Relationships between stalking victims' perceptions of the perpetrator's personality and their psychological distress

This study examined a hypothesized model in which stalking victims' perceptions of the perpetrator's personality are related to their psychological distress. A web-based survey was administered to individuals from the general population who had experienced a breakup within the past five years and were approached by their ex-partner. A total of 207 individuals (73 men, 134 women) were ultimately included in the analysis. The results of the multi-population simultaneous analysis, conducted using structural equation modeling separately for men and women, showed that for men, experiences of unwanted pursuit behavior and perception of the perpetrator's neuroticism were related to psychological distress. In contrast, for women, the results indicated that the experience of unwanted pursuit behavior and perception of the perpetrator's neuroticism and agreeableness were related to psychological distress. These findings suggest the importance of considering the effects of stalking victims' perceptions of the perpetrators' personalities on psychological distress.