Auswirkung von Stalking auf Psychiater, Psychotherapeuten und Psychologen

Abstract

Stalking in the psychiatric context describes a pathological behaviour which is characterized by repeated persecution, harassment, or menacing of or assault on a person. Because of the association between stalking and mental disorders, psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists belong to particularly exposed professions. If they fall victim to stalking during their career, disruptive impacts up to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be the consequence. A total of 117 psychiatrists, psychologists or psychotherapists in Graz participated in an anonymous interview. To register possible experiences with stalking defined behaviour, a modified version of the questionnaire of Kamleiter was used. The prevalence and severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms were determined using the Impact of Event Scale of Horowitz. The study showed an incidence of stalking of 38.5%. The rate of female stalkers (60%) was extraordinary high. Most victims (68.9%) experienced non-violent threats. Most of the offenders (41.9%) were diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia, schizotype and delusional disorders (F2) followed by disorders of adult personality and behaviour (F6) (30.2%). Some 44.4% of the victims developed symptoms of PTSD, which were usually only slight. The analyses suggest that stalking, in the psychiatric field of activity, is a common and serious phenomenon, and that strategies for the prevention and protection of potentially affected professions have to be developed.

Stalking victimization among police officers.

“…It appeared that more female than male stalkers targeted the professional related group. In the Krammer, Stepan, Baranyi, Kampfhammer, and Rothenhäusler (2007) study of stalked Austrian psychologists and psychiatrists, male professionals were stalked significantly more often than female professionals; noteworthy again was the high percentage of female stalkers (60%). According to Meloy and colleagues (2003, 2011), female stalkers often pursue a slightly older acquaintance in order to establish intimacy; an older and male psychotherapist would fit this description (Purcell, Pathé, & Mullen, 2001).…”

Stalking von Psychiatern und Psychotherapeuten

“…Innerhalb unterschiedlich definierter Stichproben konnten variierende Prävalenzen von Stalkingerfahrungen durch Psychiater und Psychotherapeuten nachgewiesen werden, die -in Abhängigkeit von der verwendeten Definition von Stalkingbei 11 % [10], 21 % [14], 26,5 % [1] oder 38,5 % [12] lagen. Somit liegen deutliche Hinweise vor, dass Psychiater und Psychotherapeuten überdurchschnitt-lich häufig Opfer von Stalking sind, insbesondere unter Berücksichtigung der bekannten Prävalenzen von Stalking in repräsentativen Stichproben der Allgemeinbevölkerung von z.…”

Gesundheitliche Folgen von Stalking

“…Frauen sind 2-bis 4-mal h ä ufi ger betroff en, etwa 75 % der Opfer sind weiblich [2,3] . Stalking kann dar ü ber hinaus zu indirekten Folgen bei Dritten f ü hren [2,7] . Kinder, Partner, Familienangeh ö rige und Freunde des Opfers sowie Arbeitskollegen erleben das Ausma ß der Handlungen mit oder werden direkt in das Stalking einbezogen [7,8] .…”

“…Stalking kann dar ü ber hinaus zu indirekten Folgen bei Dritten f ü hren [2,7] . Kinder, Partner, Familienangeh ö rige und Freunde des Opfers sowie Arbeitskollegen erleben das Ausma ß der Handlungen mit oder werden direkt in das Stalking einbezogen [7,8] . Es gibt Hinweise darauf, dass eher j ü ngere Erwachsene Stalkingopfer werden [9 -12] .…”

“…Methodik ▼Physische Verletzungen und Beeintr ä chtigungen der physischen Gesundheit wurden in 9 Studien erhoben[2,6,7,11,13,14,16,22,23] . 13 -50 % der Stalkingopfer erleben k ö rperliche Angriff e[2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 21 -23] .…”