Tarant, Eryna R.A.
(2025)
Stalking: Perceptions of victim responsibility, attributions of blame and interventions.
DForenPsy thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
This thesis investigates how perceptions of responsibility and blame are formed, maintained, and challenged in the context of stalking. This thesis considers how cultural narratives, victimisation and cognitive bias inform these perspectives. To address this issue, the thesis adopts a multi-method approach, combining a literature review, empirical research, psychometric critique, and a clinical case study. This methodological approach allows for a comprehensive review of stalking perceptions across public, professional, and offender contexts. Despite increased recognition of stalking as a serious offence, victims’ experiences are often misunderstood or minimised due to persistent myths and attitudinal biases. These perceptions have significant implications for justice outcomes, victim support, and therapeutic intervention. The thesis examines how these beliefs influence judgments of blame and responsibility across different settings.
Chapter Two presents a systematic review of factors influencing perceptions of victim responsibility, including gender, prior experience, the victim–perpetrator relationship, and stalking myth endorsement. Drawing upon extant findings in perception research (Scott et al., 2010; Scott & Sheridan, 2011; Scott & Tse, 2011; Sheridan et al., 2003, Duff & Scott, 2013; Scott et al., 2015), Chapter Three outlines the results of an empirical study using a community sample to examine how these variables predict attributions of blame. The narrative synthesis presented in Chapter Two, and further substantiated in Chapter Three, highlights the role of stalking myths, their role in shaping societal norms, particularly pertaining to gender and cultural perceptions, thus shaping various aspects of the criminal justice system (Scott et al., 2010). Chapter Four critically evaluates the Stalking Myths Scale (SMS; Sinclair, 2012), assessing its psychometric properties and theoretical underpinnings. Chapter Five offers a clinical case study of a convicted offender, illustrating how victim-blaming beliefs and cognitive distortions align with broader societal myths and how they may be addressed through psychological interventions.
Together, the findings offer a comprehensive understanding of how stalking is perceived and how these perceptions shape real-world responses. The thesis contributes to both theory and practice by highlighting the role of attitudes in shaping victim support, legal decision-making, and offender treatment.
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