factors as well as help‐seeking for (ex)partner‐stalking victims with partners who did (n = 153) and did not own guns (n = 263). Victims with (ex)partners who owned guns experienced increased coercive control and physical violence, a longer duration of stalking, and more threats during the relationship and during the course of stalking. Victims reported that (ex)partner gun owners had more extremist beliefs and other risk factors, and more of them believed their (ex)partner was extremely capable of harming them. Most, regardless of partner gun ownership, turned to informal sources of help, while about one‐quarter of victims whose partners did not own guns tried to obtain a protective order or talked to police, compared to about 40% of stalking victims with abusers who owned guns. Fear of harm from guns, coercive control during the relationship, and believing their partner was capable of harming harm them were all associated with an increased number of help‐seeking sources whereas being threatened with a firearm and abuser gun ownership were not.
... Antra, Lietuvoje atliktų tyrimų rezultatai leidžia teigti, kad mūsų šalies persekiojimo mastai yra panašūs į kitose šalyse (Matos et al. 2019;Smith et al. 2017; Villacampa, Pujols 2019) fiksuojamus šio reiškinio mastus ir formas, kuomet dominuoja intymaus partnerio persekiojimo atvejai. Tiek mūsų, tiek užsienio šalių (pavyzdžiui, Logan 2020; Mohandie et al. 2006) tyrimų rezultatai atskleidžia ganėtinai platų intymaus partnerio persekiotojų elgesio spektrą, taip pat didesnę fizinio smurto prieš auką riziką, lyginant su kitų tipų persekiotojais. Vadinasi, atsižvelgiant į intymaus partnerio persekiotojų potencialiai keliamą didesnį pavojų ir siekiant tinkamo -ne tik teisinio -reagavimo, persekiojimo reiškinį dažnu atveju derėtų sieti su smurto artimoje aplinkoje atvejais pasireiškiančiu elgesiu bei numatyti persekiojimo riziką mažinančias ir aukos saugumą užtikrinančias priemones, suteikiant nukentėjusiems nuo persekiojimo asmenims specializuotą kompleksinę pagalbą ir užtikrinant persekiotojų atsakomybę. ...
Stalking is considered a serious public health problem as well as a harmful form of victimization often leading to severe consequences for the victim. Although there is still little agreement on the exact definition of stalking, it has been recognized that the core elements of stalking include deliberateness and recurrence of the stalker’s actions as well as victim fear and concern for safety. The main purpose of this article is to debate on the definition of stalking as well as provide the rates of stalking in Lithuania. Authors conclude that stalking refers to a constellation of a diverse range of actions and may include both direct communication with the victim and the use of cyberspace technologies. A rapid development of modern digital technologies leads to a wide variety of complex stalking behavior patterns that makes it complicated to generate an adequate legal response to this phenomenon. The results of a public survey conducted by a research group from the Law Institute of the Centre for Social Sciences in 2021 show that the rates of stalking in Lithuania are comparable to those reported in foreign studies as 17.5% of Lithuanian population have experienced stalking at least once during their lifetime. Stalking by the current or former intimate partner was the most prevalent stalking category, as it comprised nearly 39% of all stalking cases in the state. The article also covers some aspect of court practices in stalking-related cases during the period from 2016 to 2020, before anti-stalking legislation was introduced in Lithuania. By year 2021, when stalking was criminalized in Lithuania, 23 European Union member countries have managed to develop criminal anti-stalking legislation. Another aim of this article is to discuss the way criminal anti-stalking legislation was introduced in Lithuania and compare Lithuanian approach to the legal provisions enacted in other countries. Authors conclude that although the introduction of criminal anti-stalking legislation in Lithuania was an important step towards ensuring victims’ safety, it still may possibly lead to some practical issues during the criminal investigation of stalking cases.
Zusammenfassung
Stalking äußert sich oft durch eine Reihe von Verhaltensweisen, die einzeln betrachtet gesellschaftlich oder rechtlich angemessen sein können, wie Textnachrichten, Telefonanrufe oder Geschenke. Aufgrund seiner komplexen und mehrdeutigen Natur ist die Formulierung einer umfassenden rechtlichen Definition schwierig, was wiederum eine effektive strafrechtliche Verfolgung behindert. International stellt Stalking eine Straftat dar, die erhebliche Herausforderungen für Ermittlungs- und Strafverfolgungsbehörden mit sich bringt, wobei die Verurteilungsrate im Verhältnis zu den polizeilich angezeigten Fällen auffallend niedrig ist. Daher ist das Verständnis der Entscheidungsprozesse von Polizisten und Juristen in Stalking-Fällen von hoher Relevanz. Diese Studie stellt eine der ersten experimentellen Untersuchungen zur Bewertung spezifischer polizeilicher Maßnahmen und rechtlicher Konsequenzen in Stalking-Situationen dar.
212 Polizei- und 149 Jurastudierende bearbeiteten vier Vignetten, in welchen das Verhältnis zwischen Opfer und Täter (Fremder, Bekannter, Ex-Partner, mit und ohne vorheriger Gewalt) und deren Geschlecht variierte. Die Teilnehmenden bewerteten die Angemessenheit verschiedener polizeilicher Maßnahmen (z. B. Ingewahrsamnahme, Gefährderansprache) und mögliche Verfahrensausgänge (z. B. Verurteilungen, Geldstrafen, Haftstrafen, Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich) sowie die Angemessenheit der bestehenden Gesetzgebung.
Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Geschlecht der Teilnehmenden in beiden Stichproben einen minimalen Einfluss hatte. Allerdings beeinflussten die Art der Beziehung zwischen Opfer und Täter sowie deren Geschlechter die Bewertungen der angemessenen polizeilichen Maßnahmen und rechtlichen Folgen erheblich. Interessanterweise bewerteten die Jurastudierenden die meisten rechtlichen Maßnahmen als angemessener als die Polizeistudierenden, die im Gegenzug die Stalking-Gesetzgebung als weniger ausreichend ansahen.
Diese Befunde werden im Kontext der vorangegangenen Forschung zu Stalking-Wahrnehmungen und ihren praktischen Implikationen für die Strafverfolgungsbehörden diskutiert.
Understanding the predictors of stalking victimization, help-seeking behaviors of stalking victims, and their reporting to police can help law enforcement and advocates improve systems and ensure they are accessible and useful to victims. Existing stalking research focuses heavily on campus-based stalking, non-nationally representative populations, and/or dated data collection methods, such as the 2006 National Crime Victimization Survey, Supplemental Victimization Survey (NCVS-SVS), an instrument that has been updated according to current stalking definitions. This study employs the latest 2019 NCVS-SVS to analyze its new stalking screening questions and additional variables. We identified predictors of (a) stalking victimization, (b) help-seeking from victim-serving agencies, (c) help-seeking from personal networks, and (d) reporting to police. Predictors of stalking victimization included younger age, identifying as female, identifying as not heterosexual, household incomes below $50,000, and any college attendance. Victims who knew their offenders (intimate or non-intimate) were more likely than victims of stranger stalking to seek help from victim-serving agencies and personal networks. Younger victims were more likely to seek help from personal networks. None of the variables we examined predicted reporting to police. This study shows the characteristics of stalking victims have stayed consistent over time but highlights an ongoing need for resources for victims of stranger stalking, who may not know about or be able to access stalking services that are offered by intimate partner violence agencies. Future research around stalking victim characteristics should focus on populations that are newly included in national stalking data, such as those who identify as transgender and sexual identity minorities.
Background
High levels of harassment and threats against parliamentarians are being reported internationally, especially in the social media space. This is occurring alongside changes in our social landscape, with increasing political polarisation and the ongoing ramifications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Harassment of politicians has been shown to have implications for psychological wellbeing and physical safety.
Objectives
To investigate harassment and violence towards parliamentarians in the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery era, including whether there had been a change in its nature and quantity, and to explore the contribution of social media.
Methods
A survey of all New Zealand’s parliamentarians was fielded in 2022, focusing on their experiences of harassment analysed quantitatively and with manifest and latent content analysis of free text responses. Data were disaggregated and compared by gender. Secondary analyses were conducted on similar data collected from parliamentarians in 2014 to compare trends over time.
Findings
We obtained a cleaned achieved survey sample of 54 Members of Parliament (MPs). Harassment was reported by 98% of respondents, ranging from disturbing communication to actual physical violence. The vast majority of MPs endorsed multiple modalities of harassment occurring on multiple occasions. Ninety-six percent of MPs had been harassed over social media, with over half being threatened, including threats of physical violence (40%), sexual violence (14%), threats made towards MP’s family members (19%), threats towards staff (12%), and death threats (27%). Almost all forms of harassment had increased significantly since 2014. Most MPs reported experiencing abuse related to the Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. lockdowns and vaccine mandates). Many MPs commented that the frequency and intensity of abuse increased markedly during the COVID pandemic and had not subsequently abated. Women were at significantly higher risk of certain types of social media harassment including gendered abuse, sexualised comments, threat of sexual violence, and threats toward their family.
Conclusion
Harassment of parliamentarians is an escalating issue. Online threats and misogyny are increasingly apparent. This harassment has significant psychosocial costs for victims, their family and staff, and for democratic processes.
This study was carried out to develop guidelines for more appropriate interventions for people who stalk following the enforcement of the Stalking Crime Punishment Act. By content analysis, 407 cases of the first trial judgment data from the start of the stalking punishment law application were collected and substituted with categorical data. Three types of stalking persons—Aggressors, Indirect Contactors, and Approachers—were created by latent class analysis. Notable distinctions emerged among these types, encompassing criminal history, mental health, online sexual crimes, and the frequency of contact. For instance, Aggressors were individuals who displayed aggressive behaviors most frequently; Indirect Contactors engaged in online sexual harassment against victims; and Approachers approached victims without mutual agreement. Therefore, considering these findings would hold great significance when approaching individuals who engage in stalking with a more comprehensive understanding. This approach aims to provide insights to enhance criminal responses and practices in South Korea.
Stalking perpetrators may suffer from maladaptive personality traits, particularly if they stalk in the context of an (ex-)intimate relationship. To date, no study has examined how different personality attributions may relate to stalker motivation, or the behaviors they engage in, and how this differs across victim-perpetrator relationships. Further, the perspective of the victim is often not taken into consideration, even though most stalking victims know their stalker intimately and a majority are stalked by a former or current partner. The present study employed a correlational design to assess the relationship between stalking behaviors, motivation to stalk, and personality attributions, as perceived by the victim across an ex-intimate or other victim-perpetrator relationship. The study sample consisted of 100 victims of stalking (63% ex-intimate; 85% female) who were recruited through a National Stalking Helpline. Results align with and extend the results of previous researchers, most notably the high proportion of reported Cluster B-aligned personality attributions among stalkers, as well as the proportion of more under-researched personality attributions, and their associated risks. Victims of an ex-intimate partner were more likely to report their stalker was motivated by intimacy, and personality attributions aligned with both borderline and paranoid PD were more often reported than in other relationship contexts. Results and clinical implications are discussed.
Classification systems of stalking have predominantly focussed on adults, particularly men, thus neglecting younger individuals falling within the ‘adolescent’ demographic. Despite there being a growing body of evidence to suggest otherwise, stalking by adolescents has been thought rare and downplayed as innocent infatuations, or indeed ‘puppy love’. In the absence of psychological theory accounting for adolescent stalking, classification systems have emerged in an attempt to capture the complexity of this behaviour, as well as inform risk management and intervention. However, the dearth of empirical investigation on this topic has meant that such systems remain underdeveloped and are primarily based on case study information. This chapter will offer an overview of classification systems for adolescent stalking, attending to these in the context of adult stalking, which has received greater empirical attention by comparison. Key differences and similarities will be noted and accompanied by a consideration of what this means for risk management.KeywordsClassificationTypologyAdolescentStalkingRisk Management
The current criminal justice system has limitations in providing victim protection services before stalking victims actively request intervention. Therefore, this study aims to report to investigative agencies such as the police and propose measures to diagnose the risk on their own and prevent additional serious criminal damage to potential victims before protection is made. This study proposes the development of a victim's risk self-diagnosis tool from a stalking risk assessment tool through a review of previous studies. Specifically, it was suggested to consider the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and to select and utilize common risk factors from existing risk assessment tools. In addition, a procedure is required to objectively confirm the victim's subjective risk perception. As a result of self-diagnosis of stalking victims, it was proposed to provide customized crime victim safety measures according to the risk level of stalking victims, secure the effectiveness of access restriction orders through the introduction of two-way electronic supervision.
