DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STALKING VICTIMIZATION AMONG FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN INDIAN CONTEXT (Pages 01- 05) by Dr. S. Kalaivanan in THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SPECIALIST / ISSN: 2350-1499 (Online); 2350-0751 (Print)

This research study is an attempt made to assess the demographic characteristics of stalking victimization among female college students in Indian context. The sample size for the study comprised of 500 female students (stalking victims) selected through snowball sampling technique from Annamalai University (Asia’s largest residential university) in Chidambaram, Tamilnadu. The age range of the samples in this study was from 17 to 30 years (Mean age= 23.5 years). Tools used for data collection were; (1) National violence against women survey was developed by Tjaden & Thoennes (1998) and (2) Informal Interview Schedule- designed by the researcher. The informants were contacted individually by the researchers and data was obtained through face-to-face personal interview to procure information from the participants pertaining to the etiology of stalking, perception towards stalking, Frequency of being stalked, methods adopted by the stalkers, demographic characteristics of stalking victims, effects of stalking, relationship between stalkers and victims and coping strategies employed by the victims. Findings indicate a pattern of repeated intrusions, the stalking harassment methods, lack of reporting behaviour, and effects of stalking on the victims. Key Words: Stalking, Victimisation, Students, India, College.