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Stockholm Syndrome

In 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson, a paroled criminal, took four employees (three women and one man) hostage at Creditbanken, one of the largest banks in Stockholm, Sweden, during a failed bank robbery. He negotiated the release of his friend Clark Olofson from prison so he could help him.

What is Stockholm Syndrome?

Stockholm syndrome describes the psychological state of a victim who identifies with and empathizes with their abductor or abuser and their targets. Stockholm syndrome is rare; According to an FBI study, this condition occurs in about 8 percent of hostage victims.

Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or theory that tries to explain why hostages sometimes develop psychological bonds with their captors. It is believed to arise from a specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances inherent in hostage-taking, kidnapping, and abusive relationships.

Therefore, it is difficult to find large numbers of people experiencing Stockholm syndrome to conduct studies with any kind of validity or useful sample size. This makes it difficult to determine trends in the development and effects of the condition and is in fact a “controversial disease” due to doubts about the validity of the condition.

Stockholm syndrome is paradoxical because the sympathy that prisoners feel towards their captors is the opposite of the fear and contempt that a bystander might feel towards the captive.

Stockholm syndrome is characterized by four major components:

• The hostage develops positive feelings towards the captor.
• There is no prior relationship between the hostage and the kidnapper.
• Refusal by hostages to cooperate with police and other government officials.
• The hostage’s belief in the humanity of the kidnapper causes him to stop seeing them as a threat when the victim has the same values ​​as the attacker.