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Stalking is a legal term for repeated harassment or other forms of invasion of a person's privacy in a manner that causes fear to its target. Statutes vary between jurisdiction but may include such acts as:

• repeated following;
• unwanted contact (by letter or other means of communication);
• observing a person's actions closely for an extended period of time; or
• contacting family members, friends, or associates of a target inappropriately
• cyberstalking

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 1 out of every 12 women will be stalked during her lifetime. 1 out of 45 men will be stalked during his lifetime. Over one million women and nearly 380,000 men are stalked annually.

Psychology and behaviors

Exactly like any other crime or clinical disorder, stalking exists on a continuum of severity. The stalking may be so subtle that the victim may not even be aware that it is happening, or the perpetrator may have no malicious intent. They may even have a sincere belief that the victim would like them, or have a desire to help the victim, Contrary to other crimes that usually consist of a single act, stalking consists of a series of actions, which in themselves can be legal, such as calling on the phone, sending gifts, or sending emails. Most cases of stalking do not ever rise to extreme levels of violence or harassment.

The stalker will often derogate the victim which reduces them to an object. This allows the stalker to feel angry at them without experiencing empathy, or feel they are entitled to behave as they please toward the victim. Viewing the victim as "lesser," "weak" or otherwise seriously flawed can support delusions that the victim needs to be rescued, or punished, by the stalker. They may slander or defame the character of the victim which helps to isolate them and give the stalker more control, or a feeling of power.

Stalkers may use manipulative behavior such as bringing legal action against the victim, or threatening to commit suicide in order to coerce the victim to intervene--all methods of forcing contact with the stalker.

Stalkers may use threats and violence to frighten the victim. They may engage in vandalism and property damage (usually to the victims car). They may use physical attacks that leave abrasions and bruises which are mostly meant to frighten. Less common are physical attacks that leave serious physical injuries, or sexual assaults.

Types of stalkers

Psychologists tend to group stalkers into two categories: psychotic and nonpsychotic. Many stalkers have pre-existing psychotic disorders such as delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophrenia. Most stalkers are nonpsychotic and exhibit disorders such as major depression, adjustment disorder, or substance dependence, as well as a variety of Axis II personality disorders, such as antisocial, avoidant, borderline, dependent, narcissistic, or paranoid. The nonpsychotic stalkers' pursuit of victims can be influenced by various psychological factors, including anger and hostility, projection of blame, obsession, dependency, minimization and denial, and jealousy.

In "A Study of Stalkers," Mullen et al (2000)  identify six types of stalkers:

• Rejected stalkers: pursue their victims in order to reverse, correct, or avenge a rejection (e.g. divorce, separation, termination).
• Resentful stalkers: pursue a vendetta because of a sense of grievance against the victims - motivated mainly by the desire to frighten and distress the victim.
• Intimacy seekers: The intimacy seeker seeks to establish an intimate, loving relationship with their victim. To them, the victim is a long sought-after soul mate, and they were meant to be together.
• Eroto-manic stalker: This stalker believes that the victim is in love with them. The erotomaniac reinterprets what their victim says and does to support the delusion, and is convinced that the imagined romance will eventually become a permanent union. They often target a celebrity or a person of a higher social status.
• Incompetent suitor: despite poor social/courting skills, possess a sense of entitlement to an intimate relationship with those who have attracted their amorous interest.
• Predatory stalker: spy on the victim in to prepare and plan an attack - usually sexual – on the victim.

The 2002 National Victim Association Academy define an additional form of stalking. The Terrorism stalker also known as the political stalker, uses stalking as a means to accomplish a political agenda, often by using threats and intimidation to force their taget to refrain and/or become involved in some particular activity, regardless of the victim's consent.

Many stalkers fit categories with paranoid disorders. Intimacy-seeking stalkers often have delusional disorders that are secondary to preexisting psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. With rejected stalkers, the continual clinging to a relationship of an inadequate or dependant person couples with the entitlement of the narcissistic personality, and the persistent jealousy of the paranoid personality. In contrast, resentful stalkers demonstrate an almost “pure culture of persecution,” with delusional disorders of the paranoid type, paranoid personalities, and paranoid schizophrenia.

Gender

Most stalkers are male, but women can also become stalkers. Women are more likely to target someone they have known such as a professional contact, and are more likely to target other females. Men usually do not target other men. The majority of female stalkers are intimacy seekers, whereas men show a broader range of motivations. Women are as likely to use violence as men, and there does not tend to be a difference between genders regarding the duration of a stalking. Thus, while the contexts and motives for stalking may differ between men and women, the intrusiveness of the behaviors and potential for harm does not.

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