Citation

Bailey R, Dugard J, Smith SF, Porges SW. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 2023; 14(1): e2161038.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, The Author(s), Publisher Co-action Publishing)

DOI

10.1080/20008066.2022.2161038

PMID

37052112

PMCID

PMC9858395

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Stockholm syndrome or traumatic bonding (Painter & Dutton, Patterns of emotional bonding in battered women: Traumatic bonding. International Journal of Women's Studies, 8(4), 363-375, 1985) has been used in mainstream culture, legal, and some clinical settings to describe a hypothetical phenomenon of trauma survivors developing powerful emotional attachments to their abuser. It has frequently been used to explain the reported 'positive bond' between some kidnap victims and their captor's, although scarce empirical research has supported this assertion. It has been used in various situations where interpersonal violence and mind control are reported and where clear power differentials exist, such as in child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and hostage situation scenarios.

OBJECTIVE: We propose replacing Stockholm syndrome with 'appeasement,' a term that can be explained through a biopsychological model (i.e. Polyvagal Theory) to describe how survivors may appear emotionally connected with their perpetrators to effectively adapt to life-threatening situations by calming the perpetrator.

CONCLUSION: We believe the term appeasement will demystify the reported survivor experiences and will, in the eyes of the public, victims, and survivors, provide a science-based explanation for their narratives of survival that may initially appear to be contradictory. By understanding the potent reflexive neurobiological survival mechanisms embedded in appeasement, individuals and families can operationalise their survival from a perspective that supports resilience, a healthy long-term recovery, and normalises their coping responses as survival techniques.

Language: en

Keywords

Child; Humans; Female; Emotions; resilience; Adaptation, Psychological; survival; *Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology; *Intimate Partner Violence; resiliencia; 心理韧性; *Child Abuse, Sexual/psychology; apaciguamiento; appeasement; polyvagal theory; Síndrome de Estocolmo; sobreviviente; Stockholm syndrome; teoría polivagal; 多层迷走神经理论; 幸存; 斯德哥尔摩综合症; 绥靖