Stockholm Syndrome

By Timothy Stainbrook
 About Stockholm Syndrome

- First observed in Stockholm, Sweden when hostages

were taken in a bank robbery
- Hostages later began to report “fearing the police
more than their captors” and after their rescue
refused to testify against the criminals and even set
up a fund for their legal defense.
- In general, the syndrome describes those who
become emotionally attached to their captors or
tormentors.
- Both evolutionary links and ego defense
mechanisms have been used to attempt to explain
 Varieties

- An inversion of Stockholm syndrome has also

been observed and named Lima Syndrome
- It involves hostage takers becoming
sympathetic to their hostages after long periods
of cohabitation
- Lima syndrome is named after an event in Lima,
Peru in which a militant group kidnapped
members of the local Japanese consulate in the
embassy, but ended up releasing all of their
hostages.
 Signs and Symptoms
- Stockholm syndrome can
manifest at any age, but has
mainly been observed in adults
- Characterised by an irrational
compassion for a captor or
tormentor, sympathy for their
goals, and negative attitudes
towards those who seek to
oppose the captor (police).
- Symptoms:
- Confusion, Denial, Blurred
Memory, and Recurrent Flashbacks
- Flat Affect, Dependence, and
Anxiety
- Social Anxiety and Estrangement
 Treatment

- Treatment for Stockholm Syndrome

normally includes counselling in which the
patient is helped to realize that their actions
and feelings stemmed from natural survival
instincts.
- This treatment depends on the theory that
Stockholm syndrome stems from an ego
defense mechanism for survival or from an
evolutionary need developed when
abduction and incorporation into a different
tribe was common.
 Statistics

- The FBI estimates that around 8% of

victims develop Stockholm Syndrome
to varying degrees of severity.
- Those who find themselves in a
hostage situation, have been
kidnapped, or are victims of abuse are
most susceptible to the condition.
- Stockholm syndrome is more common
in women and children than in men.
Bibliography

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome
- https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22447726
- https://www.britannica.com/science/Stockholm-syndrome