U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

What to do About Stalking: A Preliminary Study of how Stalking Victims Responded to Stalking and their Perceptions of the Effectiveness of These Actions

NCJ Number
242666
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2013 Pages: 43-66
Author(s)
James Geistman; Brad Smith; Eric G. Lambert; Terry Cluse-Tolar
Date Published
March 2013
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This research has examined whether strategies used against stalking have proven effective.
Abstract
While stalking researchers have cataloged various strategies used by victims to deal with stalking, little research has examined whether these strategies have proven effective. Using data collected from undergraduates at a Midwestern university, the authors examined the effects of informal responses for victims of both violent and nonviolent stalking who responded to the stalker on their own and victims who enlisted the help of others. Findings indicated that victims who enlisted help from family and friends in their informal responses to the stalker were more successful in attenuating the effects of both violent and nonviolent stalking. Victims of stalking generally were more likely than nonvictims to feel that formal coping strategies were ineffective. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor and Francis.