Stalklama ya da diğer bir deyişle ısrarlı takip mağdurun yaşam kalitesini önemli ölçüde tehlikeye atabilecek yaygın bir suçtur. Bu nedenle bireysel düzeyde ve toplumsal müdahale düzeyinde çok boyutlu psikososyal ve kriminolojik yaklaşımlar gerektirmektedir. Stalklamanın hukuki ve hukuki olmayan (araştırma, klinik çalışmalar vb.) tanımlamaları ülkeden ülkeye ve hatta eyaletten eyalete değişiklik göstermektedir. Tüm bu tanımlamalarda, ısrarlı bir şekilde yapılan eylemler örüntüsünün kişide huzursuzluk yaratması ve güvenlik endişesi oluşturması; ısrarlı takip literatüründeki ortak unsurlardandır. Ülkemize bakıldığında, 12/05/2022 tarih ve 31848 sayılı Resmî Gazete’de yayınlanan Türk Ceza Kanunu ve Bazı Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun ile ısrarı takip suçu tanımlanmıştır. Partner ısrarlı takibi ise, partner ya da eski partner tarafından yapılan özel bir stalklama biçimidir. Çeşitli nedenlerden dolayı partnerin ya da eski partnerin ısrarlı takibinin sonuçları daha yıkıcı olabilmektedir. Partner takibini etkili bir şekilde ele almak için, onun incelikli ve açık dinamiklerini anlamak önemlidir. Bu dinamikleri anlamak, kadınların güvenliğinin nasıl arttırılabileceği hem yasal süreçler yoluyla hem de genel anlamda kadınların bu süreçle başa çıkma stratejilerini geliştirmeleri ve ısrarlı takiple ilişkili stresten kurtulmalarına yardımcı olmak için bilgi sağlayabilir. Bu nedenle, bu derleme çalışmasında öncelikle partner ısrarlı takibinin ne olduğu, saldırganın ve mağdurun özellikleri, ısrarlı takip taktikleri anlatılacaktır.
Stalking poses a serious problem to the criminal legal system as solutions for legal consequences, victim protection, and offender treatment and rehabilitation remain underdeveloped. This review of the literature on stalking provides an overview of the characteristics of stalking perpetrators, theories behind stalking behavior, impact on victims, and strategies and interventions to manage offenders. Additionally, this entry addresses common misperceptions regarding the links between stalking, mental illness, and physical violence, and the directions for future research.
Stalking victimization, regardless of victim–stalker relationship, has been associated with negative consequences including high fear levels, mental health problems, and resource losses. Much of the research on stalking has focused on (ex)partner stalking victim experiences and consequences; however, many women are stalked by acquaintances. This is one of the first studies to examine acquaintance stalking victims who did ( n = 140) and who did not ( n = 222) experience negative work consequences from stalking victimization. Results found that just over half of the acquaintance stalking victims indicated the stalker was someone from work or school. Overall, many acquaintance stalking victims regardless of work losses experienced work interference, although those with work losses experienced increased work interference and job performance problems. Additionally, stalking victims with negative work consequences experienced more stalking threats, life interference, more non-work-related resource losses, and had higher stalking-related fear levels than victims without work losses. Regardless of group, stalking victims lost an average of nine different resources other than work losses, and resource losses were associated with current negative mental health symptoms and help-seeking. Help-seeking, outside of friends or family, even though they endured stalking for an average of almost 2 years, was low for all of the victims. However, acquaintance stalking victims with work losses sought help from more sources on average. Implications from this study suggest that safety at work should be a primary concern for all types of stalking victims, and workplace policies should consider stalking as a separate category of victimization.
Stalking is a pattern of unwanted following that threatens the safety and well being of the victim. It is a crime throughout the English-speaking world, and in many other countries. Most victims of stalking are women, and most stalkers are men. The most likely victims of stalking are young women who have had a prior sexually intimate relationship with the perpetrator. In these cases, risk of physical violence during the stalking is high, occurring in at least one in five cases. Threats are very common, and are related to risk of violence. Among those who stalk strangers or acquaintances, risk of physical violence is significantly less, but stalking often persists for longer periods, particularly when the stalker is affected by psychosis. Effective risk management of stalking cases usually depends on a combination of mental health and law enforcement intervention, and there remains a lack of research about effective ways to treat stalking behavior.
Research has identified several strategies victims adopt to deter unwanted conduct from stalkers. Whether such strategies are effective, however, is relatively unknown. Using stalking data from the 2016 National Crime Victimization Survey, the current study examines the effectiveness of safety strategies as a deterrent and whether effects are conditioned by how victims know their stalker. Victims who restricted digital access or involved the police were more likely to report the unwanted conduct had stopped, net of victim and situational contexts. These findings were consistent regardless of whether victims were pursued by intimate partner versus non-partner stalkers. The success of strategies was not universal and what works to deter stalkers was related to victim characteristics, duration, and having access to resources.
The overwhelming scope and range of negative impacts of IPV are well-documented. Research underscores that IPV victims/survivors most often experience multiple forms of abuse. Mental health professionals are uniquely positioned through their close and confidential relationship with clients to promote a woman's physical and mental health safety. This chapter reviews the prevalence of IPV in general and clinical populations, describes the forms of abuse, and focuses on critical components of clinical care when working with IPV victim/survivors.
There is limited information available on the phenomenon of stalking in the Asian context, especially in mainland China. This study investigated individuals' perceptions of stalking behavior, the motives of stalkers, and the effective strategies for coping with stalking victimization in a sample of 985 young adults (aged 18–33 years) from Liaoning province in mainland China. The influence of specific demographic (i.e., age, sex, religiosity, and education) and psychosocial (i.e., social bonds and self‐control) characteristics on individuals' perceptions of effective coping strategies for stalking victimization were also examined. In general, men and women held significantly different perceptions of stalking behavior, stalkers' motives, and strategies that were considered effective for coping with stalking. Multivariate analyses indicated that a low educational level was significantly associated with the perception that avoidant tactics constituted an effective strategy for coping with stalking victimization. Moreover, individuals with lower educational levels and stronger social bonds tended to perceive proactive and aggressive tactics to constitute an effective strategy for coping with stalking victimization. Finally, individuals with lower self‐control tended to endorse compliance tactics when coping with stalking victimization. In view of the devastating nature and consequences of stalking, the findings of this study highlight the need for anti‐stalking legislation in mainland China.
Purpose
This discussion paper aims to highlight the role of occupational therapy (OT) in understanding stalking and in interventions designed to assist the perpetrator to lead a more fulfilling life through healthier occupations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study highlights the role of OT in understanding stalking and in designing interventions to assist the perpetrator by extending discussions, drawing on the authors’ practitioner experiences and upon recent study findings on what drives men who stalk.
Findings
Stalking is a problem behaviour that is often effort-intense, all-consuming, emotionally driven and psychologically damaging for both victims and perpetrators. It consists of a patterned occupation of time which is overarchingly dysfunctional, yet intrinsically purposeful. As humans, our actions and occupations have meaning to us. Stalking can be conceptualised as a meaningful yet self-defeating and harmful pattern of occupations. This paper illustrates how stalking could be addressed through the additional contribution of OT to multi-agency approaches.
Research limitations/implications
This paper extends the discussion by drawing on the authors’ clinical practitioner experiences and upon recent study findings on what drives men who stalk.
Practical implications
This paper highlights the role of OT in understanding stalking and in interventions designed to assist the perpetrator to lead a more fulfilling life through healthier occupations.
Originality/value
This marriage of knowledge from OT and stalking research is set out in support of the application of OT within multi-agency approaches to working with people who stalk.
The objective of this paper is to address the empirical basis and forensic application of a bimodal theory of violence. The definitions of affective and predatory violence, the relevant animal and clinical research, and the current empirical evidence in neurochemistry, neuropsychology and psychophysiology are reviewed. Forensic evidence for the relevance of this bimodal theory is investigated. An appropriate methodology for data gathering, and two observational measures along with one self-report measure are explicated. Integration of this bimodal theory into forensic practice is suggested. Affective and predatory modes of violence represent an empirically valid bimodal theory of violence, find application in forensic psychiatry, and scientifically deepen the understanding of discrete violent acts for both retrospective and prospective psychiatric and psychological investigations. This bimodal theory of violence should have a place in forensic psychiatric practice.
A meta-analysis of 108 samples across 103 studies of stalking related phenomena, representing more than 70,000 participants, reveals an average prevalence across studies of 23.5% for women and 10.5% for men, with an average duration of al- most 2 years. The average proportion of female victims across studies was 75%, and 77% of stalking emerged from some form of prior acquaintance, with 49% originating from romantic relationships. New typologies of stalking behavior, cop- ing responses to stalking, and symptomology due to stalking victimization are re- ported. Across 42 studies, the average physical violence incidence was 33%, and 17 studies produced an average sexual violence incidence of slightly greater than 10%. A summary of 32 studies of restraining orders indicated that they are vio- lated an average of 40% of the time and are perceived as followed by worse events almost 21% of the time.
A nonrandom sample (N = 59) of “obsessional followers” charged with the crime of stalking and related offenses were studied to determine risk factors for violence. Sixty percent of the sample were physically violent toward person and/or property. Six dichoto-mous variables were selected a priori to determine their relationship, if any, to violence risk based upon previous research: prior sexual intimacy with the victim, major mental disorder, explicit threat toward the victim, personality disorder, chemical abuse/dependency, and prior criminal history. Those who were violent toward person and/or property were significantly more likely to have had a sexually intimate relationship with the victim, to have no major mental disorder, and to have made an explicit threat. A forward stepwise logistic regression found that only one variable-prior sexual intimacy-was necessary to predict violence, with an overall correct classification rate of 90%, sensitivity of 97%, specificity of 78%, positive predictive power of 89%, and negative predictive power of 93%.
Recent attention within the risk assessment literature has focused upon the nature of targeted violence (i.e., threat assessment). The present study analyzes 316 cases of threatening and inappropriate contacts toward members of the U.S. Congress and their staffs, with an in-depth analysis concerning the role pre-contact (e.g., prior threat, non-approach contact) and contact behaviors may have in influencing subsequent problematic approach. Contrary to previous research, nearly half of the approachers engaged in pre-approach contacts toward the target. Those subjects engaging in approach behavior were more likely to have had a history of prior contact with other federal law enforcement agencies, to utilize multiple methods of contact, and were less likely to have articulated threats prior to approach. Among those subjects engaging in physical approach toward a protectee, risk factors for pre-approach contacts also mirrored many of the approach risk factors, suggesting a subgroup of approachers who engage in more intensive contact behaviors.
In the last ten years diverse attempts have been made to produce classificatory systems of stalkers, each with a different objective. The classificatory system advanced in this study was developed to serve the needs of law enforcement professionals. Based on a large number of documented, real-life cases (n = 124), the system was designed to identify and partition offenders according to motivational orientation. Specifically, four principal classifications were identified: (1) ex-partner harassment/stalking; (2) infatuation harassment; (3) delusional fixation stalking; and (4) sadistic stalking. The implications for assessing threat and preliminary recommendations for case management were advanced for each type. Inter-rater reliability among forensic and non-forensic psychologists in the application of the system was high (pairwise minimum > 92%), supporting the view that this system could be readily assimilated and consistently applied by professionals working in the field.
Archival files of 25 forensic subjects whose alleged criminal offenses met a legal definition of stalking behavior were studied for demographic characteristics, -.. ';':.':-. stalking dynamics, psychosocial history, and current psychological variables. Although nearly one-third of all subjects had an Axis I psychotic disorder and were delusional, only one of these subjects had erotomanic delusions. The psychotic subjects' pursuit of victims was associated with other delusions and symptoms of psychosis. Nonpsychotic subjects tended to exhibit an Axis I disorder (usually major depression, adjustment disorder, or substance dependence) as well as a variety of Axis II personality disorders. The nonpsychotic sUbjects' pursuit of victims was influenced by various psychological factors, including anger and hostility, projection of blame, obsession, dependency, minimization and denial, and jealousy. Psychotic subjects visited the victims' homes significantly more often than nonpsychotic subjects. Nonpsychotic sUbjects made more verbal threats and "acted out" violently more often than psychotic subjects. While all subjects exhibited some similarities in stalking behaviors and demographic vari ables, including childhood attachment disruptions, no single profile of a "stalker" emerged.
Stalking has been viewed as an offense primarily related to either domestic violence or sexual predation. This article takes the approach that there are many different motives for stalking, not all of which are sexual. Records of obsessional harassers referred to the Bellevue Hospital Center Forensic Psychiatry Clinic for the New York County Criminal and Supreme Courts between 1987 and 1996 were studied with regard to classifying the relationship between the stalker and the target, the motive for the stalking, and whether violence was documented. The authors conclude that some individuals will harass a target for nonromantic reasons and that romantically motivated stalkers and nonromantically motivated stalkers are equally likely to act out violently. The authors also conclude that the threat of violence from obsessional stalkers should be taken seriously by targets, close associates of targets, and law enforcement personnel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
For decades, close relationships between firms and their suppliers and customers have been highly touted as a business strategy that can expand the pie of benefits for the parties involved. From 1996 to 2001, companies formed these relationships at a brisk pace : CEOs signed a partnership into existence every hour of every day, resulting in 57, 000 alliances over this six-year period. And economy grows, firms are continuing to rely on close collaborations to grow their pie of benefits. However, there is a persistent problem with this strategy that cannot be ignored : close relationships are not always synonymous with good relationships
Although previous studies of forensic and law enforcement stalking populations (Harmon, Rosner, & Owens, 1995; Meloy & Gothard, 1995; Zona, Sharma, & Lane, 1993) agree that the degree of intimacy of the victim-suspect relationship is an important factor in stalking cases, they have not conducted in-depth analyses of this variable. This study compared 223 intimate (n=135) and non-intimate (n=88) stalking cases managed by the Los Angeles Police Department's Threat Management Unit. A path analysis revealed a significant relationship between the stalkers' intimate versus non-intimate status and violence committed toward persons and property. This relationship was positively influenced by the suspect's level of proximity to the victim and threats toward the victim and property, but not influenced by suspect's criminal, psychiatric, and domestic violence histories. Overall, intimate relationship stalkers used more dangerous stalking behaviors than non-intimate relationship stalkers. Risk factors for assessing dangerousness of stalkers are discussed.
