NCJ Number
145759
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 894-903
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Case histories from the Los Angeles Police Department's Threat Management Unit (TMU) were reviewed to compare erotomanic subjects with those suffering from other disorders.
Abstract
TMU subjects proved to be an ideal study population for two reasons: (1) the TMU focuses exclusively on obsessional subjects; and (2) the Los Angeles area has a high proportion of entertainment figures and other high profile individuals who are frequently the victims of erotomanic and love obsessional subjects. Three distinct groups of obsessional subjects were identified: erotomanic, love obsessional, and simple obsessional. All cases were reviewed by at least one trained psychiatrist. Profiles from the first 74 case files were evaluated, and a database was developed based largely on these profiles. Various demographic and other relevant data were examined to determine if erotomanic subjects presented similar or different profiles than individuals with other disorders. Results indicated that women were the victims in 74 percent of the cases. In erotomanic cases, however, the victim was usually an older male. Conversely, the victim was often a younger female in love obsession cases. About 43 percent of erotomanics were foreign-born, and erotomanics were generally homosexual or bisexual. Psychiatric disturbances were prevalent in all cases, 43 percent of erotomanics had a documented drug abuse problem, and the duration of obsession for both erotomanics and love obsessionals was extremely long. Erotomanic subjects always wrote to their victims, while other subjects wrote less frequently. Subjects from the erotomanic group were almost twice as likely to engage in stalking as love obsessionals and simple obsessionals. Subjects from the simple obsession group made threats most frequently, followed by erotomanics and love obsessionals. Erotomanic subjects generally led a lonely existence and had few if any social supports. 16 references and 5 tables