Testing the Target Congruence Approach: Do Vulnerability, Gratifiability, and Antagonism Explain Cyberstalking Victimization Among Young Adults?

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231180636
• Author: Erica R. Fissel,Bonnie S. Fisher,Pamela Wilcox
• Date: 01 September 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2023, Vol. 50, No. 9, September 2023, 1380 –1404.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231180636

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2023 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

1380

TESTING THE TARGET CONGRUENCE

APPROACH

Do Vulnerability, Gratifiability, and Antagonism

Explain Cyberstalking Victimization Among

Young Adults?

ERICA R. FISSEL

University of Central Florida

BONNIE S. FISHER

University of Cincinnati

PAMELA WILCOX

Pennsylvania State University

To extend theoretical understanding of cyberspace victimization beyond lifestyle-routine activity theory, we tested the target

congruence approach as a plausible explanation for cyberstalking victimization. Of secondary interest, we assessed whether

the relationship between target congruence and cyberstalking victimization differs by pursued–pursuer relationship. Survey

data from a sample of 1,500 young adults (18–25 years old) revealed 32% had experienced cyberstalking victimization within

the previous year. Logistic regression results moderately support the target congruence approach. Measures capturing target

vulnerability (e.g., age, disability), target gratifiability (e.g., gender identity, types of photos posted), and target antagonism

(e.g., relationship status, cyberstalking perpetration) significantly predicted cyberstalking victimization. Moreover, it appears

that the target congruence elements better explain cyberstalking victimization conducted by someone known to the target

(compared with a stranger). Implications for the applicability of the target congruence approach are discussed, along with

suggestions for future research.

Keywords: cyberstalking; target congruence; victimization

Cyberspace is well integrated into individuals’ daily life, with 90% of individuals in

developed countries worldwide using the internet in 2021 (International

Telecommunication Union, 2021). Cyberspace has positive impacts on many aspects of

life, but it also creates more opportunities for users to target and interact with victims

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Erica R. Fissel,

Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816-2368;

e-mail: erica.fissel@ucf.edu.

1180636CJBXXX10.1177/00938548231180636Criminal Justice and BehaviorFissel et al. /

research-article2023

Fissel et al. / TESTING THE TARGET CONGRUENCE APPROACH 1381

without geographical or temporal boundaries. One type of cybercrime that continues to

capture the attention of researchers, practitioners, and the general public is cyberstalking.

While there is no single agreed-upon definition, generally speaking, cyberstalking victim-

ization involves repeated pursuit behavior via technology that causes the target to experi-

ence a substantial emotional response or fear for their safety or the safety of someone close

to them (e.g., D’Ovidio & Doyle, 2003; Maple et al., 2011).

Among the studies that estimate the extent of cyberstalking victimization, widely vari-

able prevalence estimates have emerged. The National Crime Victimization Survey’s

(NCVS) Supplemental Victimization Survey (SVS), the only national-level study assess-

ing the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization, was last administered in 2019 and

revealed that approximately 3.4 million people 16 years of age or older experienced

cyberstalking victimization within the year prior (Morgan & Truman, 2022). Most other

research on cyberstalking victimization presents estimates based on samples consisting

exclusively of college students (e.g., Kraft & Wang, 2010; Reyns et al., 2011, 2018).

Among these studies, victimization estimates range from 3.4% during the current aca-

demic year (Reyns et al., 2018) to nearly 41% within their lifetime (Reyns et al., 2011).

The wide range of prevalence estimates can be largely attributed to the differences in how

cyberstalking is measured. Some studies measure cyberstalking as repeated online pur-

suit, others measure it as repeated online pursuit that evokes fear, and still others measure

it as repeated online pursuit that evokes either fear or another substantial emotional

response (see Wilson et al., 2022).

While more scholarly attention is being directed toward understanding cyberstalking,

there are still questions about this phenomenon that remain unanswered. The present study

makes three primary contributions to cyberstalking victimization scholarship. First, to

address the limitation of the often exclusive use of college student samples, we surveyed

young adults aged 18- to 25-year old—including both college and noncollege students—to

determine whether student versus general samples impacts the estimated prevalence of

cyberstalking victimization. Second, and relatedly, several of the existing studies on cyber-

stalking victimization rely upon samples of a few hundred respondents (e.g., Jerin &

Dolinsky, 2001; Spitzberg & Hoobler, 2002). A small sample size likely is not representa-

tive of the population from which it was selected, and small samples limit the ability to

detect statistically significant relationships. Thus, in the current study, we utilize a large

sample of 1,500 respondents.

Finally, much of the early research on cyberstalking victimization is descriptive, report-

ing prevalence estimates and demographic characteristics. More recent work has been

grounded in an explanatory framework, with a focus on identifying theoretical predictors

of cyberstalking victimization (e.g., Reyns et al., 2011, 2018), typically from a lifestyle-

routine activity theory (LRAT) perspective. Though this collection of research has yielded

modest empirical support, we offer an alternative theoretical framework in the current

study for understanding cyberstalking victimization, the target congruence approach. The

target congruence approach centers on the needs or motives of the offender as an explana-

tion for why such victimization occurs. In short, we argue that the target congruence

approach and associated assumptions provide important framing for prevention and inter-

vention strategies.