50 stalkers were assessed before their trials. Serious violence was significantly associated with previous sexual intimacy between stalker and victim; such stalkers were significantly less likely than those who stalked strangers to have psychotic illness.
Despite the rapidly growth of mental health attention focused on the phenomenon of stalking, no empirical research to date has attempted to assess the frequency of repeat offending or attempted to identify predictors of recidivism. A total of 148 stalking and harassment offenders who were court-ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation were followed for a period of 2.5-13 years in order to assess the frequency of repeat offenses and the variables that differentiated high versus low risk offenders. Recidivism data were obtained from a variety of sources, including criminal justice records, mental health records, and reports from probation officers and victims. A number of potential "predictor" variables were selected on the basis of the existing recidivism literature in other criminal justice populations. Frequency analysis were used to identify variables that significantly differentiated offenders who did and did not reoffened while survival analysis was used to analyze the impact of these covariates on time to reoffense. A total of 49% of the offenders reoffended during the follow-up period, 80% of whom reoffended during the first year. The strongest predictors of recidivism included the presence of a personality disorder, and in particular, a "Cluster B" personality disorder (i.e., antisocial, borderline, and/or narcissistic). In addition, those offenders with both a personality disorder and a history of substance abuse were significantly more likely to reoffened compared to either of these risk factors alone. Surprisingly, the presence of a delusional disorder (e.g., erotomania) was associated with a lower risk of reoffender. The findings are discussed in terms of the legal system and treatment implications.
This study examined the pattern of criminal convictions in persons with schizophrenia over a 25-year period marked by both radical deinstitutionalization and increasing rates of substance abuse problems among persons with schizophrenia in the community.
The criminal records of 2,861 patients (1,689 of whom were male) who had a first admission for schizophrenia in the Australian state of Victoria in 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995 were compared for the period from 1975 to 2000 with those of an equal number of community comparison subjects matched for age, gender, and neighborhood of residence.
Relative to the comparison subjects, the patients with schizophrenia accumulated a greater total number of criminal convictions (8,791 versus 1,119) and were significantly more likely to have been convicted of a criminal offense (21.6% versus 7.8%) and of an offense involving violence (8.2% versus 1.8%). The proportion of patients who had a conviction increased from 14.8% of the 1975 cohort to 25.0% of the 1995 cohort, but a proportionately similar increase from 5.1% to 9.6% occurred among the comparison subjects. Rates of known substance abuse problems among the schizophrenia patients increased from 8.3% in 1975 to 26.1% in 1995. Significantly higher rates of criminal conviction were found for patients with substances abuse problems than for those without substance abuse problems (68.1% versus 11.7%).
A significant association was demonstrated between having schizophrenia and a higher rate of criminal convictions, particularly for violent offenses. However, the rate of increase in the frequency of convictions over the 25-year study period was similar among schizophrenia patients and comparison subjects, despite a change from predominantly institutional to community care and a dramatic escalation in the frequency of substance abuse problems among persons with schizophrenia. The results do not support theories that attempt to explain the mediation of offending behaviors in schizophrenia by single factors, such as substance abuse, active symptoms, or characteristics of systems of care, but suggest that offending reflects a range of factors that are operative before, during, and after periods of active illness.
Stalking is now a major social and legal issue, as well as a clinical problem for mental health professionals. This absorbing and informative book draws on the authors' extensive experience of working with stalkers and their victims in the clinical setting. Topics covered include: • The growing recognition of stalking as an issue of public, legal and scientific concern • The definition, classification and epidemiology of stalking • The impact on victims, and how this may be reduced • Same-gender stalking, stalking by proxy, workplace stalking, and the stalking of professionals, such as doctors and teachers • The association of stalking with physical and sexual assault • Anti-stalking laws internationally • Support and practical advice for victims • Assessing and managing the stalker With many case histories, and an approach that is at once scholarly and highly practical, this will be the definitive guide and reference for anyone with a professional or academic interest in this complex behaviour.
Stalking has been viewed as an offense primarily related to either domestic violence or sexual predation. This article takes the approach that there are many different motives for stalking, not all of which are sexual. Records of obsessional harassers referred to the Bellevue Hospital Center Forensic Psychiatry Clinic for the New York County Criminal and Supreme Courts between 1987 and 1996 were studied with regard to classifying the relationship between the stalker and the target, the motive far the stalking, and whether violence was documented. The authors conclude that some individuals will harass a target for nonromantic reasons and that romantically motivated stalkers and nonromantically motivated stalkers are equally likely to act out violently. The authors also conclude that the threat of violence from obsessional stalkers should be taken seriously by targets, close associates of targets, and law enforcement personnel.
Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in an automobile accident on August 31, 1997. Millions grieved at the loss of what they felt to be a personal relationship with a woman they had never met. This chapter emphasizes that recognizing the force of fantasy as a central component of intense emotion and inexplicable behavior is the first step in understanding the psychology of stalking. Stalking is a crime involving acts of pursuit of an individual over times that are threatening and potentially dangerous. Clinical definitions of stalking vary, but tend to be more easily operationalized and measurable than legal definitions. In 1997 the Center for Policy Research in Denver published a study that reported the results of a telephone survey of 8000 men and 8000 women concerning their experiences with stalking. The findings of this survey indicate that stalking is a substantial criminal justice and public health concern. This chapter also discusses cyberstalking. Although there is no research on cyberstalking at present, there are legal cases, in which the Internet has been utilized as a means of unwanted communication to stalk someone.
High frequencies of violence are expected in stalking cases, particularly when the pursuer is a prior sexual intimate. If attacks occur against private individuals, the victim is unlikely to be seriously injured, because the violence is affective and usually does not involve a weapon. The violent stalking of public figures, however, is a predatory mode of violence. A firearm is often used, and no threat is communicated directly beforehand. Violence toward prior sexual intimates in stalking cases is predicted by the intimacy itself, a history of criminal convictions, drug or alcohol abuse, threats, and the absence of a major mental disorder. Although violence frequencies are disturbingly high, risk of homicide is very low and occurs in only one out of 400 cases.
