"8% of hostage victims fall in love with their kidnappers in a strange phenomenon referred to as Stockholm Syndrome"... Best Explanation for this?

[FR_Ruby]

Apparently 8 percent of hostage victims fall in love with their kidnappers in a strange phenomenon referred to as Stockholm Syndrome... If this is true what do you think is the best explanation for it?

Normal people tend to be so abusive that even kidnappers seem like decent people as a result.

The world is such a cruel & depressing place that being held captive leads to increased happiness because the victim feels protected from the troubles of the outside world.

People have a bias towards liking whoever they are around the most & as a consequence they grow attached to their captor & develop feelings of sympathy towards them.

They gave into this as a coping mechanism for their terrible situation.

They truly appreciated any mercy they received & made peace with their captor.

They just went crazy and have a mental illness.

There's no way that's true/Other/See Results.

Updates

+1 y

Bonus question: Do you think most people stay in abusive relationships because of Stockholm syndrome or a similar reason?

[MrOracle]

A kidnapper typically has your life in their hands, and some people (mostly women) become attached as both a coping mechanism and as a survival strategy - if she becomes devoted to her kidnapper, then it will probably be harder for him to treat her indifferently.

[IncognitoBandito]

Some people look for love in the wrong places.

[kyleelyn199723]

I think that percentage is probably way higher. I can understand it. When you feel like you won’t get your life back, the kidnapper essentially makes you feel like they are the last person you will ever see.

[DWornock]

It is natural selection. In most of human history, tribes and even countries would attack other tribes, kill the men, and capture the women. Women that fell in love with their captors were more likely to live and produce descendants than women that resisted.

[FR_Ruby]

Yeah it seems like many men traditionally mate mostly with women they can abuse. Unfortunate.

[DWornock]

If that was true, it in no way explains the Stockholm Syndrome. In fact, it would contradict it since, if captured, there is nothing women could do that would provide an evolutionary advantage.

[iBeowulf]

Yes, as they're almost entirely females and women are natural slaves.

[OddBeMe]

This happens everyday in abused relationships. Meek people seek dominant mates.

[Youdumbeotch]

It’s emotional dependency, their lives are in the captors hands.

[Smegskull]

I would need to see a gender breakdown of that 8% to posit a cause.

[Anonymous]

Probably a coping mechanism, I think that’s what happened to Patty Hearst

[anylolone]

Reverse ben franklin effect.