Elizabeth Smart Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome

In the simplest way, Stockholm Syndrome is love for someone who abuses or hurts you. It is the psychological condition where an individual develops an intense emotional attachment for the kidnapper, or someone who tortures him/her. According to Kocsis, people experiencing this condition start loving the captivity, and instead of running away from the torture, they surrender to the person who is in control of the situation.

Brief History

Stockholm Syndrome derives its name from the famous incident of bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in August 1973. In the infamous incident, four employees of the Sveriges Kreditbank were held in captive for days at stretch. Surprisingly, the hostages refused to get out of the captivity,

“Syndrome” Stockholm Syndrome is not recognized as a definite psychological condition or disorder, it is rather an array of symptoms that hostages undergo in an abduction or hostage

The case of Elizabeth Smart was another of them. Elizabeth was kidnapped from her residence in 2002. She was 14 at the time and was held captive for nine long months. It was found out that even though Elizabeth had plenty of opportunities to escape, she never attempted to do so. She accepted her captivity and reported that she felt “safe” with the abductors. Extensive psychological research and analysis was done centering on her emotions and thought processes. Although many people argued that she had given her statement under the pressure of the kidnappers, she was considered as a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome and is still cited as a burning real life example of the Stockholm condition.

Other Examples

Stockholm Syndrome became a public issue and gained huge popularity in the hostage situation in Iran in the years 1979-81. It was then that it came into the public imagination.

Ever since then, it has been cited in other instances like the hijacking massacre of the TWA Flight No 847 in the year 1985. Passengers in the flight were kept hostages and on their release they expressed sympathy for the hijackers.

Hostages held by Islamic militants in 1985-1991 also showed symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome. They reported that although they were held captive, they were not ill treated and they supported the cause of the kidnapping.

Hostages held by Peru at the Japanese embassy in