NCJ Number
230085
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2010 Pages: 400-416
Date Published
April 2010
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Three studies employing student and community samples in the United Kingdom (total N = 514) explored the effects of verbal versus physical abuse upon judgments of seriousness, responsibility, and consequences in stalking scenarios.
Abstract
The first study manipulated verbal and physical abuse, the second manipulated presence and type of verbal threat, and the third manipulated physical injury. The findings confirmed that situational factors are at least as important an influence on judgments of stalking cases as are individual factors and that physical abuse was preeminent in decision making. Gender was also examined, and previous findings that female stalkers are wrongly perceived as less dangerous were again supported. It was concluded that because stalking is by nature diffuse, observers are readily influenced by what is most tangible in a stalking case. Tables and references (Published Abstract)