Criminalization of stalking in Italy: one of the last among the current European member states' anti-stalking laws

This article illustrates the state of knowledge on stalking in Italy from the first scientific review published in 2001 to the recent anti-stalking law, which became effective in February 2009, introducing a new article in the existing Italian Penal Code. In recent years the interest in stalking has increased progressively, such that it is now possible to find official data on the prevalence of the phenomenon in Italy. At the same time, European research activity has moved from the recognition of the phenomenon to analysis of pathways for a victim's assessment of stalking risk and enactment of legal regulation. The new law is described and analyzed.     

The Evolution of Stalking

We propose that stalking tactics have been shaped by evolutionary processes to help solve mating problems. These include: (1) acquiring new mates, (2) guarding existing mates to prevent defection, (3) fending off mate poachers, (4) poaching someone else’s mate, (5) interfering with intrasexual competitors, (6) reacquiring ex-mates, (7) sexual exploitation and predation, and (8) guarding kin from sexual exploitation. We hypothesize several, gender-differentiated design features of psychological adaptations, including sensitivity to adaptive problems for which stalking was an ancestral solution and cognitive biases that function to motivate and perpetuate stalking behaviors. Although often abhorrent, cost-inflicting, and illegal, stalking sometimes enables successful adaptive solutions to problems of mating and within-gender competition faced by both men and women.     

Stalking

An anti-stalking law, now common in many western countries, took effect in Germany in November 2006 (§238 Criminal Code; see Infobox). Stalking occurs when a stalker follows a victim for weeks or months and shows molesting, threatening or attacking behavior. Through the continual pursuit, the victims feel at the least extremely insecure and at times afraid; in extreme cases, stalking can lead to psychological disturbances. Our investigations have shown that about 10–15% of males and 15–20% of females are stalking victims at some stage of their lives. This contribution describes the different forms of stalking and discusses the various motives for this behavior, as well as the psychological problems of the victim. It also provides some first thoughts on the psychotherapy of both stalkers and victims.     

Faculty attitudes about student evaluations and their relations to self-image as teacher

With the worldwide implementation of students’ evaluation of teaching (SET), faculty attitudes and trust in students’ feedback as well as possible defensive (i.e., self-protective) motivations seem most relevant to the facilitation of the primary organizational goal of SET, namely, teaching improvement. A questionnaire—administered to 2241 faculty members of all ranks in two dozen varied institutions—measured positive attitudes and trust, on the one hand, and beliefs in salient negative faculty SET myths, on the other hand. The most widely-held negative attitudes concerned student fallibilities: vindictiveness; lack of maturity; and negative evaluations of low-achieving students. Despite believing in myths, more than half of the respondents reported trusting SET, thought that it accurately reflected their teaching performance, and considered SET-based feedback useful. A derived index comparing self-evaluations to reported students’ evaluations demonstrated that more than a third of the participants rated their own quality of teaching higher than the ratings they reported typically receiving from their students. This ‘underestimated’ group believed more intensely in SET myths and mistrusted it, which suggests a possible self-protective motivation underlying faculty attitudes. A subgroup of 9% felt strongly underestimated by their students, and a series of comparisons gave clear indications that, for this group of hard-core disgruntled faculty members, the administration of SET questionnaires and the provision of SET feedback are counter-productive. Insights from this research might encourage academic administrations to improve the implementation of SET measurement to increase faculty receptiveness and trust.     

Motives to Report Stalking Cases to the Police: A Comparison Between a Large City and a Small Town in Italy

This study aimed to analyze the cases reported to police by women who were victims of stalking. The use of police offense records is well known in investigations of victims of this phenomenon as well as other violent crimes (e.g., domestic violence). The objective was to compare the 3 motives (own safety, other safety, change habits) indicated by victims in reporting the cases to police as recorded in case files. For each motive, a comparison was made of the characteristics of victims and stalkers, the nature of the relationship between the victims and stalkers, and the characteristics of the stalking campaign, the stalker’s behaviors, the consequences to the victims, and coping strategies. This information was reported by victims to police in a large city and small town in Italy. The comparison showed that victims in large cities were less prone to report stalking cases to the police than victims in small towns. Differences addressed the duration of the stalking campaign, the behaviors involved, the consequences, and the coping strategies adopted. Police forces could benefit from the results of this research in defining both training courses for police officers and prevention courses for the general population.     

