George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2011 Nov;26(17):3428-54. doi: 10.1177/0886260511403745. Epub 2011 Aug 1.
Stalking has increasingly been the subject of legislation and research in the past 20 years. Within intimate partner violence, the context where it is most likely to occur, stalking predicts both greater danger and greater distress for the victim. However, research shows that practitioners are often unsure how to address stalking, and that the remedies available may not be effective. This longitudinal exploration of stalking focused on the experience of victims of intimate partner stalking and was conducted by Safe Horizon, an organization providing assistance to victims of violence and abuse in New York City. The sample of 82 women was interviewed monthly over 7 months, and the data were analyzed using growth curve models. We found that stalking decreased over time at a marginally significant level, and that change in stalking varied among participants. Perceived safety followed a similar pattern, increasing but not significantly, while stalking-related distress decreased significantly. The slopes of these variables were correlated, such that as stalking frequency decreased, perceived safety increased and distress decreased. Help-seeking was greater from court sources than victim services over the course of the study, but neither help source was related to a significant decrease in the stalking trajectory. According to victim report, orders of protection (OP) were helpful at some points and not at others. Implications of these results for offering victim-centered services are discussed.
在过去的 20 年中， stalking（跟踪骚扰）越来越成为立法和研究的主题。在亲密伴侣暴力的背景下，它最有可能发生，跟踪骚扰预测了受害者面临更大的危险和更多的困扰。然而，研究表明，从业者往往不确定如何处理跟踪骚扰问题，并且可用的补救措施可能并不有效。这项对亲密伴侣跟踪骚扰受害者经历的纵向探索是由 Safe Horizon 组织进行的，该组织为纽约市的暴力和虐待受害者提供援助。82 名女性的样本在 7 个月内每月接受一次采访，并使用增长曲线模型对数据进行了分析。我们发现，跟踪骚扰在一定程度上随时间减少，并且参与者之间的跟踪骚扰变化也有所不同。感知安全性呈现出类似的模式，即增加但不显著，而与跟踪骚扰相关的困扰则显著减少。这些变量的斜率相关，即随着跟踪骚扰频率的降低，感知安全性增加，困扰减少。在研究过程中，寻求法院资源的帮助比寻求受害者服务的帮助更大，但这两种帮助来源都与跟踪骚扰轨迹的显著减少无关。根据受害者的报告，保护令在某些情况下是有帮助的，而在其他情况下则没有帮助。讨论了这些结果对提供以受害者为中心的服务的影响。
