A similar study found that animal cruelty was more common among incarcerated individuals with aggressive tendencies, then for non-aggressive individuals (Keller and Felthous 1985). The study found nine distinct motivations for animal cruelty. It also found a higher incidence of family violence, particularly paternal abuse, and alcoholism (Keller and Felthous 1985). Merz-Perex, Heide, and Silverman, (2001) also found a relationship between childhood animal cruelty and later violence towards other human beings.
The graduation hypothesis contends that children who are cruel to animals progress, or "graduate," to more serious crimes towards humans (Wright and Hensley, 2003). This theory contends that animal cruelty is a link that set eventual serial killers apart from the rest of society (Wright and Hensley, 2003). That is not to say the all that are cruel to animals will become serial killers. It is just to say the serial killers have a tendency towards animal cruelty as a child or adolescent.
Battered Pets: Battered Family
The above referenced literature demonstrates a strong connection between animal cruelty as children and those that are incarcerated as adults. However, one must be careful in the assumption that one automatically leads to the other. Individual circumstances differ, as do motivations. Just because someone abuses an animal does not automatically mean that they will eventually batter someone as an adult. However, the connections between the number of battered women and children who seek assistance through shelter and whose partners had threatened or attacked the family pet are astounding. This special area of literature requires attention.
Nearly 75% of domestic violence victims indicated that their partners had threatened or killed family pets at some time before the incidents of violence towards them or their children began (Faver and Strand 2003; Loring and Bolden-Hines 2004). Women often will not leave an abusive situation for fear of what the batterer will do to their animals (Ascione, Weber, and Thompson et al., 2007). Children living in violent homes are more likely to abuse animals (Currie, 2006). Another study found that batterers who harm animals commit more dangerous acts than those that did not abuse animals (Simmons and Lehmann 2007).
In a study of perpetrators of family violence, several common characteristics were found. The first is the pet-abusing batterers were less likely to show affection towards their pets than their non-abusing counterparts (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, and Nielson 2004). They were more likely to communicate through commands and threats. They were more likely to view animals as property (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, and Nielson 2004). They were more likely to scapegoat their pets for their own problems (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, and Nielson 2004). They were more likely to have unrealistic expectations about their pets and punish their pets frequently for normal animal behavior (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, and Nielson 2004). Pet-busing batterers will are more sensitive to life events, particularly those that they feel are caused by the pet (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, and Nielson 2004).
Pet abuse is one of the four standards used to detect battered women and children (Walton-Moss, Manganello, and Frye 2005). Children will often intervene in domestic disputes to save their animal. They will even go as far as allowing themselves to be abused to save an animal (Edelson, Mbilinyi, and Beeman, 2003). The abused animal and the abused child often share a special common bond.
Conclusion
The problem with these studies is that they used a population that had already committed a crime. These studies established a reverse direction of causality that makes animal abuse appear to be a predictive factor, when this may not actually be the case. A majority of the studies used a different factor as the independent variable. For instance, they used previous crime and conviction, battered women and other factors as the common factor that linked the subjects. Animal abuse served as a dependent variable.
In order to develop predictive abilities, studies must be conducted where animal abuse is used as the independent variable and the commission of crime is the dependent variable. This type of study is needed to do what other studies examined during the literature review attempted to do in the establishment of causality. This research will fill this important gap in literature regarding animal abuse and the tendency to commit crime at some time in the future.
Section 3: Selected Methodology
The literature review revealed that the topic of animal cruelty and its association with deviant behavior is well researched. It was suggested that animal...
The fur industry is well-known to house minks and other animals raised for their coats in cruel conditions and to kill them by such devices as anal electrical probes designed to kill without damaging fur (HSUS 2007). The problem is that the underlying rationale for criminalizing animal cruelty is that animals (even those defined as "pests") feel physical pain the same as animals protected as "pets" in our culture. Unfortunately,
" Works Cited American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "ASPCA Equine Program." Retrieved April 6, 2007, at http://www.aspca.org. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Neglected horsed die, more in danger." Retrieved April 6, 2007 at http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1887025.htm. Crawfurd, John. "On the Relation of the Domesticated Animals to Civilization." Transactions Of the Ethnological Society of London Vol. 2 (1863): 387-468. Flynn, Clifton P. "Why Family Professionals Can No Longer Ignore Violence toward Animals." Family Relations 49.1 (2000): 87-95. Hortness, Darci. "Neglected
Animal Cruelty and Human Violence Animal cruelty includes an assortment of different behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to more serious malicious action, and even various forms of brutal killing. Studies indicate that animal cruelty may also be followed by more serious forms of crime, such as drug use, inappropriate violent outbursts, and even in some cases homicide. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology have addressed the issues involving animal
Animal Testing Negatives of Animal Testing Outweigh Its Positives and Therefore Should Not be Allowed Many cures and treatments have been developed in the last three hundred years due to advances in medical technology. These developments are sometimes attributed partly to the fact that scientists and researchers have been able to use animals as "guinea pigs" for testing new medications or treatment methods before passing them to human volunteers. There is strong
4-8). While these standard procedure are relevant in the preservation of any crime scene, certain specifications exist when dealing with the unique challenges associated with the different types of crime scenes including homicides, rapes, arson, and nighttime crime scenes. For instance, in the case of homicide, as well as the aforementioned steps, the area must be preserved for trace evidence such as fingerprints. In the case of rapes or sexual
Economics of Alchohol Abuse Alcohol for consumption is not a necessary food item, but for some has become a standard part of adult culture. Increasing the level of alcohol consumption, however, moves from an economic paradigm to a social issue due to the ancillary health and behavioral effects from alcohol abuse. In turn, this becomes part of economics in that it requires fiscal resources to treat societal issues caused by alcoholism:
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now