The Gender Belief System,Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation,and Heterosexuals' Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men

We tested hypotheses drawn from three theoretical perspectives—gender belief system, authoritarianism, and social dominance—concerning heterosexuals' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Data from 122 male and 131 female heterosexual college students with mostly White, middle-class backgrounds indicated that constructs postulated by all three perspectives played important roles in predicting attitudes: Gender differences in attitudes toward lesbians and gay men were mediated by social dominance orientation and gender-role beliefs, indicating that gender role beliefs may act as legitimizing myths to justify antigay attitudes. Authoritarianism had both a direct relationship to attitudes toward lesbians and gay men and an indirect relationship mediated by gender-role beliefs.     

Stalking: Patterns,motives, and intervention strategies

Stalking is generally defined as an intentional pattern of repeated intrusive and intimidating behaviors toward a specific person that causes the target to feel harassed, threatened, and fearful, or that a reasonable person would regard as being so. Motivations for stalking include a delusional belief in romantic destiny, a desire to reclaim a prior relationship, a sadistic urge to torment the victim, or a psychotic overidentification with the victim and the desire to replace him or her. Stalkers may carry a variety of diagnostic labels, including psychotic disorders, delusional disorders, or cluster-B personality disorders, and are generally refractive to conventional psychological treatments. Risk factors for violence in a stalking scenario include a prior intimate relationship, the stalker's feeling of being rejected or humiliated, and generic risk factors for violence such as low educational level and substance abuse. Cyberstalking can be as distressing, if not more so, to victims as physical stalking due to the concealment and anonymity afforded by electronic communication. Victims may adopt varying strategies for dealing with stalkers, such as avoiding, confronting, seeking third party assistance, and accessing the legal system. Threat management specialists have offered certain recommendations that can make it easier for a victim to deter and discourage a stalker.     

Is (Merely) Stalking Sentient Animals Morally Wrong?

Such activities as tracking, watching, and photographing animals are frequently presented as morally superior alternatives to hunting, but could they themselves be morally problematic? In this paper I argue that, despite certain differences from the stalking of humans, a strong case can be made for the prima facie wrongness of stalking sentient animals. The chief harm of stalking is the fear and altered patterns of behaviour which it forces upon its victims. Similar harms arise for both human and non-human victims of stalking; thus I argue thatstalking animals is a prima facie, but overridable wrong. Still, a significant disanalogy between stalking humans and stalking animals can be seen in cases in which the victim is unaware of being stalked. I argue that such stalking is generally acceptable with respect to animals, but morally wrong with respect to humans. More generally, it is much harder to justify the stalking of humans than the stalking of animals, given the greater human interest in privacy.     

The Role of Parents and Teachers in the Development of Gender-Related Math Attitudes

Girls tend to have more negative math attitudes, including gender stereotypes, anxieties, and self-concepts, than boys. These attitudes play a critical role in math performance, math course-taking, and the pursuit of math-related career paths. We review existing research, primarily from U.S. samples, showing that parents’ and teachers’ expectancies for children’s math competence are often gender-biased and can influence children’s math attitudes and performance. We then propose three new directions for future research on the social transmission of gender-related math attitudes. First, parents’ and teachers’ own math anxieties and their beliefs about whether math ability is a stable trait may prove to be significant influences on children’s math attitudes. Second, a developmental perspective that investigates math attitudes at younger ages and in relation to other aspects of gender development, such as gender rigidity, may yield new insights into the development of math attitudes. Third, investigating the specific behaviors and mannerisms that form the causal links between parents’ and teachers’ beliefs and children’s math attitudes may lead to effective interventions to improve children’s math attitudes from a young age. Such work will not only further our understanding of the relations between attitudes and performance, but will lead to the development of practical interventions for the home and classroom that ensure that all students are provided with opportunities to excel in math.     

