Stalking experiences and associated factors--a controlled population-based study from Norway

Who Are the Stalking Victims? Exploring the Victimization Experiences and Psychosocial Characteristics of Young Male and Female Adults in Hong Kong

Most stalking studies are conducted in the West. Limited information is available on victims of stalking from the Asian continent. This study specifically explored the victimization experiences of young male and female adults in Hong Kong. Using a large sample of university students (N = 2,496) aged between 18 and 40 years, the gender distribution of stalking incident characteristics was examined, along with prevalence of various stalking behaviors, and victim-offender relationships by types of stalking behaviors. The differential role of demographic and psychosocial characteristics in stalking victimization experience was also explored. The lifetime prevalence rate of stalking victimization was 8.2%, with a higher estimate in females than males (11.6% vs. 3.8%). The sample analyzed in this study was 196 stalking victims. Although surveillance-oriented behaviors were most frequently reported by both males and females, significant gender differences in types of stalking behaviors were noted. Multivariate analyses indicated that increases in age and levels of self-esteem were correlated with an increased probability of experiencing stalking victimization, while being a male and higher levels of life satisfaction were related to a lower likelihood of falling prey to stalking victimization. This study concludes with a call for anti-stalking legislation in Hong Kong given the devastating nature and consequences of stalking victimization.

Assessing the Link Between Intimate Partner Violence and Postrelationship Stalking: A Gender-Inclusive Study

The link between intimate partner violence (IPV) during a relationship and postrelationship stalking (PRS) is poorly understood. The vast majority of relevant studies focus either on male perpetration or female victimization and use highly selective samples. The current study aimed to illuminate the link between IPV and PRS perpetration and victimization, respectively. To this end, heterosexual male and female university students (n = 422) retrospectively self-reported on IPV during their most conflicted relationship and a wide range of pursuit behavior after the dissolution of this romantic relationship. Using empirical criteria, participants were classified as stalkers or nonstalkers based on their responses. A relationship between male-perpetrated IPV and PRS perpetration was detected. There was no systematic relationship between IPV and PRS perpetration in women. In contrast, there was a link between IPV and stalking victimization that followed a similar, linear trend in both male and female victims. A larger proportion of participants were classified as stalking victims as IPV severity increased. Implications for research (e.g., the importance of gender-inclusive studies), clinical practice (e.g., how to prevent stalking after an abusive relationship), and future directions (e.g., the need for prospective studies using more diverse samples) are discussed.

Is This Stalking? Perceptions of Stalking Behavior Among Young Male and Female Adults in Hong Kong and Mainland China

Most studies of stalking are conducted with samples from individualist cultures. Little is known about the phenomenon within collectivist cultures. The present study is arguably the first stalking study conducted in Hong Kong. Specifically, this study investigates a large sample of Asian college students' (N = 2,496) perceptions of stalking behavior, potential reasons for stalking, and coping strategies that may be employed by stalking victims. Associations between these variables and gender and culture (Hong Kong vs. Mainland China) were also explored. Gender was more strongly associated with perceptions of stalking behavior than was culture. Gender was less strongly associated with perceptions concerning motivations for stalking and the effectiveness of coping strategies that may be employed by stalking victims than was culture. Effect sizes for all associations with culture were small, perhaps due to a high degree of similarity between the two cultures examined. The findings are generally supportive of similar results produced by previous work conducted within individualistic Western cultures, suggesting that stalking and the way that it is perceived may be universal in nature. This study concludes with the argument that legislation against stalking needs to be extended to non-Western countries, such as Hong Kong and Mainland China, as antistalking laws are relatively scarce outside Western industrialized countries.

