Types of stalking research

One in five women is being stalked

by NAOMI COLEMAN, femail.co.uk

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Stalking is on the increase, say scientists, and it's not just celebrities who are under threat.

New research reveals that one in five women and one in ten men in the UK aged between 16 and 30 fall victim to some form of the phenomenon.

And, claim scientists, stalkers can now be split into five distinct groups: the rejected stalker, the intimacy stalker, the incompetent stalker, the resentful stalker and - most dangerous of all - the predatory stalker

Public figures stalked recently include pop star Madonna, TV star Zoe Ball and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

But the psychiatrist behind the research, Professor Paul Mullen, of Monash University, Australia, claims ordinary people are now more at risk than once thought.

He blames the rise in celebrity culture and social changes such as greater instability in relationships, more difficulty in finding partners and the rise of a blame culture in society.

'We define everything by our relationships,' he said. 'But there are many people who are socially isolated and rely on fabrication or delusion for their core identity.'

Men and women aged between 16 and 30 were most at risk. One in five women and one in ten men between these ages had experienced some form of stalking.

This compares with 12 per cent of women and four per cent of men aged between 45 and 60.

Professor Mullen said:'Those figures seem odd because obviously the older group have lived longer and would have been expected to have had more experience of relationship break-ups and things like stalking.

'The high rate among the younger age group tends to indicate that rates are rising, and pretty rapidly too.'

Professor Mullen suggests stalkers fall into five distinct groups. They are:

• The rejected stalker: The rejected stalker cannot accept that a relationship is over and swings between dependency on the other person, pleading for a reconciliation and flying into a rage at being rejected.
This is the most common type of stalker. They are usually male, and account for about half of all stalking cases.

• The intimacy stalker: These stalkers often target celebrities or people they do not know. They fix on someone and believe they are in love with them. They also think in time their love will be reciprocated. This group accounts for around 5 per cent of cases are are more likely to be women.

• The incompetent stalker: This type of stalker is usually socially incompetent, chauvinistic or a misogynist who believe they are entitled to a relationship with a woman. Although often short-term, stalking is characterised by awkward pleadings or aggressive demands.

• The resentful stalker: Unlike other types, these stalkers behave deliberately to frighten their victim. It is often motivated by a desire for revenge.
The stalker targets the person who has hurt them directly - or a representative of that group or person - for instance, a boss, a woman or a certain ethnic minority. This accounts for a minority of cases and is often rooted in the workplace.

• The predatory stalker: This is the least common and most dangerous type of stalker - the category that sex offenders fall into.
They follow their victims, observe their behaviour and gather information in order to plan a real attack. They are exclusively men and stalk victims for a feeling of power, control and sexual excitement.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-21634/One-women-stalked.html#ixzz1iUKbjlMj

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