Experiences and Needs of Formerly Intimate Stalking Victims in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1991-1995

Resource Information

The work Experiences and Needs of Formerly Intimate Stalking Victims in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1991-1995 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Bowdoin College Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Experiences and Needs of Formerly Intimate Stalking Victims in Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1991-1995

Creator

• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor]
• Brewster, Mary P

Author

• Brewster, Mary P

Contributor

• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor]

Subject

• stalking
• survey
• victim services
• criminal justice system
• women
• victims
• demographic characteristics
• needs assessment
• relationships

Genre

• survey

Summary

This study sought to explore the nature of the stalking experiences of noncelebrity stalking victims who had previously been in intimate relationships with their stalkers. These were cases in which the stalkers were seeking revenge and/or reconciliation through stalking. Data were collected from 187 female stalking victims during 1991-1995 living in Chester, Delaware, Bucks, Philadelphia, and Montgomery counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Data collection was comprised of an extensive, semistructured, face-to-face interview conducted with each woman to gather information concerning the nature of the stalking, the relationship between the victim and the stalker, the victim's response to the stalking, the consequences of the stalking for the victim, the needs of stalking victims in general, and fulfillment of those needs in terms of victim services and interaction with and cooperation from the criminal justice system. A brief survey questionnaire was also administered to obtain demographic information about each victim and her stalker. Content analysis of the interview transcripts was used to identify variables. Each variable fell into one of six categories: (1) victim's prior relationship with the stalker, (2) characteristics of the stalking, (3) victim's attempt to discourage the stalker (through both legal and extralegal mechanisms), (4) assistance sought by the victim through formal and informal networks and the subsequent handling of the situation by others, (5) the physical and emotional effects of the stalking on the victim, and (6) other victimization experiences. Demographic variables include the age, race, education level, marital status, and employment status of both the victim and the stalker