Crime Info 101: Jaycee Dugard and Stockholm syndrome, what is it? Part 2

Crime Info 101: Jaycee Dugard and Stockholm syndrome, what is it? Part 1

Part 2

As word of the incredible discovery of Jaycee Dugard and her two children has swept across the country, many people want to know why she didn’t take advantage of previous opportunities to escape. The answer to Jaycee Dugard’s plight, as well as many other victims, can be found in the Stockholm syndrome. Though some view the Stockholm syndrome as an urban myth, police and the FBI are trained to identify the syndrome and often expect it in cases of kidnapping or other long term hostage situations.

Jaycee Dugard is not the only victim to be identifies with the syndrome. Other cases include Patty Hearst, Shawn Hornbeck, Steven Staynor, Natascha Kampusch, Coleen Stan, and Elizabeth Smart. The syndrome is often identified in abused children and battered wives. Stockholm syndrome is also closely associated with PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It’s possible that the cause of Stockholm syndrome rests in the victim continually observing their captor to identify his or her likes, dislikes, preferences, and mannerisms to avoid confrontation. When a person is held in a captive situation, and threatened with extreme violence, torture, or death, human instinct is self-preservation. When the captor shows any signs of kindness to the victim, the hostage immediately senses that they can preserve their life by pleasing their captor. It is estimated that it takes between 3-4 days before the psychological mind shift occurs. At this point, the victim has essentially become brainwashed and is not ‘manipulating’ their captor through behaving in a manner that is acceptable, but rather has lost their own identity and has bonded through the Stockholm syndrome. Once the shift occurs, the victim no longer thinks about escape, but only pleasing and identifying with their captor to avoid torture, torment, or death.

Stockholm syndrome is seen in a number of different situations. In addition to kidnapped victims, abused women and children, it is often identified in prisoners of war, cult members, and survivors of incest. Essentially, any controlling or threatening relationship that presents grave fear and threat to an individual is breeding grounds for Stockholm syndrome. Since Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at the age of 11, and more than likely raped at a very young age, it is highly possible that she developed Stockholm syndrome very early after being kidnapped.

In Stockholm syndrome, the abuser becomes the sole provider for the victim from everything consisting from pain and pleasure to life itself. The constant threat of pain, torment, and death provokes the unconscious response for self-preservation. Unfortunately, many victims of Stockholm syndrome maintain their bonds to their captors for months, even years, after they have been set free.

Today, many want to know why Jaycee Dugard never tried to escape. The early experiences of pain, threat, torment, fear, and death that trigger the syndrome begin a long trail of self-preservation that makes escape impossible. Under the Stockholm syndrome, the victim has taken on the character of the abuser; escape is no longer an option. Since logical thinking and reasoning regarding the captor has been warped due to the Stockholm syndrome, the victim doesn’t contemplate leaving or escape. They have become truly dependent upon their abuser and no longer can think for him or herself. Every need has been controlled and supplied at the abuser’s whim; the victim has lost all sense of individuality and has entered a deadly bond meant to preserve their life. When opportunities arise for escape, they are neither aware nor have the mental resources or capabilities to enact that escape.

Sources:
Coleen Stan
Loving to survive: sexual terror, men's violence, and women's lives
By Dee L. R. Graham, Edna I. Rawlings, Roberta K. Rigsby

Jaycee Lee Dugard pictures, photos, and slideshow