University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Center of Psychotraumatology, Alexianer Krefeld GmbH, Cologne, Germany.
J Interpers Violence. 2021 Jul;36(13-14):6487-6511. doi: 10.1177/0886260518819883. Epub 2018 Dec 20.
There is a lack of research about intimate partner stalking when victim and stalker have children together. The aim of the current study was to provide knowledge about the mental health status and attachment patterns of mothers stalked by the father of one or more of their children. One hundred ninety six Danish women, recruited via a closed social network for stalked mothers, completed an anonymous online questionnaire concerning their experiences of violence during and after the relationship with the stalker, relationship characteristics, attachment patterns, and psychological distress. Results indicated high exposure to psychological maltreatment during the victim-stalker relationship, harassing and violent stalking behaviors after relationship termination, and high levels of functional disabilities, PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), other trauma-related, affective, and somatization symptoms. Furthermore, the women retrospectively reported an increase in attachment insecurity from the time before their relationship with the stalker to the time of study participation (after they experienced relationship violence and/or stalking). Stalking behaviors uniquely contributed to the explanation of the mothers' psychological distress above the effects of relationship violence. Moreover, attachment insecurity appeared to be the strongest predictor of psychological distress. Having children together with their stalker captures women in an ongoing situation of threat and interpersonal traumatization that differs from other forms of stalking in many respects. The present study is the first drawing attention to the experiences and suffering of stalked mothers, a particularly vulnerable group of stalking victims.
当受害者和跟踪者有共同的孩子时，关于亲密伴侣跟踪的研究很少。本研究的目的是提供关于被其子女的父亲之一或多个父亲跟踪的母亲的心理健康状况和依恋模式的知识。通过一个针对被跟踪母亲的封闭社交网络，招募了 196 名丹麦妇女，让她们完成了一份匿名在线问卷，内容涉及她们在与跟踪者的关系期间和之后所经历的暴力、关系特征、依恋模式和心理困扰。结果表明，在受害者-跟踪者关系中存在高度的心理虐待暴露、关系终止后的骚扰和暴力跟踪行为，以及功能障碍、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）、其他与创伤相关的、情感和躯体化症状的高发生率。此外，这些女性从与跟踪者的关系之前到参与研究的时间（在她们经历了关系暴力和/或跟踪之后）报告了依恋不安全感的增加。跟踪行为除了关系暴力的影响外，还可以解释母亲的心理困扰。此外，依恋不安全感似乎是心理困扰的最强预测因素。与跟踪者共同育有子女使女性陷入一种持续的威胁和人际创伤情境中，这种情境在许多方面与其他形式的跟踪不同。本研究首次关注被跟踪母亲的经历和痛苦，她们是特别易受跟踪伤害的群体。