J.R. Meloy, The Psychology of Stalking. R. Saunders, The Legal Perspective on Stalking. K.K. Kienlen, Developmental and Social Antecedents of Stalking. M. Zona, R.E. Palarea, and J.C. Lane, Jr., Psychiatric Diagnosis and the Victim-Offender Typology of Stalking. G. Skoler, The Archetypes and Psychodynamics of Stalking. D.M. Hall, The Victims of Stalking. L.E. Walker and J.R. Meloy, Stalking and Domestic Violence. J.R. Lion and J.A. Herschler, The Stalking of Clinicians by their Patients. R.A. Fein and B. Vossekuil, Preventing Attacks on Public Officials and Public Figures: A Secret Service Perspective. R. Lloyd-Goldstein, De Clerambault On-Line: A Survey of Erotomania and Stalking from the Old World to the World Wide Web. J. Meyers, Cultural Factors in Erotomania and Obsessional Following. K. Mohandie, C. Hatcher, and D. Raymond, False Victimization Syndromes in Stalking. G.S. Lipson and M.J. Mills, Stalking, Erotomania, and the Tarasoff Cases. D. Westrup, Applying Functional Analysis to Stalking Behavior. S.G. White and J.S. Cawood, Threat Management of Stalking Cases. Index.
This article offers a structure for trying to distinguish between different types of stalking and for assessing the outcome of these different types of incidents. Using a law enforcement experiential paradigm, 10 stalking victims pilot-tested a questionnaire of 148 items. Revisions provided a 46-item checklist. In addition, 30 cases were used to pilot-test a typology of stalking based on the nature of the relationship—nondomestic or domestic; the content of communication—nondelusional or delusional; level of aggression—low, medium, or high; level of victim risk; motive of stalker; and outcome of case. Clinicians, investigators, judicial, and policy staff can utilize data from the Stalking Incident Checklist in their respective roles to provide for safety and protection of the victim and treatment and containment of the stalker.
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of stalking behavior and its impact upon some hostage and barricaded subject situations. Specific statistics are lacking about the frequency of stalking behavior in hostage/barricade scenarios; however, anecdotal evidence and indirect measures suggest that stalking behavior occurs as an antecedent with enough frequency to warrant attention to the phenomenon. For example, recent HOBAS data (FBI, December 9, 2002) pertaining to 3,547 subjects indicated that a current or prior restraining order was in effect in nearly eight percent of the situations and that the victim was a current or former spouse or significant other in nearly 19 percent of the situations where there was a victim (N = 934). Such statistics imply that stalking may be a fairly common background dynamic preceding and contributing to the development of hostage/barricade cases.
In this startling and complex investigation, Dr. Meloy begins with a simple, but profound question: why does most human violence occur between those who are emotionally involved, or more technically, within an attachment paradigm?
He finds answers by applying attachment theory in the tradition of Bowlby and Ainsworth, and object relations theory in the tradition of Klein, Jacobson, Mahler, and Kernberg, to case studies of bizarre and unusual homicides. These idiographic portraits illustrate erotomanic delusional disorder, chronic catathymia, the psychopath as love object, and assassination as a form of pathological attachment. He elucidates the ways in which certain psychodynamics that inexorably move toward murder can only exist within a fixated or regressed preoedipal personality structure. Such individuals are organized at a borderline or psychotic level, and most often utilize defenses of projection, projective identification, and omnipotent control.
This book is written for psychotherapists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and social workers in clinical and forensic practice. Biological foci include concepts about the deep limbic structures of the brain and the biochemistry that inhibits or disinhibits such violence. Psychological patterns include both psychoanalytic constructs and the specific psychological test data from the case studies that support such constructs. Social factors include the behavior of the victim and, in the case of assassination, the political acts that contribute to predatory violence. Dr. Meloy emphasizes the crucial need for mental health professionals to go beyond descriptive diagnoses and find the motivation and meaning of such acts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the characteristics of threatening and otherwise inappropriate letters sent to Hollywood celebrities by 214 Ss, who averaged 8 letters apiece. The authors quote excerpts from these letters, describe objects enclosed with them, and provide quantitative data on such variables as the (a) form, appearance, volume, and duration of such letters; (b) S's perceived relationship to the celebrity; (c) thematic content of the letters; and (d) messages and threats they communicate. Comparisons between 107 Ss who pursued encounters with the celebrities and 107 who did not revealed 15 factors associated with such pursuit. The presence or absence of threats was not associated with pursuit behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This landmark book on the psychodynamics of psychopathy is divided into four sections. Part I, "Origins," explores the history of the dynamic understanding of psychopathy and its psychobiological foundations. It offers an object-relational developmental theory to explain the gensis of psychopathy. Part II, "Structure and Dynamics," probes the conscious and unconscious mind of the psychopath along the dimensions of affective experience and defensive operations. . . . "Violence, Psychosis, and Related States," Part III, develops a differential model of human aggression as either affective or predatory and hypothesizes that the psychopathic process is partucarly suited to predatory violence. . . . The last section, "Treatment," focuses on resistances encountered in the patient and countertransference threats to successful treatment.
Clinicians will find this book helpful because it goes beyond description of behavior into the structure and functioning of the psychopathic mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Obsessional following is a “stalking” behavior in which a person engages in an abnormal or long-term pattern of threat or harassment directed toward a specific individual. In a review of preliminary research during the past 20 years, the author find 10 studies, all nonrandom samples of convenience, published between 1978 and 1995 in which obsessional followers charged with criminal behavior or investigated by law enforcement (N = 180) were identified. Aggregate data from these studies suggest that obsessional followers were likely to be males in their mid to late thirties with prior psychiatric and criminal histories. There was often a chronic history of failed heterosexual relationships and unemployment, but on average the subjects were more intelligent than other criminal offenders. Axis I mental disorders and Axis II personality disorders were common and varied. Approximately one-half of obsessional followers threatened the victims, but usually were not physically violent. Frequency of any personal violence, depending on the study, was 3–36%. Incidence of homicide was less than 2%. The author theorizes that obsessional followers, perhaps a subset of stalkers in general, evidence abnormal, “preoccupied” attachement patterns, their pursuit fueled by a distrubance in their narcissistic fantasy linking them to their victims. Such disruption is usually caused by an acute or chronic rejection that stimulates rage as a defense against shame.
