Stalkers and Their Victims

Description

Stalking has moved from being a novel area for study to become a core area of concern for mental health professionals, lawyers and other members of the criminal justice system. It has emerged as a significant social problem which not only commands considerable public attention but is now, in many jurisdictions, a specific form of criminal offence. This new edition brings the reader completely up-to-date with the explosion in published research and clinical studies in the field, and covers new issues such as cyberstalking, stalking health professionals, stalking in the workplace, female stalkers, juvenile stalkers, stalking celebrities, evaluating risk in the stalking situation, as well as exploring changes to the legal status of the behaviour. Illustrated with case studies throughout, this is the definitive guide and reference for anyone with professional, academic or other interests in this complex behaviour.

• New edition, providing new chapter in stalking behaviour and changes to the legal status of the behaviour • Illustrated with case studies to draw on the experience of victims as well as their stalkers • Written in a style to be rigorous and detailed yet accessible to anyone with a professional, academic or other interest in this complex behaviour

Contents

Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Stalking: a problem behaviour; 2. Stalking as a social construction and social reality; 3. The epidemiology of stalking; 4. The victims of stalkers; 5. Stalking typologies and classifications; 6. The rejected stalker and the resentful stalker; 7. The predatory stalker; 8. Intimacy seekers and incompetent suitors; 9. The erotomanias and the morbid infatuations; 10. Stalking among juveniles; 11. Female stalkers; 12. Same gender stalking; 13. Cyberstalking; 14. Stalking by proxy; 15. The law as stalker’s agent; 16. Stalking in the workplace; 17. Stalking of health professionals; 18. Stalking celebrities and other public figures; 19. False victims of stalking; 20. Evaluating and managing risk in the stalking situation; 21. The therapeutic approach to the stalker; 22. Reducing the impact of stalking on victims; 23. Defining and prosecuting the offence of stalking; References; Index.

Reviews

From reviews of the 1st edition: ‘Stalkers and their Victims is a brilliant fusion of cutting-edge scientific research and riveting clinical account. Written with genuine eloquence, argued with unfailing insight, and suffused with compassion, the book ups the ante on all future work on stalking. An extraordinary scholarly accomplishment of both international and enduring significance.’ John Monahan, University of Virginia

‘There is little doubt that this book will remain for many years the definitive account of one of the pathological phenomena of our fractured times, of gripping fascination to lay and professional readers alike.’ Anthony W. Clare

‘The book is a beautiful illustration of what can be achieved with remarkably few resources and a genuinely academic approach to psychiatric practice. Stalkers and Their Victims will undoubtedly be the definitive volume on this topic for some time to come. It is scholarly, practical, educational, and well written. It will almost certainly cross the lay-professional barrier in a way that is both revealing and dignified, thus assisting in communication between an increasingly embattled psychiatric profession and a hostile public.’ John Gunn, British Medical Journal

‘The authors manage the difficult task of providing a very detailed, well referenced, balanced text which is accessible to a wide audience. One expects a book from distinguished authors to be scholarly and comprehensive, but this one also makes enjoyable reading. Whatever your interest in stalking is, you are likely to find an up-to-date reference in this publication. Stalkers and their Victims is likely to be the definitive text on the subject for some time to come. It will be of great interest to clinicians, students, and the lay reader and sets a very high standard for others wishing to write about the topic.’ J Murray Wright, Medical Journal of Australia

‘In just a few years Paul Mullen and Michele Pathé have established themselves as world authorities on stalkers and their victims. Stalkers and their Victims will undoubtedly be the definitive volume on this topic for some time to come. It is scholarly, practical, educational and well written.’ John Gunn, British Medical Journal

‘This is an excellent review of the recently recognized field of stalking.’ David M. Montani, www.doody.com

‘… Paul Mullen and his colleagues have produced this scholarly, yet most readable, book. I found the book fascinating, illuminating and useful. It clarifies issues in this emotive area and throws light on the phenomenon in a way no other publication has done up to now.’ Padmal de Silva, Sexual and Relationship Therapy

‘This book has managed to successfully combine the psychological, psychiatric, legal and even some of the popular literature. it may be recommended, therefore, to anyone who either aims to make a brief foray into the stalking literature or who plans to undertake work of their own in this area … an excellent sourcebook for anyone with an interest in stalking - be they a researcher, clinician, or an individual who would like to further their understanding of a new and interesting area … easily accessible, well illustrated with case examples, and represents an up-to-date compendium of fact, research and argument.’ Applied Cognitive Psychology

‘This book is a refreshing and useful research resource. It deals with a difficult to accept but very necessary area of understanding for the sake of present-day society. It guides the reader towards developing an understanding of some of the most difficult forms of deviant behaviour, universally rejected though little understood. The test makes a worthwhile contribution to this area of forensic psychiatry.’ Mark Hutchings, Law Society Journal

‘… enormously practical survey of virtually all of the relevant issues in the area. Its chapters provide state-of-the-art information on the epidemiology of stalking, effects on victims, types of stalkers, assessing the risk of assault, ways of helping victims … and assessment and management of stalkers themselves … extraordinarily useful discussions of topics which would otherwise be quite inaccessible, even for the specialist reader, including the problem of false victims, special types of stalking behaviour … and the legal responses of jurisdictions in the USA, UK and Australia … recommended not only for forensic clinicians (whether specialist or occasional). It also needs to be read by mental health workers, particularly those in training, who wonder if psychiatric research encompasses anything more than drug trials or who cannot find any mention of patients on flow-charts depicting service delivery.’ Australia and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

‘Whatever your interest in stalking is, you are likely to find an up-to-date reference in this publication.’ 2000 Medical Journal of Australia

‘The style is clear and readable. It is likely to attract professional and lay readers alike … currently the best text on this topic.’ Claire Barkley, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry