Prevalence of Cyberstalking and Previous Offline Victimization in a Sample of Italian University Students

Abstract

Cyberstalking has been defined as the use of electronic communication devices (including the Internet and email) to stalk another person. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cyberstalking between victims of cyberstalking and victims of cyberstalking and previous offline victimization in their lifetimes. Our hypothesis was that cyberstalking had an impact on victims’ wellbeing and contributed to increases in physical and emotional symptoms, anxiety and depression, and that those symptoms increased in victims who had suffered previous offline victimization. In an effort to investigate the effects of cyberstalking, a questionnaire was self-administered to 229 Italian students. A total of 107 participants (46.7%) indicated that they had been victims of cyberstalking. Seventy-two of them (67.3%) were victims of both cyberstalking and other forms of offline victimization in their lifetimes. Overall, our findings showed that the prevalence of cyberstalking in our sample was higher than in previous investigations. With regard to consequences, victims indicated higher scores for depression and anxiety than non-victims. In particular, victims of cyberstalking and previous offline victimization in their lifetimes experienced more depression and symptoms of trait anxiety than victims of cyberstalking only and non-victims. This investigation suggests the importance of preventing cyberstalking and offering support to victims of cyberstalking.

Characteristics of Cyberstalking Behavior, Consequences, and Coping Strategies: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Italian University Students

“…In addition, five items were added to the original scale to obtain the gender (if known) of the perpetrator and the duration and frequency of the behavior (possible answers: one or more times a day, more than three times a week, once a week, once a month, less than once a month). The questionnaire was already used in a previous investigation on cyberstalking in an Italian audience [34].…”

Coping Strategies and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adult Victims of Cyberstalking: A Questionnaire Survey in an Italian Sample

“…Short and colleagues [11] analyzed data from 353 self-defined victims of stalking and found that the majority of the victims were female (240) between the ages of 20 and 39 (58.6%). In a previous study conducted by two of the authors of this work [12,13] that involved 107 young adult self-declared victims of cyberstalking, the findings showed that the victims were mainly females (61%). Similar findings were found by Fissel [14]; among the sample of 1500 participants in her survey, 31.8% were identified as victims of cyberstalking victimization, and women comprised the majority of the sample (69%).…”

“…Such undesirable behaviours are perceived by the victim as annoying, unwanted, or threatening to their own safety." This definition was already used in an Italian survey with university students [12,13]. Participants were asked if they experienced a cyberstalking conduct, such as online contact, harassment, threats of violence, unwanted sexual advances and identity fraud (for each type of behavior, there was an item; possible answers were yes/no).…”

“…There was also a question about the frequency of the behavior (participants could indicate one of the following answers: one or more times a day, more than three times a week, once a week, once a month, less than once a month). This questionnaire was used in previous investigations on cyberstalking in an Italian sample [12,13]. Coping strategies were investigated using 15 items taken from the Italian version of the Questionnaire on Stalking [34].…”

“…The second aim was to analyze the coping strategies and the consequences (in terms depression and anxiety) that occurred in victims. In accordance with the literature [11][12][13][14], to better understand the impact of the cyberstalking behavior, a comparison was made between genders (males and females). The target population was young adults because, as suggested by Alexi and colleagues [2] and Lenhart and colleagues [4], they are more at risk of cyberstalking victimization than other individuals.…”