Does Angelo de la Cruz have Stockholm Syndrome?

Since the safe return home of Angelo de la Cruz, people have been asking intriguing questions like: Why did he express sympathy for his kidnappers? Why was he vocal about not having his Iraqi captors punished? Why did he keep emphasizing that he was treated well by his abductors?

Citing Patty Hearst, many keen observers have suggested that Angelo de la Cruz may also be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Since we do not know the details of what actually happened to Angelo de la Cruz during his 17 days of captivity, and how he managed to cope as a hostage of Islamic militants who threatened to behead him, we cannot say anything for sure about his mental state. However, we do know that no one can go through kidnapping and captivity without being touched by the ordeal psychologically.

It would be instructive for us to examine this interesting phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome and ask ourselves: How would we cope, if we were kidnapped or held hostage? What is the likelihood that we will fall victim to Stockholm Syndrome?

What Is Stockholm Syndrome?

The term "Stockholm Syndrome" was first coined by Professor Nils Bejerot to explain the phenomenon of hostage bonding with their captives. In Stockholm, Sweden in 1973, two bank robbers held four people hostage for six days. The Norrmalmstorg Bank robbery received wide publicity because the hostages and the captors bonded bidirectionally. The hostages even came to see their captors as protecting them from the police. Following the release of the hostages, one of the women became engaged to one of the captors, another of the hostages started a "defense fund." All these were done in the face of the fact that the hostages were bound with dynamite and generally mistreated.

There is no precise, universally accepted definition of Stockholm Syndrome. It generally refers to a cluster of symptoms often observed in hostages, cult members, battered women, and victims of sexual and physical abuse. Those symptoms include:

• Emotional bonding with the captor/abuser

• Seeking favor and approval from the perpetrator

• Depending on the perpetrator for security and purpose of existence

• Befriending and caring for the captor

• Resenting police and proper authorities for their rescue attempts

• Losing one’s own identity in order to identify with the captor/abuser

• Seeing things from the perspective of the perpetrator

• Valuing every small gesture of kindness, such as letting them live

• Refusing to seek freedom even when given the opportunity

Is Stockholm Syndrome A Survival Strategy?

Bonding with an abuser may be the universal survival strategy for victims of interpersonal abuse. Studies of the hostage-like groups seem to bear this out. These groups include concentration camp prisoners, prisoners of war, procured prostitutes, incest victims, and physically and/or emotionally abused children.

Many psychologists and psychiatrists have thus considered the Stockholm Syndrome a survival strategy in extreme conditions, such as when there is:

• The constant threat to physical and psychological survival

• A condition of helplessness and hopelessness

• Isolation and loss of support systems from the outside world

• A context of trauma and terror that shatters previously held assumptions

• The perception that survival depends on total surrender and compliance

What Are The Psychological Processes Underlying Stockholm Syndrome?

There are five powerful motivations working together to contribute to the development of Stockholm Syndrome, and these are: The motivation to survive physically and psychologically, to avoid pain and fear, to find hope and meaning, to find significance and security, and to seek acceptance and relationship. Although these are primary motivations operating in all sorts of situations, most of the time only one or two motivations may predominate. However, in a hostage or abuse situation, all these motivations are operating and contributing to the bonding between the victim and the abuser. Such a relationship is strengthened both by the negative reinforcement of relief from pain and fear, and the positive reinforcement of approval and recognition.

Who Are Vulnerable To Stockholm Syndrome?

It is obvious that not everyone will fall victim to Stockholm Syndrome. In fact, most hostages neither identify/sympathize with the hostage taker, nor do they see the police as their adversaries. Rather, they realize that the hostage taker represents the problem, and the police, the solution. According to the FBI’s Hostage/Barricade System (HOBAS), a national database that contains data from 1,200 reported hostage incidents, 95 percent of the victims of such incidents reportedly showed no signs of the Stockholm Syndrome. In short, this database provides empirical support that the Stockholm Syndrome remains a rare occurrence.

Nonetheless, people who are vulnerable to the syndrome are those with any combination of the following characteristics:

• Lacking a clear set of core values that define one’s identity

• Lacking a clear sense of meaning and purpose of one’s life

• Lacking a track record of overcoming difficulties

• Lacking a strong personal faith in God’s character and goodness

• Feeling that one’s life has always been controlled by powerful others

• Feeling unhappy with one’s life circumstances

• Having a strong need for approval by authority figures

• Wishing to be somebody else

In view of this, parents may not be doing their children a favor if they overprotect and micro-manage their children. In so doing, they actually deprive their children of the opportunity to develop the necessary strength of character to survive in extreme situations. In a curious way, the obedient good kids are often more vulnerable than the strong-willed, difficult-to-manage kids!

Generally speaking, those with courage, character and faith will adopt a different sort of survival strategy in a hostage situation. They will comply without compromising their integrity; they will always maintain their hope, waiting for their chance to escape. That’s why it is much more difficult for the captors to break the spirit of individuals with a strong sense of the self and a strong faith in God. De la Cruz said that his captors respected him after recognizing that he was a religious person.

What Can We Do To Help?

In most cases, individuals with Stockholm Syndrome can benefit from psychotherapy, because they need professional support in order to confront and work through their past trauma. They also need professional help to gain a better understanding of their distorted thinking and confusing feelings toward their captor/abuser. Finally, healing will take place, when they are able to integrate the kidnapping and abuse with their present reality and create a more meaningful future.

Lay people can also help them repair shattered assumptions and restore their lives. Here are some suggestions:

• Allow them sufficient time and space to recover.

• Encourage them to seek support groups.

• Walk with them and show understanding and empathy.

• Provide them with a strong and consistent support system.

• Pray for them and encourage them to find spiritual support.

Let’s remember Angelo de la Cruz and his family in our prayers. After the initial flurry of excitement and celebration, a tough road lies ahead. But no matter how tortuous the road to recovery, there is hope and grace for a better future for Angelo de la Cruz.