Victims’ Perceptions of Cyberstalking: an Examination of Perceived Offender Motivation

Abstract

The current study explores cyberstalking victims’ perceived offender motivation for using a sample of 576 young adults who had been repeatedly pursued online by someone they knew within the previous 12-months. Results revealed that cyberstalking victims most frequently believed that the perpetrator engaged in the repeated unwanted contacts because they were motivated by affection (47.22%), rejection (43.58%), or were obsessed with them (41.49%). Further, the study assessed whether victims’ perceived cyberstalker motivation impacted whether they felt fearful as a result of the repeated online pursuit behavior, controlling for offense seriousness and demographic characteristics. Multivariate findings revealed that when victims perceived their cyberstalker was motivated by retaliation or revenge or rejection, they were statistically significantly more likely to feel fearful as a result of the repeated online behaviors. In contrast, when victims perceived their cyberstalker was motivated by feelings of affection, they were statistically significantly less likely to feel fearful as a result of the repeated online pursuit behaviors. Implications for cyberstalking victims’ reporting and help-seeking behaviors are offered.