“Stalking-like Behavior in Adolescence: Prevalence, Intention, and Associated Characteristics” is an article that focuses on the psychology of violence in adolescence. It was published by Michele L. Ybarra, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, and Kimberly J. Mitchell in March 2016. Stalking is best defined as a criminal act of repeatedly following and harassing another person. The most common example for teenagers would be on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The nationwide experiment conducted online consisted of collecting data from 1,058 adolescents during the time period between 2010 and 2012. The ages of the subjects ranged from 14 to 21; they were measured by rates of stalking-like behavior, self-reported malicious intent, and anything physiological that might have a correlation with stalking. The investigation was supported by the CDC, but the findings and conclusions of this study are those of the authors. Although little is known about how stalking behavior first emerged, it has been inferred to begin during adolescence (McCann, 2000b, 2002, 2003, 2006; Scott, Ash, & Elwyn, 2010). This theory is supported by the 2% of adult women who recall being stalked for the first time around this age (Diette et al., 2004). Stalking that occurs in adulthood is similar to that in adolescence because in both cases, most perpetrators are men and most victims are women (McCann, 2000a, 2003). However, there are often differences between college-aged and high school-aged youth in this area. For example, college students are usually over the age of 18 and are officially adults. This means that they are finally independent of their parents and are reaching higher levels of maturity. In each age group, there appear to be distinct patterns of stalking-like behavior (Brewster, 2003; Diete et al., 2014). Each state has its own stalking laws. For example, some states believe that certain acts such as waiting, surveillance, nonconsensual communication, telephone harassment, and vandalism can be labeled as stalking-like behaviors (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998). Due to the lack of a universal definition (Purcell, Flower, & Mullen, 2008), a study was conducted to examine the six actions correlated with stalking-type behaviors: hyperintimacy, stalking, intrusive stalking, aggression, threats, and surveillance through different forms communication (e.g., in person, online). The frequency and characteristics of these behaviors were also examined. It is quite obvious that teenagers nowadays spend most of their free time on social media. New technology allows humans to interact and maintain strong relationships with virtually anyone. The bad thing is that this type of involvement can increase personal behaviors, such as jealousy (Muise, Christofides, & Desmarais, 2009). It can also make the act of stalking easier because there will always be people who can access your personal information. Similarly, teens often “stalk” someone else's profile on a social media platform, such as Instagram, by looking at photos they have posted. This person's behavior is harmless until it becomes an act of physically following the person, harassment, or any other form of stalking-like behavior (Reyns, Henson, & Fisher, 2012). The common characteristics of stalking perpetrators.