“They weren’t bad people. They let me eat, they let me sleep, and they gave me my life”— A hostage from Flight 847

Origin

“Stockholm Syndrome” first coined by Professor Nils Bejerot to explain the phenomenon of hostages bonding with their captors.

• Stockholm, Sweden 1973, two bank robbers held four people hostages for six days.

• Wide publicity: hostages came to care about their captors and perceive them as protecting them against the police.

Stockholm syndrome

Stockholm syndrome is the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor.

Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.”

Corresponding explanations in terms of the Stockholm syndrome:

Ø The victim denies the abuser's violence against him/her and focuses on his positive side.

o Explanation: An unconscious attempt to find hope (and thus a way to survive) in a situation in which s/he would otherwise feel powerless and overwhelmed.

Ø The victim feels shame for abuse done to him/her.

o Explanation: Reflects the victim having taken the abuser's perspective (namely, that s/he caused the abuse and therefore it was deserved).

Ø The victim resents outsiders' attempts to free him/her from the abuser.

o Explanation: The victim knows that the abuser is likely to retaliate against him/her for any disloyalty shown, so s/he resists others' attempts to free her or to hold the abuser accountable for the abuse.

Ø The victim identifies with the "victim" in the abuser.

o Explanation: This represents the projection of the victim's own victim status onto the abuser. It enables the victim to feel sympathetic and caring towards the abuser.

Ø The victim believes s/he deserved the abuser's violence.

o Explanation: This represents an attempt to feel that s/he controls when and whether the violence/abuse is done and thus permits him/her to believe s/he can stop the abuse.

Ø The victim rationalizes the abuser's violence against him/her.

o Explanation: An attempt to maintain a bond with the abuser (and thus hope of survival) in the face of behaviour (abuse) that would otherwise destroy that bond (hope).

Ø Victim uses abuser-as-victim explanation to account for the abuse.

o Explanation: This represents an effort to see the abuser in a positive light so as to maintain the bond (since the bond provides the victim with the only hope of surviving).

Ø The victim feels hatred for that part of him/her which the abuser said led to the abuse.

o Explanation: To improve chances of survival, the victim internalizes the abuser's perspective, including the reasons given for the abuse.

Ø The victim fears the abuser will come to get him/her, even if he is dead or in prison.

o Explanation: The victim knows the abuser is willing to "get" him/her because he has done so at least once before. The victim remains loyal in anticipation of his return.

Risk groups

The ‘Syndrome’ was found in studies of other hostage, prisoner, or abusive situations such as:

Ø Abused Children

Ø Battered/Abused Women

Ø Prisoners of War

Ø Cult Members

Ø Criminal Hostage Situations

Ø Controlling/Intimidating Relationships

Vulnerability

• Obviously, not everyone in hostage situation will fall victim to ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ -- Individuals are most vulnerable, if they:

– Lack clear set of core values that define one's identify

– Lack clear sense of meaning and purpose for one's life

– Lack track record of overcoming difficulties

– Lack strong personal faith

– Feel that one's life has always been controlled by powerful others

– Are unhappy in life (depressed, etc.)

– Strong need for approval by authority figures

– Wish to be somebody else

The Stockholm syndrome Process

Traumatic and extraordinarily stressful event

A person finds herself held captive by a man who is threatening to kill them if they disobey them in any way. They may be abused - physically, sexually and/or verbally - and having trouble thinking straight. According to the captor, escape is not an option. They will end up dead. Their family may end up dead, too. Their only chance at survival is obedience.

Obedience

As time goes on, obedience alone may become less of a sure thing - the captor is under stress as well, and a change in his mood could mean harmful consequences to his prisoner. Figuring out what might set off her captor's violence so they can avoid those triggers becomes another survival strategy. In this way, they gets to know their captor.

Act of kindness

It can include simply not killing the prisoner yet, positions the captor as the prisoner's savior, as "ultimately good," to their death. In the traumatic, life-threatening circumstances in which the prisoner finds them self, the slightest act of kindness - or the sudden absence of violence - seems a sign of friendship in an otherwise hostile, terrifying world, and the prisoner clings to it for dear life.

Less threatening of captor

The prisoner undergoes what some call an act of self-delusion: In order to survive psychologically as well as physically-to lessen the unimaginable stress of the situation - the prisoner comes to truly believe that the captor is their friend, that they will not kill them, that in fact they can help each other "get out of this mess." The people on the outside trying to rescue them seem less like their allies. They are going to hurt this person who is protecting her from harm. The fact that this person is also the source of that potential harm gets buried in the process of self-delusion

Symptoms 1

Symptoms 2

Ø Emotional bonding with captor/abuser

Ø Requiring victim isolation from outside world

Ø Subjecting victim to:

o sexual assault

o threats of harm to self

o threats of harm to self family

o demanding conformity to dress and culture different than previous norm

Ø Seeking favor & approval from perpetrator

Ø Dependency on perpetrator for security & purpose of existence

Ø Befriending & caring for perpetrator

Ø Resenting police & proper authorities for rescue attempts

Ø Losing one's own identify in order to identify with the captor/abuser

Ø Seeing things from perspective of perpetrator

Ø Valuing every small gesture of kindness (i.e. letting them live)

Ø Refusing to seek freedom even given the opportunity

How to Identify Stockholm syndrome

Ø Determine whether the victim has bonded with his abductor.

Ø Look for signs for anxiety in the victim if she thinks that she is doing something of which her captor would not approve.

Ø Observe the victim during conversations with friends and family

Ø Ask about the victim's time with her abductor.

Ø Determine whether the victim resisted his rescue by police or other authorities

Ø Watch for signs of identification with the abuser.

Ø Look for signs of gratitude toward the abductor.

Ø Determine whether the victim is likely to try and return to his captor.

Reason to Cover for Captors

Intuitive thinking: afraid for life and safety--and actions were inspired by self preservation.

Counter intuitive thinking: concerned about what would have happened to captor, whom she/he now counted on for necessities of life.

Survival Strategy

Ø Constant threat to physical & psychological survival

Ø Condition of helplessness and hopelessness

Ø Isolation & loss of support systems from outside world

Ø Context of trauma & terror that shatters previously held assumptions

Ø Perception that survival depends on total surrender & compliance

Psychotherapy

Ø Allow sufficient time and space to recover

Ø Show understanding and empathy

Ø Provide strong and consistent support groups

Received on 20.08.2013 Modified on 25.04.2014

Int. J. Adv. Nur. Management 2(2): April- June, 2014; Page 109-111