Brief Reports Stalking in the United States Recent National Prevalence Estimates Kathleen C. Basile, PhD, Monica H. Swahn, PhD, Jieru Chen, MS, Linda E. Saltzman, PhD Background: Stalking is a major public health concern, primarily for women, and is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including death. However, the prevalence of stalking among adults in the United States has not been assessed since 1995–1996. The objective of this analysis is to provide more recent national estimates on lifetime stalking and demographic characteristics of stalking victims. Methods: A sample of adults aged 18 years and older living in the United States (n =9684) participated in the second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2), a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial telephone survey conducted from 2001 to 2003. Analyses conducted in 2005 focused on the respondents’ reports of having ever been stalked in a way that was somewhat dangerous or life-threatening. Results: In the United States, 4.5% of adults reported having ever been stalked. Women had significantly higher prevalence (7%) of stalking victimization than did men (2%) (odds ratio [OR]=3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.77– 4.90). People who were never married (OR=1.43, 95%CI=1.03–1.99) or who were separated, widowed, or divorced (OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.28 –2.21) had significantly higher odds of being stalked than those who were married or had a partner. People aged 55 years or older and those who were retired were least likely to report stalking victimization. Conclusions: Comparable to previous national estimates, this study shows that stalking affects many adults. Nearly 1 in 22 adults (almost 10 million, approximately 80% of whom were women) in the United States were stalked at some time in their lives. (Am J Prev Med 2006;31(2):172–175) © 2006 American Journal of Preventive Medicine Introduction S ince the 1980s and early 1990s, stalking has been framed as an important women’s issue. 1 National estimates from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) 2 found lifetime stalking rates of 8% to 12% and 2% to 4% (depending on the definition of stalking, differentiated by the amount of fear experienced) for women and men, respectively. The NVAWS found that 8% of women and 2% of men in the United States had been stalked while experienc- ing a high level of fear at some time in their lives. The lifetime stalking prevalence estimates were even higher for women (12%) and for men (4%) when using a definition of stalking where victims were somewhat frightened or a little frightened by the stalker’s behavior. 2 Stalking by an intimate partner can result in severe 3 and even fatal outcomes for victims 4 because it often co-occurs with other kinds of partner violence, includ- ing physical and sexual violence. 2,5,6 Stalking is also a burden to society. The estimated economic cost of stalking of women by an intimate partner in 1995 was $342 million. 7 Adjusted for inflation, this cost was $438 million in 2005. 8 This current report provides recent prevalence estimates of lifetime stalking from a nation- ally representative sample of adults in the United States. Similar to previous work, in the current report lifetime stalking experience is defined as ever being followed, spied on, or communicated with, without consent at a level perceived to be somewhat dangerous or life threatening. Methods The second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2) is a national cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults aged 18 years in the United States. ICARIS-2 was conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from July 2001 through February 2003, using a computer-assisted telephone interview system and a sampling frame that cov- ered approximately 96% of all private residences with tele- From the Division of Violence Prevention (Basile, Swahn, Saltzman), and Office of Statistics and Programming (Chen), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kathleen C. Basile, PhD, Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop K60, 4770 Buford Highway, Atlanta GA 30341-3724. E-mail: kbasile@cdc.gov. 172 Am J Prev Med 2006;31(2) 0749-3797/06/$–see front matter © 2006 American Journal of Preventive Medicine • Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006.03.028