STALKERS - THE SOUTH-CAROLINA EXPERIENCE

Medical records of 18 pretrial detainees charged with stalking were ev aluated at a forensic unit in Columbia, South Carolina from January 19 92 to December 1994 and their records were compared with those of 18 o ffenders in the same unit randomly matched for sex, race, and whether associated crimes were violent or not. Compared variables included age , marital status, level of education, substance abuse, Axis I diagnosi s, prior psychiatric hospitalizations, military history, and organicit y. Significant findings show that alleged stalkers were better educate d, less likely to be married or to abuse substances, and more likely t o have military training and organicity when compared with other offen ders. The prototypical stalker in this study is a single, educated mal e who is likely to have military training as well as some degree of or ganicity. He is less likely than other offenders to abuse substances. Replication studies are needed.