The trauma of kidnapping psychologically impacts the victims.
Cognitive: PTSD: impaired memory and concentration; confusion and disorientation; intrusive thoughts (‘flashbacks’) and memories;
After an incident in San Francisco, where 26 children and their driver were abducted and held in a vehicle underground for hours, all the children displayed signs of PTSD, and some symptoms worsened over time (shame, pessimism and nightmares). Social: withdrawal; irritability; avoidance; ‘learned helplessness’ which individuals come to believe that no matter what they do to improve their circumstances, nothing is effective.
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Emotional: Depression: shock and numbness; phobias; helplessness and hopelessness; dissociation (feeling numb and ‘switched off’ emotionally); anger; anhedonia (loss of pleasure in doing that which was previously pleasurable); guilt.
Anxiety Disorders: hypervigilance and hyperarousal (a state of extreme "on guard", with a profound fear of another incident); Stockholm Syndrome is a combination of defensive self-delusion and an effort to “get along” with their captors which is similar to some forms of coping such as wishful thinking or avoidance coping. The International Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders conducted a study of ransom victims in Sardinia and found that about 50% suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about 30% experienced major depression.
The International Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders recognized personality change after such catastrophic experiences. Some character changes may include:
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