An Examination of Stalking Among Female and Male Veterans and Associations with PTSD and Depression

Background and Purpose: Stalking became a focus in the literature in the 1990s and has been primarily evaluated among civilian populations, with limited research on military populations. This study evaluated: (a) types and frequency of stalking experienced during military service, (b) characteristics of veterans who experienced stalking within and between genders, and (c) impact of stalking on current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among female and male veterans.

Methods: Two community, non-clinical samples (N = 1,935) of female veterans (n = 305) and male veterans (n = 1,630) were used. Stalking was evaluated with four items, such as “someone using social media to track or follow you” and frequency was indicated as never, 1 time, 2-4 times, and 5 or more times. For this study, stalking was assessed as two or more stalking experiences. Probable PTSD was measured by the PCL-5 with a clinical cutoff of 33. Probable depression was measured with the PHQ-9 with a clinical cutoff of 10. All analyses were completed in SAS 9.4. Descriptive statistics (chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests) were used to identify demographic differences. Two logistic regressions were used to test for significance of stalking on probable PTSD and depression.

Results: Types of stalking varied by gender. Female veterans experienced unwanted messages, emails, or phone calls (36%), whereas male veterans experienced someone showing up unannounced or uninvited (23%). When considering more than one type of stalking female veterans were most likely to experience both unannounced or uninvited and following or waiting (25%), while male veterans were most likely to experience both unannounced or uninvited and social media to track or follow you (13%). Female veterans were significantly more likely to experience stalking than male veterans (57% vs 38%, p < .001, respectively). Among those who experienced stalking, certain associated demographics characteristics were prevalent among female veterans (i.e., age, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and rank) and male veterans (i.e. age, race and ethnicity, service branch, era, deployment, and rank) compared to those who did not. While controlling for confounding variables, both female and male veterans who experienced stalking had significant associations with probable PTSD (OR = 2.25; p =.005 and OR = 3.30; p < .001, respectively) and probable depression (OR = 2.52; p = .002 and OR = 3.47; p< .001, respectively) compared to those who experienced no stalking.

Conclusion and Implications: Due to its prevalence and impact on mental health (a) health and mental health providers should assess for the presence of stalking to allow for appropriate diagnosis and treatment and (b) stalking should be included in future research of military-related sexual trauma.