The toll of stalking - The relationship between features of stalking and psychopathology of victims

Information oil the psychological consequences of stalking,, oil victims is scarce. The present study aimed to investigate whether stalking victims ha ve a heightened prevalence of psychopathology and the extent to which sympt om levels are associated with stalking features. Stalking victims (N = 241) completed the General Health Questionnaire and provided information on spe cific features of their stalking experiences, High levels of psychopatholog y were found among stalking victims. Symptom levels were comparable with th ose of psychiatric outpatients. The frequency, pervasiveness, duration, and cessation of stalking were associated with symptom levels but explained on ly 9% of the variance of the level of distress. It is concluded that stalki ng victims,generally have many, symptoms of psychopathology The symptoms ar e largely independent of features of These findings indicate that better th erapy outcomes can be expected from therapies focusing on boosting general coping skills and oil decreasing general vulnerability than from therapies focusing oil specifically dealing with the stalking situation.