THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN TECHNOLOGICALLY STALKED BY A PAST INTIMATE: A HERMENEUTIC PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY THROUGH A COMMUNICATION PRIVACY MANANGEMENT THEORY LENS ________________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School At the University of Missouri ________________________________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy ________________________________________________________________________ By ELAINE L. DAVIES Dr. Colin Hesse, Dissertation Supervisor Dr. Colleen Colaner, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2013 The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN TECHNOLOGICALLY STALKED BY A PAST INTIMATE: A HERMENEUTIC PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY THROUGH A COMMUNICATION PRIVACY MANANGEMENT THEORY LENS Presented by Elaine L. Davies A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Colin Hesse ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Colleen Colaner ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Rebecca Meisenbach ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Christine Proulx I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my son, Dustin G. Powers, and my partner, Christopher M. Hess. You are the two of the most patient men in the world who never let me give up. I love you! This dissertation is also dedicated to the victims in this study who shared their harrowing narratives and showed remarkable resilience under tremendous circumstances. "Justice will be done." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many individuals who guided, helped, and counseled me during the process of making this dream a reality. First, I am grateful to my superb and patient advisors, Dr. Colin Hesse and Dr. Colleen Colaner. Dr. Hesse, thank you for believing in this project from its inception, holding me to my deadlines, and the insistence on checking my grammar and spelling. Dr. Colaner, thank you for agreeing to take me on, helping me to solidify my ideas, and talking me down from the ledge on so many occasions. Your support during my darkest hours gave me the courage to fight for myself and the victims. Thank you to Dr. Rebecca Meisenbach for making me feel like my brain grew every time I talked to you. I have enjoyed thoroughly every interaction with you and every challenge you have presented to me. Thank you to Dr. Christine Proulx for stepping in during dissertation process and providing valuable advice and insight into my study. I am humbled by your generosity. A very special thank you to Dr. Loreen Olson. Although not an "official" member of my final dissertation committee, you have always been there for me professionally and personally. Your faith in me has never wavered. I am a better person and scholar for having you in my life. The lessons you have taught me, I will cherish forever. ii Special thanks to Dr. Michael Porter for serving as a great role model. You remind me, daily, what a mentor can do and the impact we can have on our students. A word of thanks must be given to Jane Hitchcock at Working to Halt Online Abuse, Dr. Andrew Herrmann, and Julia Shuck for helping me locate courageous individuals willing to share their experiences. I must thank the most wonderful copy editors, Dr. Patricia Groves and Dr. Emily Rauscher for their contributions. Your last minute heroics are deeply appreciated! Finally, thank you to all my friends, my extended family, and my Mizzou cohort. You words of wisdom have carried me through this process. From my first communication course at Northern Illinois University to Mizzou to the trek across the United States, you have all been the very best a girl from the cornfield could ever hope for! I have had the very best mentors throughout this journey. Mentors come from all walks of life and sometimes you stumble into them, other times you seek them out. Either way, I am truly blessed to have you all in my corner as I continue to fight. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................... ...........................................................ii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1: INTROCTION AND RATIONALE ...........................................................1 Introduction .............................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................2 Technological Stalking as Communicative Behavior .............................................6 Frequency of Messages and Fear-inducing Communications ....................7 Rationales for the Current Study …….....................................................................9 Problem 1: Lack of Theoretically Driven Technological Stalking Research ........................................................................................9 Problem 2: Lack of Research about the Victims’ Lived Experiences ......11 Problem 3: Lack of In-depth Examination of Relational Context ............12 Theoretical Application and Extension .................................................................15 Practical Implications for Researching Technological Stalking ...........................17 Conclusion and Preview .......................................................................................19 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................21 Communication Privacy Management Theory .....................................................23 Overview of CPM .....................................................................................24 Principles of CPM .........................................................................25 Privacy Rules ................................................................................27 Privacy Violations and Boundary Turbulence ..............................28 The Application of CPM ...........................................................................29 The Use of CPM in this Study ..................................................................33 iv Relational Dissolution and the Management of Privacy Boundaries ...................34 Face Threats during Relational Dissolution ..............................................35 Relational Dissolution Messages ..............................................................38 Reconciliation Requests ............................................................................41 The Management of Privacy Boundaries ..................................................45 Past Conceptual Explanations of Unwanted Relational Pursuit ...........................47 Obsessional Relational Intrusion ..............................................................49 Cyber-Obsessional Pursuit ........................................................................50 Technological Stalking .........................................................................................51 The History of Technological Stalking Research .....................................52 Types of Technological Stalking ..............................................................54 Data Transmission Devices ...........................................................55 Computer Technology ..................................................................56 Global Dissemination of Information ...........................................59 The Management of Privacy Boundaries after Boundary Turbulence .................62 Technological Stalking Coping .................................................................63 Boundary Turbulence Coping ...................................................................65 Internet Privacy Violations Coping ..........................................................67 CHAPTER 3: METHODS ................................................................................................70 Rationale for Interpretive Paradigm ......................................................................71 Assumptions of the Interpretive Paradigm ...............................................71 Ontology .......................................................................................72 Methodology .................................................................................72 Epistemology ................................................................................73 v Hermeneutic Phenomenology within the Present Study .......................................73 Hermeneutic Phenomenology ...................................................................73 Methodology .............................................................................................75 The Current Project ...................................................................................76 Procedures .............................................................................................................78 Participant Criteria ....................................................................................78 Recruitment ...............................................................................................80