Lifetime prevalence and impact of stalking: Epidemiological data from Eastern Austria

Abstract

-Background and Objectives: Community-based studies of stalking in European countries are scarce. The aim of the present study was to replicate the epidemiological study by Dressing and colleagues, which analyzed a sample drawn from a middle-sized German city (Dressing et al., 2005) by using a general population sample (urban as well as rural citizens) from Eastern Austria.Methods: In a survey of 401 persons from Eastern Austria we tried to replicate the study on the lifetime and point prevalence of stalking in a German urban community. The survey included a stalking questionnaire and the WHO-5 well-being scale.Results: Nearly 11% of the respondents (n = 43, 37 women, 6 men) reported having been stalked. Victims scored significantly lower on the WHO-5 well-being scale. We found no significant differences in stalking and well-being between rural and urban areas.Conclusions: Epidemiological data on stalking collected in an Austrian community closely resemble the data derived from a community-based sample in a middle-sized German city. We also inquired about the living environment of the participants (rural or urban), but found no difference between the two. Furthermore, the lifetime prevalence of being a stalking victim is associated with currently impaired psychological well-being as measured by the WHO-5 Well-being Index.

Post-Breakup Unwanted Pursuit: A Refined Analysis of the Role of Romantic Relationship Characteristics

“…Although prevalence studies on stalking have used large scale representative community samples inside and outside of Europe (e.g., Stieger et al 2008;Tjaden and Thoennes 1998), the majority of UPB and stalking studies examining former partners have used non-European college student samples. However, Ravensberg and Miller's (2003) review illustrated that college students differ from the general adult population in their experiences of stalking.…”

The prevalence of stalking: Current data from a German victim survey

“…But the epidemiology of stalking has also been investigated in European countries (for example, Dovelius et al, 2006;FRA, 2014;Matos et al, 2012;Stieger et al, 2008;Van der Aa and Kunst, 2009). For Germany, no nationally representative data on the prevalence of stalking exist so far: Dressing, Kuehner, and Gass (2005) reported first estimates of the prevalence of stalking in Germany.…”

Unwanted Pursuit Behavior After Breakup: Occurrence, Risk Factors, and Gender Differences

“…As UPB involves the full range of mild to severe unwanted pursuit tactics, it is more widespread than stalking and mostly aggravating or annoying but not fear-inducing (e.g., Cupach & Spitzberg, 1998. For instance, lifetime prevalence estimates of ex-partner stalking victimization in nationally representative studies amount to 3-4% (Dressing, Gass, & Keuhner, 2007;Purcell, Pathé, & Mullen, 2002;Stieger, Burger, & Schild, 2008) whereas in a recent representative study of adult ex-partners, 37% were found to have used at least one pursuit tactic after their breakup . In the latter study, most of the registered tactics were benign tactics (i.e., watching the ex-partner, monitoring the ex-partner, making exaggerated expressions of affection).…”