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Increased risk of mental disorders among lifetime victims of stalking – Findings from a community study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Christine Kuehner ,
Peter Gass  and
Harald Dressing
Christine Kuehner*
Affiliation:
Central Institute of Mental Health, Research Group Longitudinal and Intervention Research, P.O. Box 122120, 68072Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Peter Gass
Affiliation:
Central Institute of Mental Health, Research Group Longitudinal and Intervention Research, P.O. Box 122120, 68072Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Harald Dressing
Affiliation:
Central Institute of Mental Health, Research Group Longitudinal and Intervention Research, P.O. Box 122120, 68072Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 621 1703 6057; fax: +49 621 1703 1205. E-mail addresses:kuehner@zi-mannheim.de (C. Kuehner), gass@zi-mannheim.de (P. Gass), dressing@zi-mannheim.de (H. Dressing).
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Abstract

Purpose

Population-based studies on the relationship between stalking and mental health outcomes in victims are scarce. The aim of the present study was to assess associations between stalking victimization and specific DSM-IV mental disorders in a community sample.

Method

A postal survey was conducted in a middle-sized German city (sample size = 675). Lifetime stalking victims and non-victims were compared regarding rates of any mental disorder, comorbid mental disorders, and specific disorders assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ).

Results

Victims had a higher incidence of mental disorders and comorbid mental disorders. Sex- and age-adjusted rates of specific disorders were increased, with the most robust associations identified for major depression (OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.8–12.8) and panic disorder (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.1–14.9). Victims also reported higher current use of psychotropic medication (20.8% versus 5.6%).

Conclusions

Our study indicates substantial associations between stalking victimization and impaired mental health that can be quantified at diagnostic levels in the general population. To confirm these findings, larger community studies are needed, which also include an assessment of lifetime psychopathology and of factors potentially mediating the associations between stalking victimization and mental health.

Keywords

StalkingEpidemiologyMental disorders
Type
Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , April 2007 , pp. 142 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2007

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Footnotes

1

Tel.: +49 621 1703 2931; fax: +49 621 1703 1205.

2

Tel.: +49 621 1703 2941; fax: +49 621 1703 1205.

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