Psychological Impact of Stalking on Male and Female Health Care Professional Victims of Stalking and Domestic Violence

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate stalking experiences in a sample of Health Care Professionals, or HCPs, who experienced domestic violence in their previous relationships with an intimate romantic or non-romantic who had become their stalkers. A comparison between males and females was made to highlight the differences among the genders. The findings showed that, for the most part, the victims experienced stalking by a stalker that was not of the same gender. Moreover, the nature of the relationship was romantic, for the most part, for both female and male subjects, suggesting that the principal motivation of stalking is the disruption of an intimate relationship. Regarding domestic violence, females described the phenomenon from a different perspective, indicating verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, while males indicated only verbal abuse. Females tended to amplify, more than the males, depression, and state and trait anxiety. Even if all symptoms were expressed in both females and males, the males exhibited a lack of confidence in their bodies, and the emotional literacy made the expression of distress more difficult. At the same time, the expression of anxiety presented in the women permitted them to become progressively less victimized over time; depression and anxiety allow the recognition of these symptoms as signs of distress and to intervene to reduce them.

Characteristics of Cyberstalking Behavior, Consequences, and Coping Strategies: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Italian University Students

“…There is a gap in the literature about the consequences and coping strategies adopted by victims who experienced only one type of online harassment behavior and those who experienced multiple online harassment behaviors. As in other forms of violence, a behavior characterized by more than one conduct implies different strategies, is more expensive for the victims, and causes more consequences [18,19].…”

Characteristics of the stalking campaign: Consequences and coping strategies for men and women that report their victimization to police

“…The biased representation of stalking in the media and in the social campaigns is also likely to further diminish the tendency for men to protect themselves and to add a sense of shame to an already intense emotional burden. A different approach might legitimize men to recognize themselves as victims of stalking as well as allow third parties like relatives, friends, and colleagues to recognize the signs of victimization in men [21,32]. A prompt intervention by police officers could provide more suitable interventions for men and their families.…”

“…To directly confront the stalker is ineffective in most cases [41,42]. To change one's habits and routines and to collect evidence are better strategies insofar as they may help reporting the campaign to the police, because the former is directly included in the definition of the Italian laws about stalking, and the latter of course facilitates the task of the police [11,21].…”

“…In their investigation of health care professionals who were victims of stalking, Acquadro Maran and Varetto [21] found no differences between women and men as for the consequences, except that anger and minimal anxiety (both state and trait) affected the latter more than the former. Regarding fear specifically, Owen [22] found that women victims of stalking are much more fearful than men; however, Sheridan and Lyndon [23] found that women have higher levels of fear of crime than men in general anyway, including a specific fear of stalking.…”

“…Fourth, while the police force units employ a standard scheme to organize and record the statements provided by the victims, the actual dialogues between the officers and the victims may direct the emphasis toward specific features of the stalking campaign. Adopting a format with both open and closed questions might yield better descriptions on the part of the victims of the characteristics of the campaign, the stalker's behaviour, the consequences, and the coping strategies deployed [21]. Such format might also allow the police officers to gather all the relevant information about the case as well as to help the victims enact effective coping strategies should the campaign continue, e.g., seeking help from bystanders (see [45]).…”