Parental abduction is not restricted to any specific socioeconomic or ethnic group. However, researchers have identified some shared characteristics among both perpetrators and victims.

Ages of Child and Abductor

The NISMART study found that more than half of abducted children were under age 8 and about a quarter were under age 4 (Finkelhor, Hotaling, and Sedlak, 1990). Other studies indicate that children between the ages of 3 and 5 were the most likely to be abducted, with infants and adolescents being the least likely to be taken (Agopian and Anderson, 1981). Data from quantitative studies of both domestic and international cases reveal that both abducting and left-behind parents tend to be in their thirties (Agopian and Anderson, 1981; Finkelhor, Hotaling, and Sedlak, 1990; Chiancone and Girdner, 2000).

Gender of Child and Abductor

The NISMART study found that a larger percentage of boys (58 percent) than girls (42 percent) were victims of parental abduction, although the differences were not statistically significant. The data from NISMART also indicated a higher frequency of male abductors (72 percent) than female abductors (28 percent), with former husbands and boyfriends constituting the largest group (42 percent), followed by current husbands and boyfriends (21 percent). Female abductors in all categories accounted for only one-quarter of abductions (Finkelhor, Hotaling, and Sedlak, 1990). A study that looked specifically at international abductions found equal numbers of male and female abductors (Chiancone and Girdner, 2000).²

Cross-Cultural Marriages

In their study, Hegar and Greif (1994) found high rates of cross-cultural or international marriage among 371 families that had experienced parental abduction. Forty-seven (13 percent) of these abductions involved couples who differed in race or ethnicity, compared with the then national rate of 8 percent (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989). Cross-cultural marriages accounted for 16 percent (59) of the 371 families. Hegar and Greif (1994) also found that rates of foreign abduction were higher for racially or ethnically intermarried abductors (about 50 percent) than for the group as a whole (about 20 percent). Chiancone and Girdner’s (2000) study of international abductions also showed high rates of cross-cultural and international marriage.

Janvier, McCormick, and Donaldson’s (1990) data, drawn from a survey of 65 left-behind parents nationwide, showed a difference between international and domestic cases. The data documented that parents were divorced in slightly more than one-quarter (26 percent) of the international cases, compared with 48 percent of the domestic cases, and that in close to one-fifth (19 percent) of the international cases, the parents were married at the time of the abduction, compared with only 2 percent for domestic cases. Johnston (1994) identified several risk factors for parental abduction. One of these is an abductor who has emotional or financial ties in another country.

Ongoing Parental Conflict

Both Greif and Hegar (1993) and Finkelhor, Hotaling, and Sedlak (1990) found high numbers (41 percent and 54 percent, respectively) of parental abductions taking place during the period between separation and divorce, a time when much conflict can occur. The findings of Johnston, Campbell, and Mayes (1985) suggest that children in families having high levels of ongoing parental conflict (e.g., relitigation of custody, physical or verbal aggression directed by one parent toward the other, or the formation of a parent-child alliance that excludes the other parent) are at risk for abduction, even with frequent parental visitation or joint custody arrangements.

Chiancone and Girdner (2000) found characteristics similar to those described above reflected in reported cases of international child abduction.