Prevalence of stalking in a psychiatric hospital population

Study of the lifetime prevalence of stalking and types of stalking in a sample of psychiatric inpatients.

A total of 300 patients consecutively admitted to the psychiatric hospital of the Central Institute of Mental Health (Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit) in Mannheim were studied by means of the Stalking Behaviour Questionnaire (Stalking-Verhaltens-Fragebogen).

Of the sample, 21% at some time in their lives had been the victim of stalking. Men were affected as often as women were. The course of stalking was more difficult and more violent in this sample than in a sample taken from the general population in Mannheim. In the majority of the cases the mental disorder had manifested itself before the first stalking incident. In only four out of 64 cases did the responsible physicians know of the previous or ongoing stalking victimization of their patients.

Mentally ill individuals are more often affected by stalking than the general population. The topic of stalking should thus be addressed more frequently when taking the case histories of mentally ill patients, in order to provide them with the appropriate type of medical care and support.