Psychology Publications Answer Laballa’s Questions
I Edward Paul Donegan assert my mother and father were terror stalked and I think my father who was (I was told) dizzy from some food he ate and placed in a psych ward died of a blow to the head, sub-arachnid hemorrhage with bruises all over his arm fro tie down or earlier fights.
retrieved from Jhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/connected/201612/teens-stalking-behaviors and copied or modified to here
Michele Ybarra MPH, Ph.D.
Despite stereotypical views of stalkers as male, female youth reported engaging in these behaviors just as often as males. Technology vs In-Person While nearly 70% of youth who reported stalking behaviors acted out one or more of these behaviors in-person, some youth used digital technologies (cell phones, the internet) to engage in stalking-like behaviors.
Almost half of the youth who reported engaging in stalking-like behaviors did so via text message. The internet was the digital avenue of choice for about one third of youth who engaged in stalker-like behavior. In other words, most stalking is still taking place in person, but use of tech to stalk is significant. as males.
retrieved from https://thebehaviourinstitute.com/stalking-what-is-the-psychology-behind-the-stalker/ and copied or modified to here
Dr John Crimmins
Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
STALKERS are wreaking havoc in the lives of millions.
What is the psychological makeup of a person that perpetrates such heinous behavior on another?
Stalking, rather than being a condition in and of itself, is a behavior that fits under the umbrella of symptoms for a variety of disorders.
In this article I will examine Stalking. What is the Psychology behind the stalker?
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Overview of stalking and its significance.
- The Prevalence of Stalking
- Statistics and impact on victims.
- What Constitutes Stalking?
- Definition and legal criteria.
- The Psychology of the Stalker
- Common psychological profiles and disorders.
- Psychological Theories of Stalking
- Attachment theory and its relevance to stalking behavior.
- Cyberstalking
- Evolution of stalking in the digital age.
- Consequences of Stalking
- Psychological and physical effects on victims.
- What Steps Can You Take to Stay Safe?
- Practical advice and strategies for victims.
- How Stalkers Use Manipulation to Feed Their Obsession
- Techniques of manipulation used by stalkers.
- General Safety Strategies
- Tips for personal, work, and home safety.
- Legal Options
- Overview of legal recourse and protective measures.
- Conclusion
- Summary and empowering messages for victims and society.
The Prevalence of stalking
Stalking is a critical issue globally and particularly in the United States. The National Crime Victimization Survey says that in one year, 5,857,030 Americans were stalked or harassed (Baum, Catalano, Rand, & Rose, 2009). The effects of stalking are also well known. More than half of the people in the sample mentioned above changed their behavior mostly out of fear.
People who said they were being stalked changed their daily routines, stayed with family and friends, added caller ID on their phones, and changed their locks or put in a security system.
Many of the victims of stalking either carry pepper spray or purchase a gun.
People who have been stalked or harassed have also been looked at from a psychopathology point of view.
Pathé and Mullen found in 1997 that victims of stalking develop high anxiety (83%), trouble sleeping (74%), and appetite disturbance (48%). Also, 24% of the people in their sample said they had tried to kill themselves or thought about it a lot.
Research shows that stalking and harassment are common and have devastating effects on the people who are targeted.
What Constitutes Stalking?
To constitute stalking, three factors must exist simultaneously.
1). The stalking behavior must be directed at one person,
2.) The behavior intends to put that person in fear for their safety
3). It must actually make that person fear for his or her safety (Owens, 2016).
In addition, to be classified as stalking, the behavior must occur more than once.
There is no unique stalker profile; stalkers demonstrate a wide variety of actions, motives, and psychological features.
Stalkers use a variety of tactics to follow and harass their victims.
This can be done by sending them letters or emails; spreading rumors; following them, showing up at their home or place of work, giving them gifts, threatening them, or even attacking them. Also, technological progress and social media have given cyberstalkers a multitude of ways to stalk and harass victims.
“Stalking, rather than being a condition in and of itself, is a behavior that fits under the umbrella of symptoms for a variety of disorders.