The author hypothesizes that erotomania, or de Clérambault's syndrome, occurs in two forms: the clinically accepted delusional erotomania, in which patients believe that another person is in love with them; and borderline erotomania, in which no delusion is present, yet an extreme disorder of attachment is apparent in the pursuit of, and in the potential for violence toward, the unrequited love object. The author reviews the empirical literature concerning erotomania and then develops an object relations understanding of the disorder, focusing on the presence of narcissistic, hysterical, paranoid, and psychopathic traits in the erotomanic individual.
Synopsis
In anglophonic countries erotomania has traditionally been regarded as a female disorder of little more than curiosity value. The French literature recognizes the disorder in males, but as a rarity. In a recently collected group of violent male offenders the syndrome proved to be fairly common. The offending behaviour was invariably triggered by the core symptom. A description is provided of four cases whose level of aggression was low but appeared to be directly related to the firmness with which the delusion of being loved was held. The disorder of these men can be regarded as a variant of one of the major functional psychoses, but for the purposes of predicting behaviour and management there may be advantages in treating it as a syndrome in a similar taxonomic category as that of morbid jealousy.
Erotomania is the delusional belief that one is passionately loved by another. These persons often go to great lengths to approach their object of desire, often necessitating the attention of the law. We have reviewed a forensic sample to select subjects who meet criteria for the diagnosis of erotomania.
Case histories from all of the case files of the Threat Management Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department were reviewed to compare erotomanic subjects with those who were suffering from other disorders. Various demographic and other relevant data were examined to determine if the erotomanic subjects presented similar or different profiles.
I have offered ten guidelines for the clinical risk management of stalking: a team approach, personal responsibility for safety, documentation and recording, no initiated contact, protection orders, law enforcement and prosecution, treatment if indicated, segregation and incarceration, periodic violence risk assessment, and the importance of dramatic moments. Although criminal stalking is not expected in mental health practice, the interpersonal anguish that often erupts in psychotherapy, and the reporting of relational intrusions that disrupt the safety of treatment, may foreshadow such distressing and potentially dangerous behavior. It is my hope that the clinician will be prepared for such untoward events, and these guidelines will shape an appropriate professional response. For as Racine wrote in 1667, "The heart that can no longer love passionately, must with fury hate." (Andromache, 1, trans. Robert Henderson).
This study is the first operational exploration of the thinking and behavior of all 83 persons known to have attacked, or approached to attack, a prominent public official or public figure in the United States since 1949. In addition to data about each attack or near-attack and each subject's demographic and background characteristics, information was gathered about each subject's ideas and actions in the days and weeks before their attacks or near-lethal approaches. Questions were examined about each subject's movement from the idea of attack to actual attack, motives, selection of targets, planning, communication of threat and intent, symptoms of mental illness, and significant life experiences. In every case, the attack or near-attack was the end result of an understandable, and often discernible, process of thinking and action. Implications for protectors, investigators, and researchers are discussed.
This clinical study ws devised to elucidate the behaviors, motivations, and psychopathology of stalkers.
It concerned 145 stalkers referred to a forensic psychiatry center for treatment.
Most of the stalkers were men (79%, N = 114), and many were unemployed (39%, N = 56); 52% (N = 75) had never had an intimate relationship. Victims included ex-partners (30%, N = 44), professional (23%, N = 34) or work (11%, N = 16) contacts, and strangers (14%, N = 20). Five types of stalkers were recognized: rejected, intimacy seeking, incompetent, resentful, and predatory. Delusional disorders were common (30%, N = 43), particularly among intimacy-seeking stalkers, although those with personality disorders predominated among rejected stalkers. The duration of stalking was from 4 weeks to 20 years (mean = 12 months), longer for rejected and intimacy-seeking stalkers. Sixty-three percent of the stalkers (N = 84) made threats, and 36% (N = 52) were assaultive. Threats and property damage were more frequent with resentful stalkers, but rejected and predatory stalkers committed more assaults. Committing assault was also predicted by previous convictions, substance-related disorders, and previous threats.
Stalkers have a range of motivations, from reasserting power over a partner who rejected them to the quest for a loving relationship. Most stalkers are lonely and socially incompetent, but all have the capacity to frighten and distress their victims. Bringing stalking to an end requires a mixture of appropriate legal sanctions and therapeutic interventions.
The purpose of this study was to compare certain demographic, clinical, and criminal variables within subgroups of obsessional followers, and compare them to a group of offenders with mental disorders to attempt to replicate earlier findings. A static group archival design utilized a non-random group of convenience and a randomly selected comparison group. Sixty-five obsessional followers and 65 offenders with mental disorders were evaluated by psychiatrists and psychologists for court ordered reasons during their criminal proceedings. Both groups were evaluated during the same period, in the same court diagnostic clinic, and generally for sentencing determinations. The obsessional followers were measured on demographic, diagnostic, pursuit, victim, threat, violence, emotional, motivational, and defense variables. Inferential comparisons that used parametric and nonparametric statistics were done within and between groups on select variables. The obsessional followers had significantly greater estimated IQ than the offenders with mental disorders, but were neither older nor better educated. There were no significant differences in the high prevalence of both DSM-IV Axis I and II diagnoses. Obsessional followers who stalked prior sexual intimates were significantly more likely to have a substance abuse or dependence diagnosis. Obsessional followers who stalked strangers or acquaintances were more likely to be delusional. The majority of the obsessional followers, primarily motivated by anger, both threatened and were violent toward person or property. The modal obsessional follower is an average or above IQ, unemployed, unmarried male in his fourth decade of life. chronically pursuing a prior sexually intimate female. He is diagnosed with substance abuse or dependence and a personality disorder NOS, and has a prior psychiatric, criminal and substance abuse history. He is angry, likely to threaten her, and assault her person or property without causing serious injury.
The aims of this study were to provide descriptive data on stalking in a sample of acutely battered women and to assess the interrelationship between constructs of emotional abuse, physical violence, and stalking in battered women. We recruited a sample of 114 battered women from shelters, agencies, and from the community at large. Results support the growing consensus that violent and harassing stalking behaviors occur with alarming frequency among physically battered women, both while they are in the relationship and after they leave their abusive partners. Emotional and psychological abuse emerged as strong predictors of within- and postrelationship stalking, and contributed a unique variance to women's fears of future serious harm or death, even after the effects of physical violence were controlled. The length of time a woman was out of the violent relationship was the strongest predictor of postseparation stalking, with increased stalking found with greater time out of the relationship. Results suggest the need to further study the heterogeneity of stalking and to clarify its relationship to constructs of emotional and physical abuse in diverse samples that include stalked but nonbattered women, as women exposed to emotional abuse, and dating violence.
