The current study explores cyberstalking victims’ perceived offender motivation for using a sample of 576 young adults who had been repeatedly pursued online by someone they knew within the previous 12-months. Results revealed that cyberstalking victims most frequently believed that the perpetrator engaged in the repeated unwanted contacts because they were motivated by affection (47.22%), rejection (43.58%), or were obsessed with them (41.49%). Further, the study assessed whether victims’ perceived cyberstalker motivation impacted whether they felt fearful as a result of the repeated online pursuit behavior, controlling for offense seriousness and demographic characteristics. Multivariate findings revealed that when victims perceived their cyberstalker was motivated by retaliation or revenge or rejection, they were statistically significantly more likely to feel fearful as a result of the repeated online behaviors. In contrast, when victims perceived their cyberstalker was motivated by feelings of affection, they were statistically significantly less likely to feel fearful as a result of the repeated online pursuit behaviors. Implications for cyberstalking victims’ reporting and help-seeking behaviors are offered.

当前的研究使用了576名年轻人的网络追踪受害者的犯罪动机，这些年轻人在过去的12个月内被认识的人反复上网追踪。结果表明，网络缠扰行为的受害者最常相信犯罪者是因为受到情感（47.22％），拒绝（43.58％）或被他们（41.49％）的困扰而反复进行不必要的接触。此外，该研究评估了受害者的感知网络缠扰动机是否会因重复的在线追捕行为，控制犯罪的严重性和人口统计学特征而影响他们是否感到恐惧。多因素调查结果表明，当受害者认为自己的网络缠扰者是受到报复，报复或拒绝的激励时，从统计上看，他们由于重复的在线行为而更有可能感到恐惧。相反，当受害者意识到自己的网络缠扰者是出于感情情感的动机时，由于重复的在线追捕行为，统计学上他们的恐惧可能性大大降低。提供了对网络跟踪受害者的举报和寻求帮助行为的暗示。