Brief report
Stalking in the United States: Recent National Prevalence Estimates

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Background

Stalking is a major public health concern, primarily for women, and is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including death. However, the prevalence of stalking among adults in the United States has not been assessed since 1995–1996. The objective of this analysis is to provide more recent national estimates on lifetime stalking and demographic characteristics of stalking victims.

Methods

A sample of adults aged 18 years and older living in the United States (n =9684) participated in the second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2), a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial telephone survey conducted from 2001 to 2003. Analyses conducted in 2005 focused on the respondents’ reports of having ever been stalked in a way that was somewhat dangerous or life-threatening.

Results

In the United States, 4.5% of adults reported having ever been stalked. Women had significantly higher prevalence (7%) of stalking victimization than did men (2%) (odds ratio [OR]=3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.77–4.90). People who were never married (OR=1.43, 95%CI=1.03–1.99) or who were separated, widowed, or divorced (OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.28–2.21) had significantly higher odds of being stalked than those who were married or had a partner. People aged 55 years or older and those who were retired were least likely to report stalking victimization.

Conclusions

Comparable to previous national estimates, this study shows that stalking affects many adults. Nearly 1 in 22 adults (almost 10 million, approximately 80% of whom were women) in the United States were stalked at some time in their lives.

Introduction

Since the 1980s and early 1990s, stalking has been framed as an important women’s issue.1 National estimates from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS)2 found lifetime stalking rates of 8% to 12% and 2% to 4% (depending on the definition of stalking, differentiated by the amount of fear experienced) for women and men, respectively. The NVAWS found that 8% of women and 2% of men in the United States had been stalked while experiencing a high level of fear at some time in their lives. The lifetime stalking prevalence estimates were even higher for women (12%) and for men (4%) when using a definition of stalking where victims were somewhat frightened or a little frightened by the stalker’s behavior.2

Stalking by an intimate partner can result in severe3 and even fatal outcomes for victims4 because it often co-occurs with other kinds of partner violence, including physical and sexual violence.2, 5, 6 Stalking is also a burden to society. The estimated economic cost of stalking of women by an intimate partner in 1995 was $342 million.7 Adjusted for inflation, this cost was $438 million in 2005.8 This current report provides recent prevalence estimates of lifetime stalking from a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. Similar to previous work, in the current report lifetime stalking experience is defined as ever being followed, spied on, or communicated with, without consent at a level perceived to be somewhat dangerous or life threatening.

Section snippets

Methods

The second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2) is a national cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults aged ≥18 years in the United States. ICARIS-2 was conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from July 2001 through February 2003, using a computer-assisted telephone interview system and a sampling frame that covered approximately 96% of all private residences with telephones.9 Males and people living in telephone exchange areas with ≥10% households

Results

Among adults in the United States who are aged ≥18 years, 4.5% reported that they have been stalked in their lifetime in a way that they perceived to be somewhat dangerous or life threatening (Table 1). Significant (p values of <0.05) associations between stalking victimization and gender, age, race, ethnicity, employment status, and marital status were observed (Table 1). Women had significantly higher prevalence (7%) of stalking victimization than did men (2%) (OR=3.68, 95% CI=2.77–4.90).

Discussion

This study shows that stalking continues to be a public health problem at a magnitude comparable to that measured in 1995–1996.2 Lifetime stalking affects 1 of 22 adults (almost 10 million people) in the United States; that is, 1 of 50 men and 1 of 14 women. This study also shows that stalking affects women, adults aged under 55, whites, unmarried people, and the nonretired significantly more than others.

The findings in this report are subject to a few limitations. First, the measure of

Conclusion

Lifetime stalking victimization is an important concern for more than 7 million women and 2 million men in the United States. These findings can be used as empirical support to increase attention and resources for research on stalking. More specifically, future research should identify promising prevention practices and services so that both the criminal justice systems and the public health field can work together to prevent stalking and also provide appropriate and timely protection and care

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