Using Dynamic Contextual Factors to Better Understand the Etiology and Escalation of Stalking Violence

Thompson, Carleen Marie; Stewart, Anna; Dennison, Susan

doi:10.1177/0093854819878234

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This study allows us to better understand what could be the initial steps of a difficult relational dissolution with possible negative repercussions on the subject and the former partner. Furthermore, it allows us to define and improve, on the one hand, the possibility of more effective clinical support (Margola et al, 2018 ), and on the other hand, from the point of view of policymakers, to avoid from the beginning the possibility of triggering dangerous trajectories that lead to an escalation of behaviors up to episodes of violence, as highlighted by recent research (Mumm and Cupach, 2010 ; Ferreira et al, 2018 ; Dreke et al, 2020 ; Thompson et al, 2020 ). Social prevention and clinical support are intertwined with each other, in the sense that the former must be designed and structured synergistically, as it can be the starting point for sending those cases that are considered to be the most vulnerable to psychological suffering to the attention of experienced mental health professionals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Love Just Ends: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Dysfunctional Behaviors, Attachment Styles, Gender, and Education Shortly After a Relationship Dissolution

et al. 2021

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Much information is known about the long-term consequences of separation and divorce, whereas there is a paucity of studies about the short-term consequences of such experiences. This study investigates the adoption of dysfunctional behaviors (e.g., insistent telephone calls and text messages, verbal threats, and sending unwanted objects) shortly after a relationship dissolution. A total of 136 participants who declared to have been left by their former partner in the previous 6 months were included in this study (i.e., females: n = 84; males: n = 52; mean age = 30.38; SD = 4.19). Attachment styles were evaluated as explanatory variables when facing a relationship dissolution, in connection with a set of (1) demographic variables (i.e., gender, education, and current marital/relationship status), (2) dysfunctional behaviors, and (3) motivations on the basis of those behaviors. Results showed that a secure or dismissing attachment style, a higher education, and currently married (but awaiting separation) status were the protective factors in adopting such dysfunctional behaviors, while the preoccupied and fearful-avoidant subjects, especially females, tended to adopt dysfunctional behaviors (i.e., communication attempts and defamation) and reported fear of abandonment and need for attention as underlying motivations. Future study on longitudinal aspects of the relationship dissolution processes is required to have deeper insights into this phenomenon. This study sheds light on the relationship between adult attachment styles and the motivations behind the adoption of dysfunctional behaviors after a relationship dissolution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Love Just Ends: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Dysfunctional Behaviors, Attachment Styles, Gender, and Education Shortly After a Relationship Dissolution

et al. 2021

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“…A body of research examining stalking has focused on perpetrators' tactics, i.e., stalking behaviors that perpetrators used on their victims (e.g., McEwan et al, 2009;Roberts et al, 2016;Sheridan et al, 2019), perpetrators' approach and escalation in stalking (e.g., McEwan et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2020) and perpetrators/victims relationship (e.g., Kamphuis et al, 2003;White et al, 2020). Although a victim's stalking experience is unique, and the motivations of stalkers vary significantly, the methods or tactics employed by stalkers share the same underlying characteristics (White et al, 2020).…”

Section: Stalking Behaviors and Tacticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nobles et al (2009) note that recognizing the seriousness or severity of stalking behaviors in an instrument allows individuals to gain in-depth knowledge on the etiology of stalking, which could potentially be beneficial for responses from policy and public health professionals. A recent model, The Integrated Theoretical Model of Stalking Violence (ITMSV; Thompson et al, 2013Thompson et al, , 2020, is offering a holistic explanation of risk factors (i.e., predisposing and contextual) that lead to moderate or severe stalking violence. However, few empirical studies were conducted to assess the severity ranking of stalking behaviors using appropriate latent analytical strategy (i.e., item-response theory), which limits the application of holistic models such as the ITMSV.…”

Section: Stalking Instruments and Inventoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research indicates that violent assaults in stalking cases occurred after the stalker had engaged in nonphysical stalking behaviors (McEwan et al, 2011;White et al, 2020), and that stalking is usually evolving throughout an escalation along the continuum of severity (McEwan et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2020). In their study, James and Farnham (2003) revealed that violent assaults were linked to personal appearances by the stalker, particularly when the stalker visited the victim's home.…”

