Parental Bonding and Adult Attachment Styles in Different Types of Stalker

• NCJ Number: 225613
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 1443-1449
• Author(s): Rachel D. MacKenzie D.Psych; Paul E.. Mullen M.B., B.S., D.Sc.; James R.P. Ogloff J.D., Ph.D.; Troy E. McEwan D.Psych; David V. James M.B.B.S., M.A.
• Date Published: November 2008
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study extended research on the attachment needs and styles of stalkers by exploring the childhood and adult attachment styles of various stalker subtypes, using both relationship and motivational classifications.

Abstract

Study findings provide some support for the concept that insecure adult attachment increases an individual’s propensity to stalk. Apparently, stalkers often fail to form secure attachment to parents in childhood, perceiving their parents, particularly their fathers, as neglectful in terms of the care and emotional sustenance provided. There is also evidence that when insecure attachments develop in childhood, they persist into adulthood and have a detrimental impact on the impressions that evolve about self and others. In turn, this undermines the stalker’s ability to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. For some stalkers, this may result in their obsessive clinging to relationships out of their fear of abandonment; whereas, others engage in harassing behavior as a means of restoring self-esteem. The study distinguished stalkers by motivational type. The five motivational types of stalkers are “rejected,” “resentful,“ “intimacy,” “incompetent,” and “predator.” Although motivations for stalking vary, they all stem from personal reactions to attachment deficits experienced in childhood. The study also distinguishes stalkers by the type of relationship from which the stalking stems, i.e., “ex-intimate,” “acquaintance,” and “stranger.” The study involved 122 individuals recruited from referrals to a specialist forensic clinic in a Problem Behaviors Program in Melbourne, Australia. “Stalking” was defined as “unwanted intrusive behavior on more than one occasion or a protracted single episode that was either conducted with malicious intent or caused the victim fear or apprehension.” The instruments administered measured adult attachment style and bonding with parents. 4 tables and 57 references