Attitudes toward rape: Gender and ethnic differences across Asian and Caucasian college students

Previous research has demonstrated that males have a greater tendency to hold erroneous beliefs about rape than females. However, limited cross-cultural studies, particularly of Asians, have been done in this area. The present investigation examined attitudes toward rape victims and belief in rape myths across 302 Asian and Caucasian college students. Subjects were recruited from two college campuses in Orange County, California, and were from predominantly middle-income backgrounds. None of the Caucasian students and a minority (36.25%) of the Asian subjects identified their particular ethnic group(s) of origin. Of the Asian subjects who specified their ethnicity, the majority were of Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander descent. Results indicated significant differences across ethnicity and gender. Asians were more likely to endorse negative attitudes toward rape victims and greater belief in rape myths than their Caucasian counterparts; males endorsed greater negativity toward rape victims and more acceptance of rape myths than did females. Asian subjects who endorsed greater acculturation (Western affiliation) differed significantly from low acculturated subjects on all dependent variables. Results are discussed in regard to cross-cultural differences and gender. Culturally sensitive rape awareness outreach targeting potentially high risk groups, such as Asian college students, is encouraged.This study was in part supported through an Affirmative Action Grant awarded to the first author by the Affirmative Action Faculty Development Program, California State University, Fullerton. Findings of the study were previously presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, August 1994, Los Angeles, California. The authors wish to thank the undergraduate and graduate research assistants who served as experimenters.     

Beliefs about rape and women's social roles: A Turkish replication

Various researchers on feminist issues have argued that rape against women is supported by beliefs encouraging socioeconomic domination of women and that acceptance of ‘rape myths’ foster those beliefs. If this is true, acceptance of such myths should be correlated with restrictive beliefs about women's social roles. Two previous studies, carried out in England, Israel, United States, and West Germany, confirmed that hypothesis (Costin, 1985; Costin and Schwarz, 1987). The replication of those investigations in Turkey adds further support for the hypothesis.     

College Student Perceptions of Criminal Justice System Responses to Stalking

In the current study, a survey was administered to 513 U.S. undergraduate college students from a large east coast university to examine whether extra-legal factors influenced their personal judgments of criminal justice system responsiveness to stalking. MANOVA results indicated that students believed police and prosecutors would not treat analogous cases similarly (this bias was not apparent with judges). College students perceived that prior relationship and target/offender gender would impact arrest decisions, and that target/offender gender would also impact police investigations and the filing of criminal charges. Potential explanations and practical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as directions for future research.     

A Mediation Model of Sexual Assault among Latter-Day Saints

Socialization that occurs within some conservative Christian contexts might facilitate development of attitudes and beliefs that increase women’s risk for sexual assault. Patriarchal community structure and rigid gender role adherence place women in subordinate roles and maintain gender inequality. Within conservative, dogmatic contexts, comprehensive sex education and education about assault might be minimal, and rape myths are hypothesized to be more prevalent. This study assessed sexual assault experiences (victimization and perpetration) in a sample of 208 male and female college students affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Women reported victimization of all forms of sexual coercion at higher rates than men reported perpetration. In addition, traditional gender role adherence mediated the link between dogmatic, religiously fundamentalist beliefs and acceptance of rape mythology for both men and women. Traditional gender role adherence also mediated the link between religious fundamentalism and sexual assault behaviors for men.     

Transgender persons’ rights in Italy: Bernaroli's case

In April 2015, the Italian Court of Cassation decided on the case of a male to female transgender person to remain married to her wife. On that occasion the Court of Cassation decided that the married couple—Bernaroli, a transgender woman, and her wife, a cisgender woman—could remain married until the Italian Parliament institutionalized civil partnerships. This article presents the case study of transgender persons’ rights in Italy. In doing so, the article places the case study in the frame of the Council of Europe recognition of transgender persons’ rights, looks at the evolution of transgender persons’ rights in Italy, and finally, presents the groundbreaking decision in the Bernaroli's case.     

