The kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from a country house in Salt Lake City made a lot of noise at the time and even formed the basis of the film, which is called "The Abduction of Elizabeth Smart."
The heroine of this story has an unequivocal opinion about the notorious "Stockholm Syndrome" - this phenomenon does not exist. And many experts agree with her in this.
The term "Stockholm Syndrome" appeared in 1973, after during the robbery of one of the Swedish banks, the employees taken hostage unexpectedly felt sympathy for the robbers and went over to their side.
In America, a classic example of the manifestation of the Stockholm Syndrome is the story of the kidnapping of Patricia Hirst, the heiress of a billionaire state, by a left-wing terrorist group. The girl joined the ranks of her kidnappers and, as a result, ended up in prison for robbing a bank.
Patricia Hirst
Some experts believe that the aforementioned Elizabeth Smart also fell victim to the Stockholm Syndrome - despite the fact that this psychological phenomenon is hardly studied and is not even included in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness" - the bible of psychiatrists around the world. And in one of a very small number of academic studies on Stockholm Syndrome, experts concluded that there is no subject at all to research.
"There is almost no evidence to support a phenomenon called Stockholm Syndrome," said Nadine Kaslow, a clinical psychologist at Emory University. "This topic is just hyped up by the press."
The abduction in 2002 of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart puzzled the public, as the abductor often wore a veil on the girl and walked with her through the streets of her hometown of Salt Lake City. When Elizabeth was released nine months later, experts published an article in the New York Times suggesting that the girl did not try to escape, because she became a victim of this very Stockholm syndrome and felt an emotional connection with the kidnappers.
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“It should be borne in mind that the kidnapper, among other things, becomes your breadwinner,” explains child psychologist Arthur Brand. "He is, of course, a rapist, but at the same time, he is the only person who, in this situation, can take care of you and prevent you from dying."
In 2007, the FBI published the findings of its experts, which say that sometimes there is a connection between the kidnapper and the victim, but this happens extremely rarely. Smart, in turn, denies the theory of his emotional connection with the kidnappers. She claims to have stayed with them solely out of fear.
Smart proves that being submissive to the kidnappers is not at all indicative of sympathy for them. In her case, one of the mobsters, Brian Mitchell, threatened to kill her and her family if only she tried to escape.
From the outside, it may seem that kidnapping victims are inferior to the kidnappers, but in reality, their will is paralyzed,”says Caslow. A person who is captured can be so traumatized and frightened that they simply cannot call for help.
Svetlana Gogol