According to a 2012 study published in the journal “Aggression and Violent Behavior”, stalkers may be diagnosed with psychotic illness, personality disorders like narcissistic personality disorder, and delusional disorders like erotomania, which is the belief that another person, usually a famous person, is in love with them.
Despite this variation, research has shown that some features appear repeatedly among stalkers. For example, in a 2014 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of people who had been stalked said they knew their stalker in some way. There is also evidence that stalkers are often males in their 30s, and their targets are typically women in their late teens and early twenties—though not exclusively. Other studies have indicated that stalkers often exhibit rage and instability, which typically arise from childhood, as well as impulsive behavior.
The Psychology of the Stalker
Anyone has the potential to become a victim. Although superstars like Madonna and David Letterman are more likely to make headlines when they are harassed by deranged strangers, the great majority of victims are regular individuals who knew their stalkers, typically as lovers or spouses.
The majority of stalkers have severe personality disorders. The most common one among stalkers is narcissistic personality disorder, which gives stalkers an exaggerated feeling of self-worth and an obsessive desire for other people to admire and revere them.
Extreme dependence, in which a person needs constant help, attention, and acceptance from others, and borderline personality disorder, in which a person has unpredictable emotions and a high sensitivity to rejection and abandonment, are two more personality disorders that experts often see in stalkers.
According to Cupach & Spitzberg (2004), there are eight clusters of distinguishable stalking behaviors:
Sending flowers when it is not appropriate is an example of hyper intimacy, which may be thought of as traditional courtship carried to an extreme.
According to research, this sort of conduct may be satisfying to the stalker since it creates indecision/ambivalence in victims (Dunn, 2002). The target may feel both intimidated and charmed by the conduct. This ambiguity might make it more difficult for prospective victims to exit the stalker scenario.
Cyberstalking encompasses all types of communication made possible by electronic devices and technology. This category includes the internet, email, phones, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all other forms of social media. Cyberstalking is more common in ex-intimate relationships. Before the breakup, ex-intimates are likely to have had access to email accounts and other forms of social media.
► Interactional contact is contact with explicit awareness (face-to-face or brief encounter).
► Surveillance tactics are often concealed and covert.
► Invasion tactics entail the breach of personal and legal boundaries, such as unlawfully collecting information, trespassing, and breaking into victims’ dwellings.
The most severe forms of stalking entail threats, intimidation, and physical violence. Acts such as spreading rumors, insults, efforts to damage reputations, and harassment. Rumors are meant to tarnish the victim’s reputation. For instance, a stalker may inform the victim’s family, employers, or acquaintances that they are indulging in activities such as extramarital affairs or embezzlement.
They may attempt to influence their employers by spreading rumors about them to their managers. Insults are also meant to cause emotional distress. The stalker may verbally abuse the target or send electronic communications full of obscenities. Harassment may take many forms, including the ones listed above, but it can even be caused by something as apparently innocuous as an accidental encounter. Aggression may take the form of destruction of property, the brandishing or use of a weapon, physical violence (including attempted or successful attack), physical violence (including murder), or sexual violence.
There is a distinct range of stalker behaviors, from mild annoyance to deadly violence.
Psychological Theories of Stalking
Attachment Theory.
Attachment theory is a psychoanalytic theory that attempts to explain fundamental human interactions from birth through adulthood.
Attachment theory derives from John Bowlby’s seminal work. In a London clinic, Bowlby treated youngsters suffering from emotional distress and studied their interactions with their caretakers. Through these findings, he concluded that a strong relationship with a caregiver gave an infant a sense of security and a solid foundation (Bowlby, 1969).
Bowlby’s findings inspired the subsequent work of Ainsworth et al. (1978) and paved the way for attachment and dysfunctional relationship studies. Attachment theory has been utilized, for instance, to explain dysfunctional relationships in instances of intimate partner violence, which has been connected to stalker behavior.
Attachment theory claims that a child’s attachment style to his or her parents affects their behaviour in adulthood.
Ainsworth et al. (1978) made substantial contributions to the study of attachment types in childhood. Through experimental observation of caregiver-child interactions, three distinct attachment patterns were identified:
- Secure,
- Insecure avoidant, and
- Insecure ambivalent.
