An Exploration of Victim-Initiated Interventions and the Duration of Stalking

Abstract

The concept of duration has been relatively unexplored in the stalking literature. This study examines the relationship between several victim-initiated interventions and the duration of stalking. The objective was to determine which, if any, interventions used by victims against their stalkers led to a decrease in the length of time they were stalked. Continuous survival analysis was used on a voluntary sample of victims that reported duration of their stalking in monthly intervals. Only a single intervention was associated with a significant reduction in the length of stalking cases. Duration was then recoded into years and compared to data from a national, random sample to determine if similar results occurred in a more generalizable sample. Discrete survival analysis produced inconsistent results between the two samples. These findings demonstrate the need for an updated national survey of stalking victims, as well as caution researchers against relying on small, geographically unique samples.