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Stockholm syndrome

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For other uses, see Stockholm syndrome (disambiguation).
File:Stockholm syndrome.jpg
The four hostages in Kreditbanken robbery sympathized with their captor (right)

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, rape cases, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping.

Origin of the name

The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast.

It is sometimes referred to as Helsinki Syndrome; however, this may simply be due to the erroneous naming of the syndrome in popular media, for example by an expert psychologist and author who is a guest on a news program in the first Die Hard film.

Famous possible cases

  • Colleen Stan, a.k.a. "Carol Smith" was held captive from 1977 until 1984 by Cameron Hooker and his wife in locked wooden boxes that he had created. She slept in a coffin-like box under his and his wife Janice's bed. During her imprisonment Colleen was consistently tortured and sexually assaulted to the point of complete mental and physical subservience. Yet through it all, she stayed, even when it seemed she could escape. In the end, it would be left to a jury to answer the question: Was Colleen Stan brainwashed and forced to endure years of sexual degradation and mental torture as she and Janice Hooker contended, or a willing partner in her own enslavement, and as Cameron Hooker maintained, in a consensual "love" relationship? see also an in depth link about the story The Case of the Seven Year Sex Slaveand Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box" by the D.A. That Prosecuted Her Captor[ISBN 978-0440204428]. Also documented with A&E's 'American Justice" episode 166
Patty Hearst helped the SLA rob a bank two months after her kidnapping
  • Millionaire heiress Patty Hearst, two months after having been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, helped the SLA rob a bank. Her unsuccessful legal defense was that she suffered from Stockholm syndrome and was coerced into aiding the SLA. She was convicted and imprisoned for her actions in the robbery, though her sentence was commuted in February 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and she received a Presidential pardon from Bill Clinton.
  • Elizabeth Smart, a 14-year-old girl, was allegedly kidnapped and repeatedly raped by Brian David Mitchell who coerced and molested her during the months of June 2002 to March 2003; after initial harsh imprisonment, Smart spent several months living physically unrestrained with her captors. However, this may not be a case of Stockholm syndrome because she kept a journal in French about how much she hated her abductors, and she claims to have only cooperated out of fear.[1]
  • Natascha Kampusch, an Austrian girl kidnapped by Wolfgang Priklopil at the age of 10, who escaped at the age of 18 in 2006, appears to have suffered from Stockholm syndrome, as evidenced by her grieving after her captor's suicide.
  • Steven Stayner, a boy from Merced, California, USA kidnapped at age 7 and held captive for a little over 7 years from late 1972 to early 1980. His ordeal was turned into a Made-for-TV movie.
  • Sano Fusako, a woman in Japan kidnapped at age 10 and held captive for 9 years from 1990 to 2000
  • A 27-year-old Hungarian woman in Budapest was held captive for 13 years in her home by her father and regularly raped and beaten.[2]
  • Shawn Hornbeck was kidnapped at age 11 in 2003 and held for four years by Michael Devlin in Missouri. Shawn Hornbeck started using Devlin's last name and despite talking to police on two separate occasions about other unrelated matters Shawn Hornbeck did not seek the assistance of law enforcement. There have been many questions raised in the media reports surrounding his rescue in January 2007 about why he did not speak out earlier leading to reported speculation that he suffered from the Stockholm Syndrome. [[3]] [[4]]

Fictional cases

  • Court TV's 'Forensic Files' episode 191 entitled "Head Games" recounts the story of a young couple that decided to celebrate their first wedding anniversary by camping on Mount Hood. During the trip, the couple met Tom Brown while fishing, who subsequently killed the husband and their dog. The wife was told two different versions of the events which led to her husband's death. Forensic psychiatry finally enabled her to distinguish fact from fiction, and the evidence from ballistics tests allowed investigators to determine that the husband was murdered. See also Court TV Episode Guide

Lima syndrome

The Japanese embassy hostage crisis in December 1996 is currently touted as an example of a so-called Lima syndrome, in which the opposite effects from the Stockholm syndrome came into light. Rather than the captives becoming submissive, this incident showed signs of the MRTA guerillas becoming more sympathetic to the plights and needs of their hostages.

Other uses

Loyalty to a more powerful abuser — in spite of the danger that this loyalty puts the victim in — is common among victims of domestic abuse, battered partners and child abuse (dependent children). In many instances the victims choose to remain loyal to their abuser, and choose not to leave him or her, even when they are offered a safe placement in foster homes or safe houses. This syndrome was described by psychoanalysts of the object relations theory school (see Fairbairn) as the phenomenon of psychological identification with the more powerful abuser.

Evolutionary and psychoanalytic explanations

For an interpretation of the syndrome from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, see capture-bonding.

According to the psychoanalytic view of the syndrome, the tendency might well be the result of employing the strategy evolved by newborn babies to form an emotional attachment to the nearest powerful adult in order to maximize the probability that this adult will enable - at the very least - the survival of the child, if not also prove to be a good parental figure. This syndrome is considered a prime example for the defense mechanism of identification.

Fictional uses

Main article: Stockholm syndrome in popular culture
  • In the 1999 James Bond film The World is Not Enough, James Bond diagnoses Elektra King as having Stockholm syndrome. He claims that after being kidnapped and raped by the man who captured her (Renard), she swore loyalty to him and fell in love with him. Later in the movie, however, this is proven to be a case of Lima syndrome: Renard is in love with Elektra.
  • In Ann Patchett's novel, Bel Canto, the diplomatic hostages in an unnamed South American country forge a relationship with their guerilla captors.
  • In The Simpsons episode, Blame It on Lisa, Homer comes back from being kidnapped having Stockholm syndrome. Homer's quote is "They let me stay up all night!"
  • Christopher Biggins displays Stockholm syndrome when he sympathises with his captors in the television series Bad Girls
  • In the film Saw and its sequels, Amanda falls in love with the Jigsaw Killer even though Jigsaw previously abducted her.
  • In the movie Buffalo 66, Christina Ricci plays a girl named Layla who falls in love with her kidnapper.
  • Marvel Comics' Villain, Magneto, had been mentioned as having Stockholm syndrome. During his childhood in the Nazi death camps of WWII, Magneto then began to identify and feel for his captors. This event had motivated his cruelty and indifference with the lesser "human-kind" (human beings without mutant-gene), and he plans to lead his kind to world power.
  • The fairly recent German film Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei (The Edukators in English) shows a form of Stockholm syndrome.
  • While being held hostage in an episode of Futurama entitled "Insane in the Mainframe," Bender begs to his captor, "Don't kill me yet! I'm starting to come down with Stockholm syndrome... handsome!"
  • In the video game Metal Gear Solid the character Otacon displays feelings of affection for his captor Sniper Wolf, leading Solid Snake to remark "Sounds like a case of Stockholm syndrome."
  • In the television series NCIS, Caitlin Todd is said to have developed Stockholm Syndrome when she can't bring herself to kill rogue operative Ari Haswari when he holds her captive in the episode "Bete Noire".
  • On the soap opera General Hospital, Luke rapes Laura and holds her hostage; subsequently they fall in love. Their wedding becomes one of daytime television's most watched events.

References

  1. ^ Smart, Ed (2003). Bringing Elizabeth Home: A Journey of Faith and Hope. Doubleday. ISBN. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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