“Some Handle It in Ways Others See As Insane:” College Individuals’ Meaning-Making about Their Motivations for Severe Unwanted Pursuit Behaviors

Post-relationship pursuit can range from normative to problematic, including stalking. While there are some theories and research about motivations for engaging in unwanted pursuit behaviors (UPBs), most lack the first-person perspectives of people who pursue. Little is known about the ways these individuals make sense of their behaviors and their related motivations. No qualitative studies have examined such meaning-making in non-forensic, young adult datasets. In a larger survey study, 141 undergraduate students who endorsed a history of severe UPBs indicated their personal reasons for engaging in the UPBs. We used reflexive thematic analysis to analyze patterns across the dataset. Through our analytic co-creation of meaning, we conceptualized participants’ UPBs as located in narratives. Some participants understood their UPBs as instrumental ways to control their stories, using UPBs to grapple with (un)certainty or hold power over their former partner. Other participants understood their UPBs as powerlessly reactive in their story. A subset of participants denied ownership of their UPBs. Severe UPBs are entwined in personal and social narratives, with people who pursue making sense of the behaviors as having diverse roles and motivations. Meaning-making about UPBs creates social narratives wherein people who pursue create complex realities, including being both victims and offenders, among others. Both personal and social interventions, such as psychotherapy and education respectively, are warranted for the prevention and treatment of severe UPBs. Future research should use more in-depth qualitative methods to understand pathways of UPBs and related processes.