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Classification of Stalkers  


Author:  Rosemary  Purcell, Ph.D..; Michele  Pathé, M.D..; Paul E.  Mullen, D.Sc..


Source: Volume 05, Number 02, Fall 2012 , pp.151-173(23)




Family & Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly

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Abstract: 

The relatively recent body of literature on stalking, an exceedingly common element of relationships involving intimate partner abuse, proposes several different methods of classifying stalkers based on varying features of the stalker and/or the victim. These include, for example, the stalker’s motives and prior relationship with the victim (e.g., “love-obsessional) and psychiatric symptoms and categorization (e.g., “delusional disorder, erotomanic type”). In this article, the authors examine the merits of the factors and go on to recommend a five-category typology that allows for the most precise possible understanding of the stalker’s motives, mentality, and threat potential.

Keywords: Psychotic and non-psychotic stalkers

Affiliations:  1: University of Melbourne; 2: Queensland University; 3: Monash University.

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