My perspective on this subject lightly touches the surface and my hope is to encourage research and discussion that will focus on reducing predatory behavior by the abusers and encouraging strategy formulation and a welcoming environment for those that have been ensnared and those who are still feeling despair and seeking relief. This bonding is perpetuated by the imbalance of power and the manipulative nature of intermittent cycling of abuse with acts of kindness. This type of bonding can take place in concentration camps and kidnap experiences where the intense fear and will to survive can cause a bond with the enemy. The components necessary for a trauma bond to form are a power differential, intermittent good/bad treatment, and high arousal and bonding periods (Dutton and Painter 1993). Trauma Bonding is evidenced in any relationship in which the connection defies logic and is very hard to break. These terms are much more descriptive and germane to those who are thriving despite having been in the grip of an abuser or those who currently are in an abusive relationship. It is, in fact, represented in these domains under the title of Trauma Bonding and Narcissistic or Psychopathic Victim Abuse. The concept should receive more attention in the arena of domestic abuse and in the study of trauma. I have been asked more questions about this phenomenon than any other element of negotiation and it received less than a page of my 204 page doctoral dissertation on crisis (hostage) negotiation (Logan 2001). The subject of Stockholm Syndrome gets far too much attention in the domain of hostage negotiation. Actual hostage situations are also quite rare with only 4% of police crisis negotiations involving “hostages.” The other 96% involve either suicidal persons or barricaded subjects (HOBAS 2001). It is a rare phenomenon in crisis (hostage) negotiation and is seen in only 8% of victims taken hostage. Law enforcement personnel have long recognized this syndrome with battered women who fail to press charges, bail their battering partner out of jail, and even physically attack police officers when they arrive to rescue them. This puts the aggressor right where they want to be in complete control.
Although there is no DSM or ICD diagnosis for either Stockholm Syndrome or Trauma Bonding it appears to be an unconscious emotional response to the terror of being captive and that protection is entirely in the hands of the captor or abuser. In hostage negotiation it is defined as the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor. “Stockholm Syndrome” was the term given to this “bonding” that occurred (Bejerot 1974). Amazingly, one woman later became engaged to one of the hostage takers and another developed a legal defense fund to assist their captors. The hostages were rescued 5 days later and despite threats and abuse, including being strapped with dynamite, they were surprisingly supportive of their captors.
O n August 23, 1973, two machine-gun carrying criminals entered a bank in Stockholm, Sweden and took four hostages for 131 h.
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