STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

'Stockholm syndrome' is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless 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. 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 Stockholm Syndrome 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.

Contents

Famous possible cases

Lima syndrome

Other uses

Evolutionary and psychoanalytic explanations

Fictional uses

External links

Famous possible cases

★ Colleen Stan, a.k.a. Carol Smith was held captive from 1977 until 1984 by Cameron and Janice Hooker in locked wooden boxes. She slept in a coffin-like box under the Hookers' 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? For an in-depth synopsis of the case, see The Case of the Seven Year Sex Slave and 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.


★ Millionaire heiress Patty Hearst, was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. After two months in captivity, she actively took part in a robbery they were orchestrating. 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.

★ Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year old Austrian teenager who was kidnapped by Wolfgang Priklopil before escaping at the age of 18 in 2006, showed signs of having suffered from Stockholm syndrome, as evidenced by her grieving after her captor's suicide.^[1]

★ Steven Stayner, a man from Merced, California, was kidnapped at age 7 and held captive for over seven 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.

★ Tanya Kach, a woman in Pennsylvania held at the home of Thomas Hose from 1996 to 2006.

★ Lena Simakhina, 17, and Katya Martynova, 14, abducted by factory worker Viktor Mokhov, 53. He kept the teenagers as sex slaves in the underground cellar for 3.5 years from 2000 until 2004.^[2]

★ 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.^[3]

★ Shawn Hornbeck was kidnapped at age 11 in 2002 and held for four years by Michael J. 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 Stockholm Syndrome. However, there are many, including other victims of sexual abuse, and others who have been victims of kidnappings, who have expressed their understanding and support Shawn's decisions not to make an attempt to escape. ^[4][5]

★ Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her home by Brian David Mitchell. She was raped and kept hidden in holes in Emigration Canyon. Yet later, Elizabeth was covered in a veil, taken into public places, and even photographed with the veil, but she did not attempt to contact others to tell them that she had been kidnapped.

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. A variant of Stockholm Syndrome includes cases of abusive parents and abusive siblings in which the victim, even after entering adulthood still justifies the family abuse. (see Bejerot).

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

★ The film ''Die Hard'' references Stockholm syndrome, though erroneously referring to it as "Helsinki Syndrome." This misnomer is later used in the ''Babylon 5'' episode "The Illusion of Truth" and in Brad Neely's "Wizard People, Dear Reader", which is an unauthorized spoof soundtrack to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

★ 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 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

★ The movie John Q features hostages held in a hospital by a man named John Quincy Archibald (played by Denzel Washington), who is demanding medical treatment for his son. At first the hostages are frightened, but over time they begin to sympathize with his plight and work with him to accomplish his goals. When one of the hostages, released part-way through the film, is questioned by reporters, she calls her former captor "a good man." However, Stockholm syndrome may not have been the intention of the writers of the movie, who may have wanted the hostages to display genuine compassion for the situation that Washington's character was in.

★ The Who's song "Black Widow's Eyes" has to do with Stockholm syndrome occurring during the Beslan school hostage crisis.

★ In the film , a self-actualized computer dominates the globe with nuclear extortion. In the final scene, the computer makes a worldwide broadcast in which it declares freedom to be an illusion and predicts that the people of Earth will come to love their digital overlord.

★ 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 held for ransom 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!"

★ Stockholm Syndrome is also the name of a band, and a song by the bands Yo La Tengo on their I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One album; Muse on their album ''Absolution''; Blink-182 on their self-titled album; Mira Calix on the album Eyes Against the Sun; Backyard Babies; Milburn and You Say Party! We Say Die! on their album Hit the Floor! (song divided in two parts). Another song, "Stockholm Love", by 2 Skinnee J's from their ''Volumizer'' album, is also about Stockholm syndrome, and specifically a romance resulting from it.

★ 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 looks to the Jigsaw Killer as a father figure, even growing to truly love him, 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.

★ The German movie ''The Edukators'' 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 penultimate episode of Adult Swim show Frisky Dingo, Killface and Xander Crews' failed attempt to rescue Killface's son Simon leads them to be captured by mobster Torpedo Vegas. Upon interrogation as to what they were doing, Crews tries to disassociate himself from the rescue attempt by arguing, "I have Patty Hearst Syndrome!" This is interpreted as an odd, but relevant way of referring to Stockholm syndrome.