Children who are securely bonded appear to have confidence in their caregiver’s ability to meet their needs. Children who are securely attached are easy to calm down, feel safe exploring their surroundings, and look for their caregiver when they are upset.
Those with insecure avoidant attachments are emotionally and physically independent from their caregivers. Additionally, when distressed, they are less likely to seek out their caregiver. It is believed that children with avoidant attachment styles have caregivers that are unresponsive to their needs and reject them (Ainsworth, 1979). Typically, children with insecure ambivalent attachment styles display clingy and dependent behaviors. However, their conduct is not comforting, and they will exhibit sadness when the caregiver returns.
In general, children with a secure attachment style mature into mentally healthy adults, whereas those with an insecure attachment style regard the world as a hostile and unwelcoming place and act accordingly.
According to research in this field, many stalkers have insecure attachment types (Cupach et al., 2000; Hazen & Shaver, 1987; Kienlen, 1998). Depending on the author, the literature on Stalking describes various adult victims. Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) looked at a four-category model of attachment and found that adults have four types of attachment:
- Secure,
- Preoccupied,
- Scared, and
- DIsmissive.
There is evidence, as the term suggests, that preoccupied people engage in compulsive relationship intrusion (Dutton & Winstead, 2006).
It has been determined that pathological narcissism is associated with stalking. When rejected, people with a high level of pathological narcissism suffer a narcissistic injury and pursue the other to restore self-esteem (Meloy, 1999). Restoring self-esteem may involve expressing displeasure toward the other through vindictive conduct, such as writing disturbing messages or posting once-private photographs online. Individuals that are narcissistic have an inflated sense of self, cannot comprehend why others do not share their viewpoint, and consequently feel justified in stalking them (Menard & Pincus, 2012).
It is widely established that drugs and alcohol can have disinhibiting effects and induce psychotic-like episodes. In such conditions, perceptions of relational boundaries become lax and can frequently worsen the initiation of stalking behavior.
The loss of inhibitions caused by intoxication may result in stalking behavior. It is a well-known fact that drunk individuals exhibit actions that may not occur when they are sober.
Cyberstalking
The majority of published research has focused on classic stalking, in which the stalker approaches, pursues, and harasses their target. However, technological advancements have altered the appearance of stalking. In the past, stalkers had limited options for contacting their victims, including confronting, calling, and mailing their targets. Today, however, stalkers have various ways to contact, monitor, and follow their victims, including social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, as well as texting, instant messaging, and emailing. In addition, the technologically skilled stalker may employ GPS technology on their victims’ smartphones or even their cars to track their movements.
Cyberstalking has been defined as a pattern of repeated threats, harassment, or other unwelcome contact through the use of a computer or other electronic communication-based technology (Miller, 2012). As technology progresses and new social media applications are developed, it appears likely that more people will use these tools to pursue relationships or exact revenge
A typical cyberstalking scenario might take the form of the stalker posting false or hostile information on a social media platform, impersonating the victim online, and/or recruiting others to harass or threaten the target before hacking his or her personal accounts.
One case in particular highlights the devastating effects that these people can wreak on a victim. An ex-partner initiated the harassment by sending emails and making numerous phone calls over a 6-month period, which led to the victim getting a restraining order. However, the stalker subsequently utilized the Internet to continue the harassment.
He took out fake ads in the victims’ name for casual sex partners and for selling pornography. In these ads, he put the victim’s name, address, and phone number. According to the victim, she received several propositions each day from interested males. It became so bad that men were showing up at her door, even engaging in sex acts. This had a devastating effect on the woman, and she ended up being hospitalised for stress and trauma.
In one study, it was found that cyberstalkers were much less likely to participate in “approach behavior” and significantly more likely to be former intimate partners or the subject of a restraining order.
In order to rebuild self-esteem, a narcissistic hurt leads the stalker to renew the connection or seek retaliation. Meloy said in 1998 that the Internet is different for stalkers because there are no social rules that stop them from being violent, and there is less sensory stimulation. It causes the offender’s imagination to go into overdrive, allowing them to lie with ease. That’s why it’s so important to differentiate between pure digital stalkers and those that cross over into other forms of harassment as well.
Dynastic Successions Book 