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STOCKHOLM
SYNDROME
BY EISHA AFIFI
In August of 1973, four employees of Sveriges
Psychologists who have studied the syndrome believe
Kreditbank, Stockholm were held hostage in the bank’s that the bond is initially created when a captor
vault for six days. Throughout those six days, an threatens a captive’s life, deliberates, and then chooses
incongruous bond developed between the hostages not to kill the captive. The relief of the captives at the
and their captor. During a telephone call with the removal of the death threat is thus transposed into
Swedish prime minister at the time, Olof Palme, one of feelings of gratitude toward the captor for giving him or
the captives stated that she fully trusted her captors her life. As proven by the Stockholm bank robbery
but feared that the situation would worsen if the police incident, on a few days are needed for the bond to
attempted to rescue her and the other three clerks
cement. Early on, the victim’s desire to survive
outshines the urge to hate the person who created the
Coined in by criminologist and psychologist Nils situation. So, really, the survival instinct is at the heart of
Bejerot, the term Stockholm syndrome refers to the the syndrome.
behavior of kidnap victims who become sympathetic to
their captor. It is believed that the syndrome develops Victims live in enforced dependence and rare or small
when people are placed in a situation where they feel acts of kindness are interpreted by them as good
intense fear of physical harm and believe all control is treatment. Often, they become hyper vigilant to the
in the hands of their terminator. Following after a needs and demand of their captors and then create
period of time, the psychological response is a survival psychological links between their own happiness and
strategy for the victims. that of their captors. 
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MAY 2019