STALKING BEHAVIOR - A LITERATURE-REVIEW AND SUGGESTED FUNCTIONAL ANALYTIC ASSESSMENT TECHNOLOGY

This article provides a discussion of stalking behavior a phenomenon v ery much in the forefront of public, legal, and law enforcement attent ion. To rectify, the lack of a consistent and clear definition of stal king behavior in the literature, a behavioral definition is suggested. A review and critique of the existing literature is also provided. Th e functional analysis is proposed as a means to assist both interventi on and research efforts. It is posited that functional analyses will h elp illuminate the factors that maintain stalking behavior subsequentl y guiding intervention. it is also suggested that the information gain ed by consistent and widespread use of functional analyses will provid e points of departure for future research. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science L td.