Stockholm syndrome

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"Stockholm Syndrome" redirects here. For the band, see Stockholm Syndrome (band). For the Muse song, see Stockholm Syndrome (song).

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.

Contents 1 Origin of the name 2 Famous possible cases 3 Lima syndrome 4 Other uses 5 Evolutionary and psychoanalytic explanations 6 Fictional uses 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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, 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 a news reader in the first Die Hard film.

[edit] Famous possible cases

• Millionaire heir Patty Hearst, after having been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. 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 the mentally ill 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 co-operated out of fear.^[1]

• Japanese abducted to North Korea during the late 1970s and early 1980s. After five of them were allowed to return to Japan in October 2002, they exhibited behavior of submission to the North Korean regime and, given that the regime would not allow their North Korean-born children to join them in Japan right away, attempted to go back there to join them; however, their Japanese families, seeing this as symptoms of brainwashing, restrained them, and eventually the former abductees shed their North Korean identities symbolically by shedding the pins with pictures of previous dictator Kim Il Sung on them during a press conference and denouncing the North Korean regime as a "criminal state" in subsequent interviews, which eventually led to the release of their children in 2004.

• 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.

• Carol Smith was kidnapped and held for seven years as a sex slave by Cameron Hooker.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Other uses

Outside of the criminal context, a form of the syndrome may take place in military basic training, in which "training is a mildly traumatic experience intended to produce a bond," with the goal of forming military units which will remain loyal to each other even in life-threatening situations.^{[citation needed]}

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

• In Ann Pachett'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 a band of the same name, a song by the band Yo La Tengo, Muse on their album Absolution; Blink 182 on their last album; Backyard Babies; and Sheffield band Milburn.

• Christopher Biggins displays Stockholm syndrome when he sympathises with his captors in the television series Bad Girls

• In the film Saw, along with Saw 2 and Saw 3, Amanda falls in love with the Jigsaw Killer even though Jigsaw previously abducted her.

• Harley Quinn has possible Stockholm syndrome with The Joker in the Batman mythos and DCU.

• In the movie Buffalo 66, Christina Ricci plays a girl name Layla who falls in love with her kidnapper.

• Marvel Comics' Villian, 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 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".

[edit] References

1. ^ Smart, Ed, Smart, Lois (2003). Bringing Elizabeth Home: A Journey of Faith and Hope. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-51214-7.

The Album "Absolution" by English rock band Muse includes a song titled Stockholm Syndrome. The chorus contains the lines "This is the last time I'll abandon you, and this is the last time I'll forget you, I wish I could".

Indie rock band Yo La Tengo also have a song called Stockholm syndrome, featured in their "I can hear the hearts beating as one" album and containing lyrics as follows: "What's the matter, why don't you answer What's the matter with me Cause it's so hard to be Free and easy"

[edit] 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)
• "Kidnapping of the mind: The Stockholm Syndrome Examined": Why do some hostages side with their captors? Why do battered wives identify with their husbands, even after consistent, repeated abuse?
• Ask Yahoo!: What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?