When someone asks you “what is your worst fear?” do you say being kidnapped? 2,160 children are abducted or go missing every day in the United States. “74% of abducted children are dead within 3 hours of their abduction” (Kidnapping Statistics). Do you know the effects of being kidnapped? “Kidnapping is one of the most physiological crimes and has many effects on the survivors” (What Happens to Surviving Kidnap Victims?). There are physiological effects but also physical effects, like diabetes or asthma. The victim will lack sleep, lose hope, and most likely develop the Stockholm reaction. The Stockholm reaction is when the captive becomes so dependent on the abductor that they start to develop a relationship with them. It’s a coping survival…show more content… Anhedonia is when the survivor has lost interest in what they use to love to do. Not every survivor will go back to being normal and kidnapping can completely change someone. PTSD and anxiety are huge illnesses due to being kidnapped. “A follow-up study of ransom victims in Sardinia found that about 50% suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about 30% experienced major depression” (Kidnapping and Hostage-Taking). Survivors will never want to go out alone anymore and an object or sound could trigger their anxiety. While being held captive, some survivors develop “learned helplessness”. Learned helplessness is when the captive believes that nothing that they do will help to escape. Learned helplessness is not age specific so it can happen to anyone being held captive. Also another effect is that the victim will have to see the person who abducted them one more time. They will have to go to court and the victim will have to be put on the stand. “She broke down in tears as she walked to the witness stand and struggled to regain her composure” (Child Abduction Survivor Lives with Fear and Guilt). No person should ever go through that and that could make their illnesses much worse. The victims have to find a way to cope. “Other…show more content… “Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are ultimately murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction” (Child Abduction Facts). The parents are effected too and not a lot of people realize that. The parents don’t want to think their child is dead but the percentage is so high. The parents can become stressed and start to become sick. They get scared and start thinking that they have lost their kid forever. After their kid has been abducted for a long period of time, they start losing hope. The parents will be so focused on their child that they will struggle to keep their job. If they do find their child, they will never take anything for granted again. Not only does the child lose trust in people but also the parents. The parents will also beat themselves up and feel guilty for the abduction of their child. Parents feel that they are responsible for the abduction and blame themselves. The parents will also feel guilty for what their kid is going through and how they can’t help them. The parents won’t be able to fully understand what they’re going through since they didn’t go through