★ 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."

★ The protagonist in Stephen King's novel Misery develops a slight Stockholm syndrome for his captor, although he despises her for the most part.

★ In Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1964 film Woman in the Dunes the title character (and later, the protagonist) shows Stockholm Syndrome toward their captors.

★ 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", Season 1 Episode 16.

★ 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.

★ In the 1990 movie ¡Átame! (Tie me up, Tie me down) by Pedro Almodovar, the main character Marina displays signs of Stockholm Syndrome by falling in love with her kidnapper Ricky.

★ Season 1 Episode 14 of , "Homo Homini Lupus", spotlights a kidnapped and raped girl who exhibits Stockholm Syndrome.

★ In season 1 Episode 12-13 of Alias, "The Box", the character Marshall Flinkman tries to negotiate with the hostage takers by referring to his own Stockholm Syndrome.

★ Although the protagonist Sara, of the novel Right to Life (by author Jack Ketchum) doesn't fall in love, or identify with, her captors, the story thoroughly parallels the case of Colleen Stan, a.k.a. Carol Smith.

★ In Concrete (film) a schoolgirl named Misaki, based on Junko Furuta and played by Miki Komori, was abducted by four boys. The boys rape, torture, and, after 44 days, murder her.

★ In "Hannibal" (2001), sequel to the famous "The Silence Of The Lambs", Dr. Hannibal Lecter chops his own hand to save the FBI agent who chased him (Clarice Starling) from harm (Lima Syndrome).

★ In an episode of House Foreman says the team has "been there long enough to have Stockholm Syndrome" to counter defense of Dr. House's methods by Cameron and Chase during conversation.

★ In Kathy Reichs's novel ''Monday Mourning'' the protagonist, Temperance Brennan, deals with a case in which Stockholm Syndrome is throughly discussed.

★ In the anime Scrapped Princess, Winia Chester starts to exhibit aspects of Stockholm Syndrome following her kidnapping by Christopher Armalite.

★ In the anime Black Lagoon, Japanese salaryman Okajima Rokuro is kidnapped for ransom by Revy of the Lagoon Company. After his boss abandons him, he befriends and joins the crew under the name "Rock" (which they gave him) and finds himself becoming especially close to Revy.

★ In the anime movie , it is possible that the character Charlotte could have had Stockholme Syndrome, because she seemed frightened upon her kidnapping, but grew fond of Meier Link (her vampiric captor) as the movie progressed.

★ In the film Excess Baggage, Alicia Silverstone's character of Emily fakes her own kidnapping only to be actually kidnapped by Benicio del Toro's character, whom she later falls for.

★ In the television series Battlestar Galactica the character Kara Thrace is held hostage by a Cylon while occupying New Caprica in the third season. Although she repeatedly kills him, trying to escape, when she is finally liberated she tells him she loves him and kisses him. The executive producer of the show, Ronald Moore muses in one of his podcasts that perhaps Kara has "gone a little Stockholm" and feels something for the Cylon.

★ A May, 2007 episode of Law & Order (Season 17, Episode 20) entitled "Captive" also explored the Stockholm Syndrome theory in defense of a kidnap victim. This "ripped from the headlines" episode was very similar to the Shawn Hornbeck case, except that the kidnap victim in this story, who had been held captive over 5 years, killed a young boy that had just been recently kidnapped by his captor. Jealousy and the feeling that he might be replaced by the younger victim drove the older boy to kill the new kidnap victim.

★ In the film 12 Monkeys, Kathryn Railly believes her kidnapper James Cole and falls in love with him.

★ Uncanny X-Men #443, a brief explanation and example of Stockholm syndrome is used, although referred to as "Stockholm Effect."

★ The show ''The Kill Point'' details a bank robbery and later hostage situation, much like the actual Stockholm incident itself, in which some of the captives begin to bond with their captors over a prolonged period of time.

External links

★ Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser Psychologist Dr Joseph Carver, writing at CounsellingResource.com

★ Nils Bejerots articles about the events at Norrmalmstorg (in Swedish)

★ Ask Yahoo!: What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?