Stockholm Syndrome (Essay Sample)

Stockholm Syndrome and How Hostages Adjust to Captivity Korri Thomas (200344131) Georgian College Stockholm Syndrome and How Hostages Adjust to Captivity Stockholm syndrome is a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological relationship with their captors in order to survive during captivity. In essence, this condition is a survival strategy used by hostages to help deal with life during captivity. Given the psychological relationship between the hostages and their captors/intimidators, Stockholm syndrome is commonly known as capture-bonding (Jeremiah & Methuselah, 2014). This condition has received considerable attention across various disciplines including the field of criminology. The increased attention on Stockholm syndrome is attributable to the increased need to understand how hostages adjust to captivity. This paper seeks to explore the phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome and examine how hostages adjust to captivity, which is associated with numerous physical and psychological effects. The Phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome Jeremiah & Methuselah (2014) define Stockholm syndrome as a psychological phenomenon in which hostages or captives deal with captivity through developing a psychological alliance with their captors/intimidators. In this case, captives/hostages develop positive feelings and express sympathy and empathy towards their captors. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Stockholm syndrome is a paradoxical psychological phenomenon in which a positive relationship between captives and their captors emerge (De Fabrique et al., 2007). The paradoxical nature of this phenomenon is evident in the fact that captives develop positive psychological alliances with their captors at a time when they are enduring frightening ordeals. Therefore, the emerging positive psychological relationship between captives and their captors seems irrational given the nature of captivity. Additionally, this relationship seems irrational because of the devastating physical and psychological effects of captivity. The phenomenon of Stockholm syndrome was coined in 1973 following the robbery of Kreditbanken in Stockholm, Sweden. During this incident, the two robbers held four bank employees’ hostage for five days, from August 23 to 28 (De Fabrique et al., 2007). The hostages ended up becoming very familiar with their captors as they shared the bank vault. The incident highlighted the development of a positive psychological relationship that can emerge between captives and their captors. In this robbery incident, the hostages developed a positive psychological alliance with the robbers to the extent that they became emotionally attached and eventually defended the robbers after the ordeal. Since then, Stockholm syndrome has been understood and regarded as a psychological reaction that sometimes occur during captivity. Consequently, captors tend to take advantage of Stockholm syndrome to cause hostages/captives to comply with their demands. While Stockholm syndrome has emerged as a major issue in understanding captivity and how hostages adjust to it, it does not occur in all hostage situations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that there are disagreements regarding the identification of factors that characterize or contribute to the development of Stockholm syndrome (De Fabrique et al., 2007). This is primarily because not all victims/captives develop a positive psychological alliance with their captors/intimidators. Statistics by the Federal Bureau of Investigation demonstrate that 73% of captives do not show any signs or evidence of Stockholm syndrome (De Fabrique et al., 2007). Even though hostages tend to show negative feelings towards law enforcement agencies due to how they handle the situation, most of them do not show any signs of Stockholm syndrome. Therefore, this paradoxical psychological condition neither occurs in all hostage situations nor is evident in the lives of all captives/hostages during captivity. Existing literature demonstrates that there are various factors that contribute to the development of Stockholm syndrome among hostages in a captive situation. According to existing research, this condition tends to occur among hostages in situations where their captors/intimidators do not abuse them. The other characteristics that fuel the development of this condition include situations that are characterized by a long duration before resolution, those with a high level of emotion, and those in which the hostage remains in constant contact with their captors. In light of these characteristics, the condition is viewed as either a defense mechanism by captives or a way of coping and surviving captivity with respect to the extreme and life-threatening circumstances often associated with captivity (Alexander & Klein, 2009). Components of the Stockholm Syndrome As a paradoxical psychological phenomenon, Stockholm syndrome is characterized by three major components: development of positive feelings, absence of previous relationship between captor/captives, and refusal of captives to cooperate with law enforcement. These components act as the defining characteristics of Stockholm syndrome and reflect how hostages respond to captivity or the frightening ordeals related to it. Even though these characteristics do not always exist together, they signify the most common attributes of captivity or hostage situations. One of the major components of Stockholm syndrome is the development of positive feelings by captives towards their captors/intimidators. These positive feelings are attributable to the psychological process that takes place in a captive’s life during their experience with captivity. Generally, Stockholm syndrome is not a condition that is brought on by a rational or conscious decision to befriend an intimidator/captor. The situation is attributable to a psychological process that takes place in the life of a captive, which results in the development of positive feelings towards the captor. The psychological process contributing to the development of this condition is a link to Sigmund Freud’s personality core or ego, which provides people with defense mechanisms (De Fabrique et al., 2007). The second component of Stockholm syndrome is the absence of a previous relationship between the captive and the captor. Hostages are typically taken captive by people they have never met or encountered. This provides the premise for the development of a psychological alliance between the captive and the captor. Since hostages are taken captive by individuals they do not know, they believe in the humanity of their captors. This belief is the foundation through which captives develop a psychological relationship with their captors, particularly when they stop viewing the perpetrator as a threat to their lives and well-being. The third major component of Stockholm syndrome is refusal by captives to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and other government authorities/agencies. This refusal to cooperate with governmental authorities is attributable to the psychological relationship that emerges between the captives and their aggressors. Additionally, hostages refuse who to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and authorities do so because of the perception that the initiatives undertaken by these authorities are very slow. In some cases, hostages wonder why law enforcement personnel and other government authorities do not undertake rapid measures that would include effective rescue using force (Alexander & Klein, 2009). These feelings come at a time when authorities are engaged in negotiation with the aggressors. Negotiation is utilized as a means of stalling, which in turn enables captors, captives and the authorities to regain composure as they deal with the situation. Moreover, negotiation enables law enforcement authorities and other government agencies to clarify the motives of the aggressors, gather intelligence, and develop a rescue strategy if negotiations fail to rescue the captives (Alexander & Klein, 2009). Since these processes are usually very slow and complex, hostages tend to refuse to cooperate with law enforcement authorities and instead end up developing positive psychological alliances with their aggressors. How Hostages Adjust to Captivity Captivity is often a frightening experience for hostages and has significant impacts on their health and well-being. In most cases, these situations are associated with negative psychological impacts that even make it difficult for hostages to cope with life after release or rescue from captivity. According to the American Psychological Association (2017), hostage and kidnapping survivors usually undergo stressful situations during captivity, which in turn contributes to significant adjustment difficulties upon release or rescue from captivity. These negative psychological impacts become worse if the captivity is protracted and/or if the hostages are placed in harmful situations. The initial responses of hostages to captivity include disbelief, shock, and terror (Speckhard et al., 2005). In the initial stages of the captivity, hostages respond in disbelief, as the situation may not be considered serious; however, as hostages begin to embrace the reality of the captivity, their disbelief soon progresses to terror as they struggle to cope with what is as they fear for their lives and well-being. During this period, captivity stress begins to occur due to the fear of terror and the possibilities of what may happen to them. The characteristics of captivity stress include loss of a sense of time, loss of normal role functioning, loss of normal routines, and thoughts of family and death. These factors and fears become worse as the captivity is protracted and rescue efforts become increasingly complex by the day. Hostages develop coping mechanisms to adjust to captivity despite the stress and ...