Developmental and Social Antecedents of Stalking
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Developmental and Social Antecedents of Stalking Kristine K. Kienlen, Psy.D. Stalking is generally defined as an individual's persistent unwanted pursuit or obsessional harassment of another person, causing him or her fear of bodily injury. Based on two precursory studies of this population (Meloy & Gothard, 1995; Zona, Sharma, & Lane, 1993), Meloy (1996) coined the clinical term "obsessional follower" to describe "a person who engages in an abnormal or long-term pattern of threat or harassment directed toward a specific individual" (p. 148). While stalking behavior may be manifested by seemingly benign gestures (e.g., gifts, letters) meant to be symbols of the stalker's affection, the victim reacts in fear due to the stalker's inability or unwillingness to accept the reality that the victim is uninterested in a relationship. Even legal interventions, such as restraining orders prohibiting the stalker's contact with the victim, are often ineffective deter- rents to the stalker's behavior. Repeated rejection by the victim may lead to escalation of the stalker's behavior to overt threats or violence (e.g., assault, rape, murder) toward the victim. Sometimes third parties such as friends and family members are perceived as impeding the stalker's relationship with the victim and may also be targets of violence. Although stalkers often pursue a former intimate partner or casual acquain- tance to seek an amorous relationship, other stalkers harass strangers or acquaintances for hostile, paranoid, or delusional reasons (Harmon, Rosner, & Owens, 1995; Kienlen, Birmingham, Solberg, O'Regan, & Meloy, 1997; Meloy & Gothard, 1995). 51 The Psychology of Stalking: Clinical and Forensic Perspectives Copyright 9 1998 by Academic Press. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 52 Kristine K. Kienlen There is no single profile of a "stalker." Individuals who stalk exhibit a broad range of behaviors, motivations, and psychological traits. Some similarities emerge, however, from the research on stalking: Stalkers tend to be older, educated men with unsuccessful relationship and employment histories (Harmon et al., 1995; Kienlen et al., 1997; Meloy, 1996; Meloy & Gothard, 1995; Zona et al., 1993). The stalker's absence or instability of relationships may be explained by Meloy's (1992, 1996) theory that obsessional following is a pathology of attachment. In the first empirical examination of the early relationships of stalkers, Kienlen et al. (1997) found that most stalkers experienced severe disruptions in childhood caretaking relationships. Disturbances in early attachments may contribute to unsta- ble adult relationships and stalking behavior. The following review of attachment research forms the framework for a theoretical perspective on how unstable attachment histories can developmentally contribute to the pathology of stalking. Social antecedents of stalking, including recent loss, are also examined. ATTACHMENT THEORY Although research on attachment theory has historically focused on early childhood bonds with caregivers, the literature maintains that attachment behavior persists throughout the life cycle (Ainsworth, 1989; Bowlby, 1969). "During the course of healthy development attachment behaviour leads to the development of affectional bonds or attachments, initially between child and parent and later between adult and adult" (Bowlby, 1980, p. 39). While stable early attachments contribute to an individual's healthy development, recent research has focused on the correlation between pathological attachment patterns and the development of various maladaptive personality traits and psychopathology (Dutton, Saunders, Starzomski, & Bartholomew, 1994; Fonagy, Leigh, Steele, Steele, Kennedy, Mat- toon, Target, & Gerber, 1996; Rosenstein & Horowitz, 1996; West & Sheldon, 1988). Pathological attachment patterns have also been linked to criminal or violent behavior (Dutton, 1995b; Dutton & Golant, 1995; Meloy, 1992; Raine, 1993). Attachment is generally defined as a strong affectional bond with a specific person. Ainsworth (1989) defined an affectional bond as "a relatively long-enduring tie in which the partner is important as a unique individual and is interchangeable with none other" (p. 711). Although a specific attachment figure cannot be replaced, an individual may have attachment bonds with various individuals. A secure attachment provides the sense of assurance, comfort, and confidence the child needs to explore the environment. Bowlby (1980) explained that attachment behavior is "any form ofbehaviour that results in a person attaining or retaining proximity to some other differentiated and preferred individual" (p. 39). In the presence of the accessible and responsive 3. Antecedents