Juvenile Stalking 'More Violent Than Adult
Stalking'
May 5, 2009
Stalking by children and adolescents should be taken far more seriously,
according to new research published in the May issue of the British Journal
of Psychiatry.
Psychiatrists and psychologists in Australia studied almost 300 child and
adolescent stalkers.
Although stalking among young people is often dismissed as being relatively rare
and harmless, the researchers actually found that juvenile stalking is characterized
by "far higher levels of threats and violence than adult stalking".
Of the 299 juvenile stalkers identified in the study, almost all (98%) pursued a
person who was already known to them.
Unlike stalking among adults, very few juvenile stalkers were infatuated with
their victim or were trying to impose an unwanted relationship on them. Instead,
most of the cases of stalking were an extension of bullying.
Alarmingly, over half of the victims (54%) were physically attacked - some
sustaining significant injuries. A further 2% suffered serious sexual assault.
Three-quarters (75%) of the victims reported being threatened. These ranged from
veiled threats such as "watch your back", to explicit threats to harm,
rape or kill. In 15% of cases, threats of violence had been made against the
victim's family or friends as well.
A significant minority of the juvenile stalkers (36%) were female - a far higher
proportion than found among adult stalkers. While male adolescent stalkers
mainly pursued girls, female stalkers tended focused their harassment on other
girls. They also often recruited their friends as accomplices to the stalking.
Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers said:
"Stalking behavior in juveniles has traditionally been trivialized as
uncommon and innocuous. This study provides the first systematic examination of
juvenile stalkers. Juvenile stalking is characterized by direct, intense,
overtly threatening and all too often violent forms of pursuit.
"The seriousness that is afforded to adult forms of stalking should
similarly apply to this behavior among juveniles, given the even greater risks
of disruption to the victim's life and risks of being attacked."
Reference:
Purcell R, Moller B, Flower T and Mullen PE (2009) Stalking among juveniles, British
Journal of Psychiatry, 194: 451-455
Source
Royal College of Psychiatrists
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