Classifying Stalking Among Adolescents: Preliminary Considerations for Risk Management

Classification systems of stalking have predominantly focussed on adults, particularly men, thus neglecting younger individuals falling within the ‘adolescent’ demographic. Despite there being a growing body of evidence to suggest otherwise, stalking by adolescents has been thought rare and downplayed as innocent infatuations, or indeed ‘puppy love’. In the absence of psychological theory accounting for adolescent stalking, classification systems have emerged in an attempt to capture the complexity of this behaviour, as well as inform risk management and intervention. However, the dearth of empirical investigation on this topic has meant that such systems remain underdeveloped and are primarily based on case study information. This chapter will offer an overview of classification systems for adolescent stalking, attending to these in the context of adult stalking, which has received greater empirical attention by comparison. Key differences and similarities will be noted and accompanied by a consideration of what this means for risk management.