Using Dynamic Contextual Factors to Better Understand the Etiology and Escalation of Stalking Violence

Author(s)
Thompson, Carleen M
Stewart, Anna L
Dennison, Susan M
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2019
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Stalking is dynamic, influenced by targets’ reactions and stalkers’ circumstances. Consequently, the risk of violence in stalking cases is likely dynamic. Despite this, dynamic contextual factors have been neglected in stalking violence research. Guided by Thompson’s integrated theoretical model, we investigated key established stalking violence risk factors alongside new dynamic contextual factors in a content analysis of 43 stalking court transcripts from Queensland, Australia. Findings suggest that relying on individual factors in isolation leads to moderate rates of error. Combining risk factors provides a more sophisticated ...
View more >Stalking is dynamic, influenced by targets’ reactions and stalkers’ circumstances. Consequently, the risk of violence in stalking cases is likely dynamic. Despite this, dynamic contextual factors have been neglected in stalking violence research. Guided by Thompson’s integrated theoretical model, we investigated key established stalking violence risk factors alongside new dynamic contextual factors in a content analysis of 43 stalking court transcripts from Queensland, Australia. Findings suggest that relying on individual factors in isolation leads to moderate rates of error. Combining risk factors provides a more sophisticated understanding of stalking violence, with dynamic contextual factors playing a pivotal role in understanding changes in risk, including when stalkers with historical and/or static contextual factors pose a higher risk of violence. Findings emphasize the need to look beyond traditional dispositional, historical, and static factors toward new dynamic contextual factors and highlight the importance of contextual factors for violence assessment and prevention strategies.
View less >
View more >Stalking is dynamic, influenced by targets’ reactions and stalkers’ circumstances. Consequently, the risk of violence in stalking cases is likely dynamic. Despite this, dynamic contextual factors have been neglected in stalking violence research. Guided by Thompson’s integrated theoretical model, we investigated key established stalking violence risk factors alongside new dynamic contextual factors in a content analysis of 43 stalking court transcripts from Queensland, Australia. Findings suggest that relying on individual factors in isolation leads to moderate rates of error. Combining risk factors provides a more sophisticated understanding of stalking violence, with dynamic contextual factors playing a pivotal role in understanding changes in risk, including when stalkers with historical and/or static contextual factors pose a higher risk of violence. Findings emphasize the need to look beyond traditional dispositional, historical, and static factors toward new dynamic contextual factors and highlight the importance of contextual factors for violence assessment and prevention strategies.
View less >
Journal Title
Criminal Justice and Behavior
Note
This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version
Subject
Criminology
Social Sciences
Psychology, Clinical
Criminology & Penology
stalking