The Relationship Between Offline and Online Stalking Victimization: A Gender-Specific Analysis

This study focuses on the relationship between online and offline stalking through a gendered approach. Experiencing offline stalking victimization was examined as a precursor to online stalking victimization, and experiencing cyberstalking victimization was investigated as a predictor of offline stalking victimization. These relationships also were tested separately for females and males using a sample of college students (N = 3,488) from two large universities-one in the Midwest and one in the South. The results for the full sample indicate that being stalked offline increases students' likelihood of being stalked online. However, being a victim of cyberstalking did not affect students' chances of being stalked offline. In the gender-specific analyses, findings suggest that females who are cyberstalked are less likely to be successively stalked offline, whereas males who are cyberstalked are more likely to be stalked offline. Finally, offline stalking victimization was a significant predictor of online victimization for females, but not males. These findings suggest that offline and online forms of stalking victimization are interrelated under some circumstances, and highlight the importance of the victim's gender in moderating this relationship.