Why Do Some Victims Develop Stockholm Syndrome?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsOriginPrevalenceCausesSymptomsDiagnosisExamplesSports

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Origin

Prevalence

Causes

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Examples

Sports

Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which hostages develop a psychological alliance with their captors during captivity. Victims form emotional bonds with their captors and become sympathetic toward them.

They may not escape when given the chance, and they might even try to prevent their captors from facing consequences for their actions.

The term “Stockholm syndrome” was created to describe what happened to victims during a 1973 bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. Throughout the six-day ordeal, the bank robbers worked on negotiating a plan with police that would allow them to leave the bank safely.

During this time period, the majority of bank employees who were being held hostage became unusually sympathetic toward the robbers.

Even after being set free, the hostages refused to leave their captors and later defended them. They also refused to testify in court against them and even helped raise money for the robbers’ defense.

The criminologist and psychiatrist who were investigating the event coined their condition “Stockholm syndrome” as it became clear the bank employees had developed some sort of affection toward the people who held them captive.

Stockholm syndrome is rare. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that fewer than 8% of kidnapping victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome .

No one knows the exact reasons why some victims develop Stockholm syndrome and others don’t.

When FBI investigators interviewed flight attendants who had been taken hostage during airplane hijackings, they concluded that there were three factors necessary for Stockholm syndrome to develop:

Their lives were often at risk, and sometimes their children were killed. Developing a bond with the tribe holding them captive ensured their survival. The frequency of these abductions developed into an adaptive trait in the human population.

Developing a relationship with a captor is actually encouraged. Forming a bond with the perpetrator can increase hostages’ chances for survival.

Interestingly, however, victims who develop Stockholm syndrome often later refuse to cooperate during the subsequent investigation or during legal trials.

Individuals with Stockholm syndrome often report symptoms similar to those withPTSD. Symptoms may include:

Additional symptoms (dissimilar to PTSD) may include:

Stockholm syndrome doesn’t appear in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used to diagnose the entire spectrum of mental disorders. Instead, it’s more of a descriptive term for a pattern of behaviors that are used to cope with a traumatic situation.

Individuals with Stockholm syndrome often also meet the criteria foracute stress disorderor PTSD.

Treatment can involve psychotherapy and/or medication. Psychotherapy may address specific symptoms that appear after the traumatic event, such as nightmares or flashbacks. It might also teach individuals healthy ways to cope with theirtraumatic experience.

Through treatment, they may grow to recognize how sympathizing with the perpetrator was a survival skill and that their thoughts about the perpetrator do not serve them once they are safe.

Recognizing instances of Stockholm syndrome isn’t always clear. In some cases, people have been accused of having it when they insist they don’t.

For example, some experts have argued that Elizabeth Smart, the teenager who in 2002 was kidnapped from her home in Utah, must have had Stockholm syndrome because she didn’t escape her captors when she had chances to do so.

Smart has repeatedly spoken out to say she did not have Stockholm syndrome. Rather, she chose not to attempt escape because her captors threatened to kill her family if she did. She stayed out of fear, not because she had positive feelings toward the couple holding her captive.

In some cases, individuals have tried to use Stockholm syndrome as their defense in court.

Here are some famous examples of times when individuals were suspected to have Stockholm syndrome:

While Stockholm syndrome is mostly used to describe hostage situations or kidnappings, a 2018 study showed it can also be found in sports. Researchers assert that abusive athletic coaches can victimize young athletes in a way that creates Stockholm syndrome.

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Fuselier G.Placing the Stockholm syndrome in perspective. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 1999.Nair M.Stockholm syndrome - A self delusive survival strategy.International Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;3(11):385-388.Talbot M.Gone girl.The New Yorker.Bovsun M.The lady and her kidnappers.The New York Daily News.Latsun, J.How an American heiress became the poster child for Stockholm syndrome.Time.Shaikh, T.Kidnapped girl reveals new details of her life as a ‘domestic slave.‘CNN.Bachand C, Djak N.Stockholm syndrome in athletics: a paradox.Children Australia. 2018;43(3):175-180. doi:10.1017/cha.2018.31

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Fuselier G.Placing the Stockholm syndrome in perspective. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 1999.Nair M.Stockholm syndrome - A self delusive survival strategy.International Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;3(11):385-388.Talbot M.Gone girl.The New Yorker.Bovsun M.The lady and her kidnappers.The New York Daily News.Latsun, J.How an American heiress became the poster child for Stockholm syndrome.Time.Shaikh, T.Kidnapped girl reveals new details of her life as a ‘domestic slave.‘CNN.Bachand C, Djak N.Stockholm syndrome in athletics: a paradox.Children Australia. 2018;43(3):175-180. doi:10.1017/cha.2018.31

Fuselier G.Placing the Stockholm syndrome in perspective. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 1999.Nair M.Stockholm syndrome - A self delusive survival strategy.International Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;3(11):385-388.Talbot M.Gone girl.The New Yorker.Bovsun M.The lady and her kidnappers.The New York Daily News.Latsun, J.How an American heiress became the poster child for Stockholm syndrome.Time.Shaikh, T.Kidnapped girl reveals new details of her life as a ‘domestic slave.‘CNN.Bachand C, Djak N.Stockholm syndrome in athletics: a paradox.Children Australia. 2018;43(3):175-180. doi:10.1017/cha.2018.31

Fuselier G.Placing the Stockholm syndrome in perspective. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 1999.

Nair M.Stockholm syndrome - A self delusive survival strategy.International Journal of Advanced Research. 2015;3(11):385-388.

Talbot M.Gone girl.The New Yorker.

Bovsun M.The lady and her kidnappers.The New York Daily News.

Latsun, J.How an American heiress became the poster child for Stockholm syndrome.Time.

Shaikh, T.Kidnapped girl reveals new details of her life as a ‘domestic slave.‘CNN.

Bachand C, Djak N.Stockholm syndrome in athletics: a paradox.Children Australia. 2018;43(3):175-180. doi:10.1017/cha.2018.31

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