Sex and violence in a forensic population of obsessional harassers.

Abstract

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.

The problem behavior model: the development of a stalkers clinic and a threateners clinic

“…While a number of threats issued by those referred for assessment had been issued in the context of stalking, many had not. Research indicates that more than 50% of stalkers threaten to kill or otherwise harm their victim (Harmon, Rosner, & Owens, 1998;Meloy, 1998;Mullen et al, 1999). Threats also arose from interpersonal conflicts such as domestic or workplace disputes, and in the provision of professional services such as caring for the mentally disordered.…”

“…Paraphilias have also been identified in stalkers who have committed or planned sexual assaults (Mullen et al, 1999). Diagnosable personality disorders are also frequent and usually of the dependent, inadequate and narcissistic types (Harmon et al, 1998;Meloy & Gothard, 1995;Meloy, Rivers, Siegel, Gothard, Naimark, & Nicolini, 2000;Mullen et al, 1999;Zona, Palarea, & Lane, 1998).…”

Threats to kill: a follow-up study

“…These studies broadly suggest that threats in this context are irrelevant to the prediction of violence (Dietz et al 1991a ;deBecker, 1997 ;Calhoun, 1998) or even reduce its likelihood (Dietz et al 1991b ;Meloy, 2000). The research on threats and subsequent violence in the stalking situation has produced contradictory conclusions, although the balance of the evidence is in favour of a connection (Kienlan et al 1997 ;Harmon et al 1998 ;Mullen et al 1999Mullen et al , 2006. Threats to kill have not, however, emerged as a risk factor in the current crop of actuarial instruments for evaluating the probability of violence (Webster et al 1997 ;Monahan et al 2001 ;Quinsey et al 2006).…”

The Association Between Stalking and Violence in a Sample of Spanish Partner Violence Cases

“…One potential outcome of increased intrusiveness is physical violence. Not only do intimate stalkers present with higher rates of violence than non-intimate stalkers (26%-76.2% vs. 8%-37%; Bjorklund, Hakkanen-Nyholm, Sheridan, & Roberts, 2010;Harmon, Rosner, & Owens, 1998;Mohandie, Meloy, McGowan, & Williams, 2006;Palarea, Zona, & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, 1999;Purcell, Pathe, & Mullen, 2002), but they also perpetrate more severe forms violence (70% former intimates vs. 28% acquaintances vs. 25% strangers; Farnham, James, & Cantrell, 2000). Specifically, stalking appears to precede lethal IPV, which is defined as any type of aggressive behavior that might cause a victim's death (e.g., Campbell, Glass, Sharps, Laughon, & Bloom, 2007;Garcia, Soria, & Hurwitz, 2007;Wilson, Johnson, & Daly, 1995).…”

“…Some studies have analyzed what particular stalking behavioral strategies seem to precede violence (Burgess, Harner, Baker, Hatman, & Lole, 2001;Harmon et al, 1998;McEwan et al, 2009;Mullen et al, 2000). One explanation is that stalking is a controlling dynamic that escalates in intensity to avoid abandonment after the dissolution of the relationship (Brewster, 2003;Mechanic, Weaver, & Resick, 2000;Melton, 2007;Tanha, Beck, Figueredo, & Raghavan, 2010).…”