of Stalking 53 attachment figure, a child's attachment behavior may simply consist of checking the whereabouts of the caregiver for reassurance. However, certain conditions (i.e., a strange or frightening situation, fatigue of the child, or unavailability of the caregiver) may elicit attachment behavior (i.e., following, clinging, or crying) meant to gain the attention of the caregiver. "Since the goal of attachment behaviour is to maintain the affectional bond, any situation that seems to be endangering the bond elicits action designed to preserve it; and the greater the danger of loss appears to be the more intense and varied are the actions elicited to prevent it" (Bowlby, 1980, p. 42). In addition to attention-seeking behavior such as crying and clinging, angry coercion may be used to maintain the affectional bond. Such attachment behavior dissipates with the ready availability and responsiveness of a caregiver (Bowlby, 1980). Bowlby's explanation of attachment behavior may to some extent explain the variety of ardent behaviors utilized by stalkers who are pursuing a love object. When the stalker's phone calls, letters, or following of the victim prove ineffective, angry verbal abuse, threats, or even violence may be used in an attempt to coerce the victim into a relationship. In describing parallels between infant-caregiver attachment and adult roman- tic love, Shaver and Hazan (1987) pointed out that the infant's joy and distress depend on the caregiver's perceived responsiveness, just as the adult's mood depends on perceptions of the love partner's reciprocation or rejection. Both infants and adults actively react to separation with intense distress, attention-consuming reunion efforts, and sadness when reunion is not accomplished (Shaver & Hazan, 1987). Bowlby (1980) described the following intense emotions connected to attach- ment relationships: Love is associated with the formation and maintenance of an attachment bond; anxiety is aroused with the threat of loss, and sorrow occurs with actual loss of the attachment bond; anger or rage may also be elicited by loss and/or sorrow; and joy is experienced upon reunion with the attachment figure. In addition to the above behavioral and emotional manifestations of attach- ment, Bowlby (1973) coined the term "working models" to explain the cognitive aspect of attachment. Bowlby (1973) explained that individuals build working models of the world and particularly about attachment figures (i.e., who they are, where they are, their expected response) and of themselves (i.e., perception of how acceptable or unacceptable one is to the attachment figure). Bretherton (1992) explained that if the attachment figure recognizes the child's need for comfort and protection while respecting the child's needs to independently explore the environment, the child will likely develop a working model of self as valued and self-reliant. To the contrary, if the caregiver frequently fails to meet the child's needs for comfort and exploration, the child will likely develop a working model of self as unworthy or incompetent. The child utilizes working models to predict the behavior of the attachment figure and to plan a response (Bretherton, 1992). Bowlby (1973) theorized that more than one working model of oneself and the 54 Kristine K. Kienlen attachment figure may exist and that primitive unconscious or semiconscious working models developed in the early years may sometimes dominate over more sophisticated, incompatible models. OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY The central theme of object relations theory is that early caretaking relation- ships, usually with the mother, are internalized and transformed into a sense of self. Melanie Klein, considered one of the founders of object relations theory, focused on the mother-child relationship because it is the foundation for the construction of the child's inner world and the prototype for all subsequent relation- ships (Cashdan, 1988). The relationship model that an individual constructs and internalizes as a child plays a role in the creation and maintenance of relationships throughout the life span. Abandonment or rejection threatens the sense of self. Mahler, Pine, and Bergman (1975) referred to the "psychological birth of the individual" or the separation-individuation process in which the individual establishes a sense of separateness from the primary love object and the world (p. 3). Separation-individuation involves four subphases: differentiation, practicing, rapprochement, and libidinal object constancy. An individual's development during these four subphases determines the degree of separateness that is achieved and influences the individual's sense of self and relationships. During the differentiation subphase (beginning at the fifth or sixth month and extending to