NCJ Number
173312
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: 1997 Pages: 541-545
Date Published
1997
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Medical records of 18 pretrial detainees charged with stalking were evaluated at a forensic unit in Columbia, South Carolina, from January 1992 to December 1994, and their records were compared with those of 18 offenders in the same unit randomly matched for sex, race, and whether associated crimes were violent.
Abstract
Compared variables included age, marital status, education, substance abuse, Axis I diagnosis, prior psychiatric hospitalizations, military history, and organicity. Significant findings showed alleged stalkers were better educated, less likely to be married, less likely to abuse substances, and more likely to have military training and organicity when compared to other offenders. Specifically, the group of stalkers was not diagnosed with intellectual impairments as often as the control group; only one individual in the stalking group was diagnosed with mental retardation. Stalkers were 3 years older than control offenders, with an average age of 34 years. Although there were no differences in the number of psychiatric hospitalizations between the two groups, 79 percent of stalkers were mentally ill with an Axis I diagnosis. Nine had illnesses with psychotic features--two with schizophrenia, two with delusional disorders, and five with mood disorders. The typical stalker was a single, educated male who was likely to have had military training and some degree of organicity. He was less likely than other offenders to abuse substances. 5 references and 1 table