Abnormal attentions toward the British Royal Family: factors associated with approach and escalation.
Abnormal approach and escalation from communication to physical intrusion are central concerns in managing risk to prominent people. This study was a retrospective analysis of police files of those who have shown abnormal attentions toward the British Royal Family. Approach (n = 222), compared with communication only (n = 53), was significantly associated with specific factors, most notably serious mental illness and grandiosity. In a sample of those who engaged in abnormal communication (n = 132), those who approached (n = 79) were significantly more likely to evidence mental illness and grandiosity, to use multiple communications, to employ multiple means of communication, and to be driven by motivations that concerned a personal entitlement to the prominent individual. Logistic regression produced a model comprising grandiosity, multiple communications, and multiple means of communication, for which receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to those for other target groups.
James
David V
DV
North London Forensic Service, London, UK.
Meloy
J Reid
JR
Mullen
Paul E
PE
Pathé
Michele T
MT
Farnham
Frank R
FR
Preston
Lulu F
LF
Darnley
Brian J
BJ
D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D005197:Famous Persons; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012308:Risk Management; D012919:Social Behavior; D055807:Stalking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom