NCJ Number
181914
Journal
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law Volume: 4 Issue: 1/2 Dated: March/June 1998 Pages: 236-249
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the characteristics and mental conditions of stalkers uses information from forensic reports prepared over a 10-year period on 175 stalkers referred by courts to a forensic psychiatric clinic in New York City for a psychiatric evaluation after being charged for stalking behavior that alarmed the victim.
Abstract
The research reviewed 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. The analysis focused on the relationship between the stalker and the target, the motive for the stalking, and whether violence was documented. Fifty-four percent of the stalkers were violent toward their targets, not all the stalkers had an amorous attachment toward their target, the combination of drug abuse and an Axis II diagnosis of personality disorder generated the most violent group of stalkers, and most stalkers who did not make threats were not violent. Findings indicated that romantically motivated stalkers and nonromantically motivated stalkers are equally likely to act out violently. Findings also indicated that targets, close associates of targets, and police personnel should take seriously the threat of violence from obsessional stalkers. Tables, footnotes, and 36 references