The Phenomenology of Group Stalking ('Gang-Stalking'): A Content Analysis of Subjective Experiences

Epidemiological data suggest that as many as 0.66% of adult women and 0.17% of adult men in the western world may suffer the subjective experience of being group-stalked (‘gang stalked’) at some point in their lives. Yet the gang stalking experience has been subject to little scientific study. This paper reports an attempt to elicit the core phenomena involved in gang-stalking by allowing them to emerge de novo through the qualitative analysis of accounts of individuals who describe being gang-stalked. Fifty descriptions of gang-stalking that satisfied study inclusion criteria were identified from the internet and subjected to content analysis. Twenty-four core phenomena were elicited, together with 11 principal sequelae of the experience of being gang-stalked. These were then divided into groups, producing a framework for the phenomena of the gang-stalking experience. The results were compared with frequencies of the same categories of experience then extracted from the original data of the only previous study on gang-stalking phenomena. Whilst the methodology of the current study was more rigorous, the core phenomena were similar in each. The current study confirmed the seriousness of the sequelae of the gang-stalking experience. These support the need for further exploration of the phenomenon, for which this study forms a basis.

Stalking and Intrusive Behaviors in Ghana: Perceptions and Victimization Experiences

Most studies of stalking and other forms of intrusive behavior are conducted in the West. Little is known about the phenomenon in the African context. The present work represents the first dedicated stalking study conducted in Ghana. Based on a sample of 371 male and female university students, this study explored the gender distribution of overall perceptions and experiences, and frequency and duration of personal worst experiences of stalking and intrusive behavior. Several significant gender differences were noted. Females were generally more likely than males to perceive a range of intrusive activities as unacceptable. Females and males were equally likely to have experienced aggression and surveillance, and unwanted attention types of behaviors, while males were more likely than females to have experienced persistent courtship and impositions, and courtship and information seeking types of behaviors. In respect of their worst experience of intrusive behavior, females were more likely to report unwanted communications, aggressive courtship, property damage, and harassment of third parties, whilst males were more likely to have been threatened with harm. More than half of our participants (55.5%) were judged to have been stalked. Given the devastating nature and impact of stalking victimization, the findings may provide impetus to increase awareness of stalking in Ghana and add urgency to calls for anti-stalking legislation.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms in Secondary Stalked Children of Danish Stalking Survivors-A Pilot Study

There is a lack of research examining secondary stalking and its effect on children who, in many cases, can be direct targets, or secondary survivors, of the stalking of their parent. The present study examines trauma reactions in children of stalking survivors in a Danish sample. It investigates the differences and similarities of such reactions across three age groups. Fifty-seven children were divided into groups depending on their age. The symptoms of the youngest group, 0–6-year-olds, were investigated by way of a maternal diagnostic interview. The two older groups, 7–11- and 12–19-year-olds completed the age-appropriate questionnaires, “Darryl” and “HTQ”, respectively, online. Twenty-two percent of the youngest group met the criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Eighty-five percent of the middle age group and 58% of the older age group met PTSD diagnostic criteria. The findings illustrate that reactions to secondary stalking were predominantly within the arousal cluster of PTSD symptomology, with sleep disturbances and irritability commonly reported. The overall prevalence of children meeting PTSD diagnostic criteria in the sample was 56%. Future studies will benefit from larger samples and from knowledge of any pre-existing relationship between parent and stalker.

Young women's experiences of intrusive behavior in 12 countries

The present study provides international comparisons of young women's (N = 1,734) self-reported experiences of intrusive activities enacted by men. Undergraduate psychology students from 12 countries (Armenia, Australia, England, Egypt, Finland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, and Trinidad) indicated which of 47 intrusive activities they had personally experienced. Intrusive behavior was not uncommon overall, although large differences were apparent between countries when women's personal experiences of specific intrusive activities were compared. Correlations were carried out between self-reported intrusive experiences, the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), and Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures. The primary associations were between women's experiences of intrusive behavior and the level of power they are afforded within the 12 countries. Women from countries with higher GEM scores reported experiencing more intrusive activities relating to courtship and requests for sex, while the experiences of women from countries with lower GEM scores related more to monitoring and ownership. Intrusive activities, many of them constituent of harassment and stalking, would appear to be widespread and universal, and their incidence and particular form reflect national level gender inequalities.