Stockholm syndrome

For the band, see Stockholm Syndrome (band).

The four hostages in the Kreditbanken robbery sympathized with their captor (right)

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in a hostage, in which the hostage exhibits seeming loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) the hostage has been put in. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered woman syndrome, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping.

Origin of the name

The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term was coined by the criminologist and psychologist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast.

Capture bonding

An offshoot of the Stockholm syndrome is the aptly-used term capture-bonding defined as a bond that in some instances develops between captor and captive, or terrorist and hostage. The term is modeled on the Swedish woman who became so attached to one of the bank robbers who held her hostage that she broke her engagement to her former lover and remained bonded, or in bondage, to her former captor while he served time in prison.

Famous cases

Millionaire heiress Patty Hearst, after having been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in February 1974, helped rob a bank with the group two months later. She was arrested in September 1975, and her unsuccessful legal defense was that she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome and was coerced into aiding the SLA. She was convicted and imprisoned for her actions in the robbery, though her sentence was commuted in February 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, and she received a Presidential pardon from Bill Clinton in January 2001.
Elizabeth Smart, a girl kidnapped and sexually abused by a mentally ill man who treated her as his wife in 2002-2003; Smart spent many months living on the streets of Salt Lake City, Utah with her captors, physically unrestrained.
Japanese abducted to North Korea during the late 1970's and early 1980's. After five of them were allowed to return to Japan in October 2002, they exhibited behavior of submission to the North Korean regime and, given that the regime would not allow their North Korean-born children to join them in Japan right away, attempted to go back there to join them; however, their Japanese families, seeing this as symptoms of brainwashing, restrained them, and eventually the former abductees shed their North Korean identities symbolically by shedding the pins with pictures of previous dictator Kim Il Sung on them during a press conference and denouncing the North Korean regime as a "criminal state" in subsequent interviews, which eventually led to the release of their children in 2004.

Other uses

Outside of the criminal context, a form of the syndrome may take place in military basic training, in which "training is a mildly traumatic experience intended to produce a bond", with the goal of forming military units which will remain loyal to each other even in life-threatening situations.

Similarly, the effects of the "hazing" system of induction into groups such as fraternities and sororities have been compared to the syndrome. In cultural anthropology a similar symptom is common to bride capture situations.

Loyalty to a more powerful abuser — in spite of the danger that this loyalty puts the victim in — is common among victims of domestic abuse, battered partners and child abuse (dependent children). In many instances the victims choose to remain loyal to their abuser, and choose not to leave him or her, even when they are offered a safe placement in foster homes or safe houses. This syndrome was described by psychoanalysts of the object relations theory school (see Fairbairn) as the phenomenon of psychological identification with the more powerful abuser.

Some D/s and Domestic Discipline couples report that spanking makes them feel more strongly bonded.

Evolutionary and psychoanalytic explanations

For an interpretation of the syndrome from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, see capture-bonding.

According to the psychoanalytic view of the syndrome, the tendency might well be the result of employing the strategy evolved by newborn babies to form an emotional attachment to the nearest powerful adult in order to maximize the probability that this adult will enable - at the very least - the survival of the child, if not also prove to be a good parental figure.

Popular culture references

Film, television, and video games

All three Law and Order programs

Buffalo '66
Matlock: The Kidnapping
Dog Day Afternoon (based on a true story)
The World Is Not Enough (a James Bond film), female antagonist, Electra King, falls in love and helps her terrorist captor.
Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst
Six Feet Under, episode 44 (That's My Dog).
In Die Hard, a doctor appearing on a television show describes an identical phenomenon known as "Helsinki Syndrome". The bumbling host says this refers to "Helsinki, Sweden", and the doctor corrects him, saying "Finland".
In the videogame Metal Gear Solid, Solid Snake refers to Dr. Emmerich's attraction to terrorist Sniper Wolf as Stockholm syndrome.
CSI Miami, episode 13, season 3: Rex Linn starring as Detective Frank Tripp suggests the case at hand might be an example of the Stockholm syndrome.
In "Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997)" a couple played by Kevin Pollak and Kim Dickens is taken hostage by Vincent Gallo and Keifer Sutherland. He begins to be friends with them, while she gets outraged by his behavior.

In the movie "John Q" Denzel Washington's character takes people in a hospital hostage. The people in the hospital begin to sympathize with him and even sides for.

Nip/Tuck, episode 3.14 (Cherry Peck). Kimber Henry shows signs of Stockholm syndrome after ostensibly sympathizing with The Carver after he kidnapped and tortured her.
In the Bollywood film Khalnayak, a police officer goes undercover to capture an escaped prisoner; she allowing herself to be kidnapped, but then falls in love with him, teaming up with him in the end.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
(Blame it on Lisa), an episode of The Simpsons involves Homer being kidnapped in Brazil and identifying with his captors.
In the horror film Saw, the character of Amanda begins to appreciate her kidnapper, Jigsaw.
In The Edukators, a rich man captured by a band of German discontents makes no effort to escape and actually lies to protect his captors. However, upon release, he turns them in.
Futurama, episode 3.12 ("Insane in the Mainframe") - When the crew is held hostage by insane robot Roberto, Bender pleads for his life by saying, "Don't kill me yet! I think I'm starting to come down with Stockholm Syndrome... handsome!"
In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Suddenly Human", a child abducted during war is believed by Dr. Beverly Crusher to exhibit signs of the Stockholm Syndrome.
In House, MD, the character Dr. Foreman tells the other fellows working with him under Dr. House that they have Stolkholm Syndrome for being able to like Dr. House in spite of how abrasive he is.
In Malcolm in the Middle, episode 4.18 (Reese's Party) Reese develops Stockholm Syndrom for a gang that has taken over the house.
In the 1991 TV movie Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann, based on a true story, a man kidnaps a girl hoping to make her his own, and she ultimately begins to sympathize with her captor
In the 2002 movie Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.
In Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, episodes 1.22 and 4.23.

Music

2004 saw a tour of a new band called Stockholm Syndrome http://www.stockholmsyndromeband.com, consisting of Jerry Joseph, Dave Schools, Eric McFadden, Wally Ingram and Danny Dziuks. They have a release on Terminous Records called Holy Happy Hour.
Muse has a song called Stockholm Syndrome from the album Absolution released in 2003.
American singer/songwriter Dory Previn, herself a victim of emotional abuse and false imprisonment as a child, wrote a song entitled "With My Daddy in the Attic", dealing with Stockholm Syndrome and fantasies of incest.
Yo La Tengo has a song called Stockholm Syndrome from the album I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One.
blink-182 has a song called Stockholm Syndrome from the album blink-182.
The Swedish punk rock band Backyard Babies has released an album called Stockholm Syndrome.
Nirvana has a song called Paper Cuts that somewhat describes a hostaged person with Stockholm syndrome from the album Bleach.

External links

Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser Psychologist Dr Joseph Carver, writing at CounsellingResource.com
Nils Bejerots articles about the events at Norrmalmstorg (in Swedish)
"Kidnapping of the mind: The Stockholm Syndrome Examined": Why do some hostages side with their captors? Why do battered wives identify with their husbands, even after consistent, repeated abuse?
Ask Yahoo!: What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?