Section: Severity Of Stalkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Wheel of Change Moves On: Assessing the Severity of Stalking Behavior

Stefanska

Longpré

Harriman

2021

J Interpers Violence

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Stalking is a significant social issue. The inconsistency as to what defines stalking has resulted in the creation of different methods to measure the crime. However, there has been minimal work done that assesses the severity of individual stalking behaviors. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of stalking behavior in terms of severity within a randomly selected sample of 924 cases from the database of the National Stalking Helpline. Item response theory analyses were used to assist in developing a scale that displays the ranking order of each stalking behavior. These analyses were also used to examine whether the stalking behavioral items created a single continuum of severity of stalking. Results indicated that 16 stalking behavioral items of the 28 items present in the National Stalking Helpline, best represented the severity of stalking. Unwanted communication behaviors such as text messages and phone calls were located at the lower end of the severity scale, whereas criminal damage and death threats were mapped on the higher end of the continuum. The findings also revealed that the 16 items categorized under 6 factors. The findings of the present study provide many implications for stalking agency professionals and criminal justice responses.

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“…These coping strategies could have an economic and financial cost, due, for example, to a change in service provider. The request by the victim to the persecutor to stop the misconduct (proactive behavior) was used more by female victims than by male victims [23], even if they tended not to contact health care providers or to search for help in counselling services or from the police [22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. In their meta-analysis, Littleton and colleagues [29], regarding coping and health, found an association between denying (passivity strategies), distress and poorer health among young adults [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coping Strategies and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adult Victims of Cyberstalking: A Questionnaire Survey in an Italian Sample

2020

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Aims: In the last decade, the use of smartphones, computers and devices has progressively increased, and prolonged use of technology and the internet has generated new arenas (and tools) for victimization. The first aim of this study was to analyze the use of coping strategies in young adult self-declared victims of cyberstalking. The coping strategies were categorized as proactive behavior, avoidance tactics and passivity. To better understand these strategies, they were analyzed in light of the experience of victimization in terms of incurred misconduct. The second aim was to analyze the coping strategies and the consequences (in terms of depression and anxiety) that occurred in victims; a comparison was made between males and females. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to over 433 young adults living in Italy. The questionnaires were filled out by 398 (92%) subjects, 41% males and 59% females. Their ages ranged from 18 to 30 years (M = 23.5, SD = 2.76). Respondents took part on a voluntary basis and did not receive any compensation (or extra credit) for their participation. Results: Findings from this investigation confirmed that among victims, females were more prone than males to experience cyberstalking (respectively, 65% and 35%), with females experiencing a higher percentage of more than one form of cyberstalking behavior than males. Young adult male victims used the internet principally for online gaming, and for this activity, they experienced more cyberstalking behavior than females. In most cases, the perpetrator was a male, and the victim–cyberstalker relationship was a friendship or an acquaintance. For the coping strategies adopted, the findings indicated that the victims were more prone to use avoidance tactics than proactivity behavior and passivity strategies. Young adults involved in this investigation mainly used avoidance tactics to cope with the stressful situation, which implies that they preferred to decrease the use of the internet or stop online contact than collect evidence and try to contact and reason with the cyberstalker or increase the misuse of alcohol of psychotropic substances. Moreover, females were less prone to use proactive behavior than expected. Our findings suggested that males were more prone than females to adopt passivity strategies, while females were more prone to adopt avoidance tactics. Moreover, the data showed that proactivity behavior was adopted more in the case of online contacts and online identity fraud, while passivity strategies were adopted in the case of online threats. Conclusion: Findings from this investigation show the importance of improving the knowledge about the coping strategies that could be suggested to victims and the impact on their psychological health.

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Using Dynamic Contextual Factors to Better Understand the Etiology and Escalation of Stalking Violence

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

When Love Just Ends: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Dysfunctional Behaviors, Attachment Styles, Gender, and Education Shortly After a Relationship Dissolution

When Love Just Ends: An Investigation of the Relationship Between Dysfunctional Behaviors, Attachment Styles, Gender, and Education Shortly After a Relationship Dissolution

The Wheel of Change Moves On: Assessing the Severity of Stalking Behavior

Coping Strategies and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adult Victims of Cyberstalking: A Questionnaire Survey in an Italian Sample

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