Factor Analysis of Physique-Stereotyped Traits

Abstract

The prevalence of rape myths contributes to victims' reluctance to report rapes. Black (n = 30) and White (n = 96) U.S. college students responded to the Rape Myth Scale (Burt, 1980) and read a scenario of an acquaintance rape; the race of the perpetrator and victim (Black or White) were varied. The respondents assessed the victim's and perpetrator's responsibility and evaluated the incident. As hypothesized, the respondents with strong beliefs in rape myths were more tolerant of the rapist and less tolerant of the victim than were those with weaker beliefs. There was limited support for the myth of the Black rapist and White victim; however, the myth of the Black rapist appeared particularly strong among the Black respondents. The women responded more negatively to the rapist and more positively to the victim than the men did. Such biases in attitudes toward rape could keep women from reporting rapes and accused rapists from receiving fair trials.     

Types of Followers

Abstract

This study examined the influence of gender and exposure to gender-stereotyped music video imagery on sexual attitudes (adversarial sexual beliefs, acceptance of rape myths, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and gender role stereotyping). A group of 44 U.S. college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that viewed either a video portraying stereotyped sexual imagery or a video that excluded all sexual images. Exposure to traditional sexual imagery had a significant main effect on attitudes about adversarial sexual relationships, and gender had main effects on 3 of 4 sexual attitudes. There was some evidence of an interaction between gender and exposure to traditional sexual imagery on the acceptance of interpersonal violence.     

Stalking Myth-Attributions: Examining the Role of Individual and Contextual Variables on Attributions in Unwanted Pursuit Scenarios

Undergraduates from a large southeastern university in the U.S. (n?=?258) read a scenario describing an unwanted heterosexual pursuit that manipulated story perspective (pursuer’s vs. rejecter’s) and pursuer/rejecter gender. Measures of 1) external attributions for pursuer behavior, 2) negative internal attributions to rejecters, and 3) Stalking Myths endorsement followed. Individuals adopting the pursuer’s perspective showed higher rates of external attributions for pursuer behavior than those in the rejecter perspective condition. They also endorsed more negative internal attributions for rejecters than those in the rejecter perspective condition, especially when the rejecter was male. Participant gender also mattered. Men exhibited more victim blaming tendencies than women when the rejecter was female. However, stalking myth endorsement was the strongest predictor of attributions.     

Private psychotherapy training in Italy: A systematic analysis

This paper examines the results of a systematic analysis, organised by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, of private psychotherapy training in Italy. Since 1989, training in psychotherapy in Italy has been governed by a national law which recognises both public and private institutions. While the public system usually comprises approximately 150 students, the private system has grown significantly over time, registering thousands of students in hundreds of schools (for example, 19,123 students in 212 schools in 2011). Systematic analysis variables included geographical distribution, theoretical approaches, training methods, student and teacher characteristics, student’s personal psychotherapy, supervision and apprenticeships. Data were obtained from 92% of the schools. The primary issues discussed in this paper are as follows: the uneven geographical distribution of the schools; the disorderly amalgamation of traditional scientific paradigms; programmes which concentrate on theory and fail to meet international guidelines. One key issue is the excess supply with regard to demand, meaning that recently graduated psychotherapists (especially women) risk underemployment and financial hardship. Student enrolment is also increasingly problematic. This is the first paper to present an in-depth analysis of one European country’s situation in this field. The authors believe it will foster comparison and discussion internationally.     

Students Stalking Faculty: Real and Imagined Relationships

Student stalking of faculty has been relatively ignored in the literature. In contrast to stalking in general populations where in 80% of cases stalking occurs in the context of an intimate relationship, student stalking of faculty occurs in the context of prior relationships in only 14% of cases. In the present study, student stalking of faculty occurring in two situations is analyzed: situations in which there was prior social contact between the student and the professor, and situations in which there was no prior social contact between the student and the professor. Similarities between student stalking of faculty and typologies proposed for stalking in general are considered. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future work are provided.