Scant empirical research has been conducted on the relationship between threats and violence. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the link between verbal threats of violence and actual physical violence against former intimate victims of stalking. The researcher interviewed 187 female former intimate stalking victims, asking respondents about various characteristics of their experiences. Responses to questions pertaining to threats; history of violence; stalkers' drug and alcohol use; frequency of phone calls, "following," and letters during stalking; and victims' age and education were analyzed as possible predictors of three violence-related dependent variables: (a) whether or not violence occurred, (b) the number of violent incidents during stalking, and (c) physical injury during stalking. The results of linear and logistic regression models reveal that, regardless of the measure of violence, there is an independent, moderate, and statistically significant correlation between verbal threats and subsequent violence. Regression coefficients for drug abuse and alcohol abuse were also statistically significant, but only in predicting physical injury during stalking.
A computation of false positive and false negative rates concerning the probability that directly communicated written or oral threats predict subsequent violent behavior yields a striking difference between "public" and "private" targets. Among private targets, communicated threats appear to increase risk, but are so common that they have little predictive value. On the other hand, public targets are unlikely to receive a direct threat from those who approach to attack. The author suggests that the most parsimonious explanation for this difference is the type, or mode of violence, that is apparent. Private targets appear to be most likely victimized by affective violence, wherein the emotionally reactive subject will immediately shove, push, punch, slap, choke, fondle, or hair pull the victim without the use of a weapon, usually in response to a perceived rejection or humiliation. Public targets are most likely to be victimized by predatory violence, which is planned, purposeful, cognitively motivated, opportunistic rather than impulsive, and often involves a firearm. Implications for risk assessment are discussed.
Despite a substantial body of research indicating a significant and causal empirical relationship between viewing what the authors label "screen violence" and behaving violently, little attention has been paid to the forensic psychological and psychiatric investigation of these phenomena in specific homicide cases. Through the analysis of seven cases of homicide, mostly committed by adolescents, the authors introduce five concepts--aggression immersion, theme consistency, scene specificity, repetitive viewing, and self-editing--for advancing such investigations.
The authors examined whether female stalkers differ from their male counterparts in psychopathology, motivation, behavior, and propensity for violence.
Female (N=40) and male (N=150) stalkers referred to a forensic mental health clinic were compared.
In this cohort, female stalkers were outnumbered by male stalkers by approximately four to one. The demographic characteristics of the groups did not differ, although more male stalkers reported a history of criminal offenses. Higher rates of substance abuse were also noted among the male stalkers, but the psychiatric status of the groups did not otherwise differ. The duration of stalking and the frequency of associated violence were equivalent between groups. The nature of the prior relationship with the victim differed, with female stalkers more likely to target professional contacts and less likely to harass strangers. Female stalkers were also more likely than male stalkers to pursue victims of the same gender. The majority of female stalkers were motivated by the desire to establish intimacy with their victim, whereas men showed a broader range of motivations.
Female and male stalkers vary according to the motivation for their pursuit and their choice of victim. A female stalker typically seeks to attain a close intimacy with her victim, who usually is someone previously known and frequently is a person cast in the professional role of helper. While the contexts for stalking may differ by gender, the intrusiveness of the behaviors and potential for harm does not.
Stalking has received a great deal of attention from the media and its harmful effects on victims have been well documented. Stalking is also more common than previously thought, leading researchers to classify stalkers into groups in an attempt to predict future behavior. Previous research has grouped stalkers based on theoretical models rather than trying to empirically examine stalking behaviors along with other factors such as motivation, type of relationship, and attachment style in determining a typology of stalkers. Female college students (N = 108) who had experienced stalking behaviors responded to questions regarding their perceptions of those behaviors. First, these victim perceptions were factor analyzed. Then, cluster analysis grouped those factors to produce a four-cluster typology of stalkers. Cluster 1 (Harmless) appeared to reflect a more casual, less jealous pattern of behavior. Cluster 2 (Low Threat) appeared the least likely to become physically violent or threatening, or to engage in illegal behaviors. Cluster 3 (Violent Criminal) appeared to be the most likely to engage in physically threatening and illegal behaviors. Cluster 4 (High Threat) was characterized by a more serious type of relationship and may attempt to be more restrictive of their partner when first meeting them.
Demographic, clinical, and forensic data were gathered in an archival study of 82 female stalkers from the United States, Canada, and Australia. Female stalkers were predominantly single, heterosexual, educated individuals in their mid 30s who had pursued their victims for more than a year. Major mental disorder and personality disorder were suggested, especially borderline personality disorder. They usually threatened violence, and if they did threaten, were more likely to be violent. Frequency of interpersonal violence was 25 percent, but there was limited use of weapons, and injuries were minor. Stalking victims were most likely to be slightly older male acquaintances; but if the victim was a prior sexual intimate of the female stalker, her risk of being violent toward him exceeded 50 percent. Unlike male stalkers who often pursue their victims to restore intimacy, these female stalkers often pursued their victims to establish intimacy. Common emotions and motivations included anger, obsessional thoughts, rage at abandonment, loneliness, dependency, jealousy, and perceived betrayal. Results are interpreted from a clinical and risk management perspective.
The authors review extant research on threats, approaches, attacks, and assassinations of public figures in the United States. Despite the limited number of studies, data exist concerning: 1) threatening letters and approaches to celebrities; 2) attacks and assassinations of public figures, usually the President of the United States; 3) threats and approaches to legislative members of state and federal governments; and 4) threats, approaches, and attacks against federal judicial officials. Similarities and differences across the various studies are discussed. Consistent findings across the studies indicate that direct threats toward the target are unusual and are often correlated negatively with an approach or attack; a significant proportion of subjects are mentally ill and have criminal histories; many subjects evidenced a downward spiral in their lives in the months or year before their approach or attack; and if an attack occurred, it was predatory (instrumental, premeditated) rather than affective (emotional, reactive), and the weapon of choice was a firearm, usually a handgun. Operational guidance and further research recommendations are made.
The objective of this paper is to address the empirical basis and forensic application of a bimodal theory of violence. The definitions of affective and predatory violence, the relevant animal and clinical research, and the current empirical evidence in neurochemistry, neuropsychology and psychophysiology are reviewed. Forensic evidence for the relevance of this bimodal theory is investigated. An appropriate methodology for data gathering, and two observational measures along with one self-report measure are explicated. Integration of this bimodal theory into forensic practice is suggested. Affective and predatory modes of violence represent an empirically valid bimodal theory of violence, find application in forensic psychiatry, and scientifically deepen the understanding of discrete violent acts for both retrospective and prospective psychiatric and psychological investigations. This bimodal theory of violence should have a place in forensic psychiatric practice.
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