Who Are the Stalkers in Hong Kong? Examining Stalking Perpetration Behaviors and Motives of Young Adults.

Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan

doi:10.3390/ijerph182312798

Abstract

Information on the stalking perpetration dynamics of young male and female adults in Asian countries is scarce, particularly in relation to stalkers’ offending characteristics, perpetration behaviors, motives, and other violent and nonviolent behaviors. This study compares the stalking perpetration dynamics (i.e., offending characteristics, lifetime stalking perpetration behaviors and motives, and other violent and nonviolent behaviors) of young male and female adults in Hong Kong. Of the 2496 participants, recruited from all eight public and two private universities in Hong Kong, 45 participants (1.8%; mean age = 22.84 years) reported stalking perpetration during their lifetimes (33 males (mean age = 22.56 years) and 12 females (mean age = 23.58 years)). Significantly more males than females reported that they had engaged in stalking perpetration in the past 12 months. In general, participants most frequently perpetrated surveillance-oriented stalking behaviors, followed by approach-oriented stalking behaviors and intimidation- and aggression-oriented stalking behaviors. Significantly more females than males reported to have threatened to harm or kill their victims. Additionally, significantly more females than males reported “the victim caught me doing something” as their motive for stalking. The findings of our study provide useful information for prioritization during criminal investigations. Increased understanding of the stalking perpetration dynamics of males and females will help the police and threat assessment professionals to formulate their investigation and management plans.

Highlights

IntroductionLargescale representative surveys conducted in Australia, the U.S, and the U.K. during the past decade largely identified similar lifetime prevalence rates of stalking victimization, with one in five women and one in 12 men in Australia and the U.K
41.9% of the participants had engaged in stalking perpetration in the past
Half (48.8%) of the participants reported that their most recent act of stalking perpetration occurred more than a year previously, and only about a quarter (23.8%) of the participants were actively engaging in stalking perpetration

Summary

Introduction

Largescale representative surveys conducted in Australia, the U.S, and the U.K. during the past decade largely identified similar lifetime prevalence rates of stalking victimization, with one in five women and one in 12 men in Australia and the U.K. [1,2] and one in six women and one in 18 men in the U.S experiencing stalking victimization [3]. There are various definitions of stalking, from a narrow legal definition that requires the stalker to demonstrate intent and the victim to feel fear, to broader definitions that encompass lists of constituent behaviors (see [4]). The traditional view of stalking is that the perpetrators of stalking are more likely to be male, whereas the victims are more likely to be female [10]. A meta-analysis by Spitzberg [11]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion