Cyberstalking

• Main Author: Zara, Georgia
• Other Authors: Bruce A. Arrigo
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2018
• Subjects: Cyberstalking; stalking; obsessional following; threat; Spitzberg
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2318/1666476; https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483359922.n117

Stalking was defined by Meloy (1996) as obsessional following in which “a person engages in an abnormal or long-term pattern of threat or harassment directed toward a specific individual” (p. 148). Obsessional refers to a persistent, pervasive, imposing and unrequested presence of a self in the space of another person. Following here implies an unwanted pursuit of a victim. The consequences of this invasive attitude combined with this pattern of “obsessive relational intrusions” (Spitzberg & Cupach, 1994) are numerous, but share a feature among victims: the sense of a naked threat and an overwhelming fear.It may be useful to recognise that the force of fantasy as a central component of intense emotion and inexplicable behavior (Person, 1995) is the first step in understanding the psychology of stalking and cyberstalking, and further research is necessary to the develop knowing how to intervene efficiently and effectively. Pursuit patterns by stalkers are multiple, and vary, with new methods that evolve as technological innovation in communication develops.