Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-qc88w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-14T02:33:44.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Violence among female stalkers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2011

S. Strand  and
T. E. McEwan
S. Strand
Affiliation:
Mid-Sweden University and Sundsvall Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Sundsvall, Sweden
T. E. McEwan*
Affiliation:
Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Monash University and the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, Victoria, Australia
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr T. E. McEwan, Centre for Forensic Behavioural Sciences, Monash University, 505 Hoddle St, Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia 3068. (Email: troy.mcewan@monash.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Female stalkers account for 10–25% of all stalking cases, yet little is known about risk factors for female stalking violence. This study identifies risk factors for female stalking violence and contrasts these with risk factors for male stalking violence.

Method

Seventy-one female and 479 male stalkers presenting to police in Sweden and a specialist stalking clinic in Australia were investigated. Univariate comparisons of behaviour by gender, and comparisons between violent and non-violent female stalkers, were undertaken. Logistic regression was then used to develop a predictive model for stalking violence based on demographic, offence and clinical characteristics.

Results

Rates of violence were not significantly different between genders (31% of males and 23% of females). For both men and women, violence was associated with a combination of a prior intimate relationship with the victim, threats and approach behaviour. This model produced receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves with area under the curve (AUC)=0.80 for female stalkers and AUC=0.78 for male stalkers. The most notable gender difference was significantly higher rates of personality disorder among women. High rates of psychotic disorder were found in both genders. Stalking violence was directly related to psychotic symptoms for a small number of women.

Conclusions

Similar risk factors generally predict stalking violence between genders, providing initial support for a similar approach to risk assessment for all stalkers. The most notable gender difference was the prevalence of personality and psychotic disorders among female stalkers, supporting an argument for routine psychiatric assessment of women charged with stalking.

Keywords

Female offendersrisk assessmentstalkingviolence

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , March 2012 , pp. 545 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Baum, K, Catalano, S, Rand, M, Rose, K (2009). Stalking Victimization in the United States. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dietz, PE, Martell, DA (2010). Commentary: Approaching and stalking public figures – a prerequisite to attack. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 38, 341–348.Google ScholarPubMed
Douglas, KS, Guy, LS, Hart, SD (2009). Psychosis as a risk factor for violence: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin 135, 679–706.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galeazzi, GM, Elkins, K, Curci, P (2005). The stalking of mental health professionals by patients. Psychiatric Services 56, 137–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garcia-Mansilla, A, Rosenfeld, B, Nicholls, TL (2009). Risk assessment: are current methods applicable to women. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health 8, 50–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godfredson, JW, Thomas, SD, Ogloff, JRP, Luebbers, S (in press). Policing people experiencing mental illness: the State of Victoria, Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology.Google Scholar
Godfredson, JJW, Thomas, SDM, Ogloff, JRP, Luebbers, S (2010). Police discretion and encounters with people experiencing mental illness. The significant factors. Criminal Justice and Behavior 37, 1392–1405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, DM (1998). The victims of stalking. In The Psychology of Stalking: Clinical and Forensic Perspectives (ed. Meloy, J. R.), pp. 113–137. Academic Press: New York, NY.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, DV, Farnham, FR (2003). Stalking and serious violence. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 31, 432–439.Google ScholarPubMed
James, DV, McEwan, TE, MacKenzie, RD, Meloy, JR, Mullen, PE, Pathé, MT, Farnham, FR, Preston, LF, Darnley, BJ (2010). Persistence in stalking: a comparison of associations in general forensic and public figure samples. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology 21, 283–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, DV, Mullen, PE, Meloy, JR, Pathé, MT, Farnham, FR, Preston, L, Darnley, B (2007). The role of mental disorder in attacks on European politicians 1990–2004. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 116, 334–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, DV, Mullen, PE, Pathé, MT, Meloy, J, Farnham, FR, Preston, L, Darnley, B (2008). Attacks on the British royal family: the role of psychotic illness. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 36, 59–67.Google ScholarPubMed
Kienlen, KK, Birmingham, DL, Solberg, KB, O'Regan, JT, Meloy, J (1997). A comparative study of psychotic and nonpsychotic stalking. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 25, 317–334.Google ScholarPubMed
MacKenzie, RD, McEwan, TE, Pathé, MT, James, DV, Ogloff, JRP, Mullen, PE (2009). Stalking Risk Profile: Guidelines for Assessing and Managing Stalkers. StalkInc. and Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Monash University: Melbourne.Google Scholar
MacKenzie, RD, Mullen, PE, Ogloff, JRP, McEwan, TE, James, DV (2008). Parental bonding and adult attachment styles in different types of stalker. Journal of Forensic Sciences 53, 1443–1449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwan, TE, Mullen, PE, MacKenzie, R, Ogloff, JRP (2009). Violence in stalking situations. Psychological Medicine 39, 1469–1478.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McEwan, TE, Mullen, PE, Purcell, R (2007). Identifying risk factors in stalking: a review of current research. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 30, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meloy, JR, Boyd, C (2003). Female stalkers and their victims. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 31, 211–219.Google ScholarPubMed
Meloy, JR, James, DV, Mullen, PE, Pathé, MT, Farnham, F, Preston, L, Darnley, B (2011). Factors associated with escalation and approaches toward public figures. Journal of Forensic Sciences 56 (Suppl. 1), S128–S135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meloy, JR, Mohandie, K, Green, M (2011). The female stalker. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 29, 240–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mohandie, K, Meloy, JR, Green-McGowan, M, Williams, J (2006). The RECON typology of stalking: reliability and validity based on a large sample of North American stalkers. Journal of Forensic Sciences 51, 147–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mullen, PE, Pathé, M, Purcell, R, Stuart, GW (1999). Study of stalkers. American Journal of Psychiatry 156, 1244–1249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palarea, RE, Zona, MA, Lane, JC, Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J (1999). The dangerous nature of intimate relationship stalking: threats, violence, and associated risk factors. Behavioral Science and the Law 17, 269–283.3.0.CO;2-6>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purcell, R, Pathé, M, Mullen, PE (2001). A study of women who stalk. American Journal of Psychiatry 158, 2056–2060.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Purcell, R, Pathé, M, Mullen, PE (2002). The prevalence and nature of stalking in the Australian community. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 36, 114–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenfeld, B, Harmon, R (2002). Factors associated with violence in stalking and obsessional harassment cases. Criminal Justice and Behavior 29, 671–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenfeld, B, Lewis, C (2005). Assessing violence risk in stalking cases: a regression tree approach. Law and Human Behavior 29, 343–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strand, S, McEwan, TE (2011). Same-gender stalking in Sweden and Australia. Behavioral Science and the Law 29, 202–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walsh, E, Buchanan, A, Fahy, T (2002). Violence and schizophrenia: examining the evidence. British Journal of Psychiatry 180, 490–495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed