Recent studies have offered compelling evidence supporting a relationship between childhood cruelty to animals and later violence against humans. This study investigated whether violent offenders were significantly more likely than nonviolent offenders to have abused animals of various types during childhood. Interviews were conducted with 45 violent and 45 nonviolent offenders incarcerated in a maximum-security prison and randomly selected for this study by institutional staff members. Two data collection instruments were used. The first extracted demographic and social history from the participants. The second was used to gather information regarding cruelty to animals as categorized into four types (wild, farm, pet, and stray). Results indicated that a statistically significant relationship existed between childhood cruelty to animals and later violence against humans. Furthermore, the study found, consistent with prior research, that violent offenders were significantly more likely than nonviolent offenders to have committed acts of cruelty toward pet animals as children.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arkow, P. (1998). The correlations between cruelty to animals and child abuse and the implications for veterinary medicine. In R. Lockwood & F. R. Ascione (Eds.), Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence (pp. 409-414). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
2.
Ascione, F. R. (1998a). Battered women’s reports of their partners’ and their children’s cruelty to animals. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 1, 119-133.
3.
Ascione, F. R. (1998b). Children who are cruel to animals: A review of research and implications for developmental psychopathology. In R. Lockwood & F. R. Ascione (Eds.), Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence (pp. 83-104). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
4.
Ascione, F. R., Thompson, T. M., & Black, T. (1997). Childhood cruelty to animals: Assessing cruelty dimensions and motivations. Anthrozoos, 10(4), 170-179.
5.
Bender, L. (1959). Children and adolescents who have killed. American Journal of Psychiatry, 116, 510-513.
6.
Climent, C. E., Hyg, R., & Erwin, F. R. (1972). Historical data in the evaluation of violent subjects. Archives of General Psychiatry, 27, 621-624.
7.
DeViney, E., Dickert, J., & Lockwood, R. (1983). The care of pets within abusing families. International Journal of the Study of Animal Problems, 4, 321-329.
8.
Douglas, J., Burgess, A. W., Burgess, A. G., & Ressler, R. K. (1997). Crime classification manual. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
Douglas, J., & Olshaker, M. (1995). Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s elite serial crime unit. New York: Simon & Schuster.
10.
Easson, W. M., & Steinhilber, R. M. (1961). Murderous aggression by children and adolescents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 1-9.
11.
Felthous, A. R., & Kellert, S. R. (1987). Childhood cruelty to animals and later aggression against people: A review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 710-717.
12.
Heide, K. M. (1992). Why kids kill parents. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
13.
Heide, K. M., & Solomon, E. P. (1991). The SCS survey (Survivors’ Coping Strategies). (Available from Kathleen M. Heide, Ph.D., University of South Florida, Department of Criminology, Social Sciences Building Room 107, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-8100)
14.
Heller, M. S., Ehrlich, S., Saundra, M., & Lester, D. (1984). Childhood cruelty to animals, firesetting, and enuresis as correlates of competence to stand trial. Journal of General Psychology, 110, 151-153.
15.
Hellman, D. S., & Blackman, N. (1966). Enuresis, firesetting and cruelty to animals: A triad predictive of adult crime. American Journal of Psychiatry, 122, 1431-1435.
16.
Holmes, R. M., & De Burger, J. (1988). Serial murder. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
17.
Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (1996). Profiling violent crimes. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Justice, E., Justice, R., & Kraft, I. A. (1974). Early warning signs of violence: Is the triad enough? American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 457-459.
19.
Kellert, S. R., & Felthous, A. R. (1985). Childhood cruelty toward animals among criminals and noncriminals. Human Relations, 38, 1113-1129.
20.
Lockwood, R., & Church, A. (1998). Deadly serious: An FBI perspective on animal cruelty. In R. Lockwood & F. A. Ascione (Eds.), Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence (pp. 241-246). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
21.
Lockwood, R., & Hodge, G. R. (1997). The tangled web of animal abuse: The links between cruelty to animals and human violence. In R. Lockwood & F. A. Ascione (Eds.), Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence (pp. 77-82). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
22.
MacDonald, J. M. (1964). The threat to kill. American Journal of Psychiatry, 8, 125-130.
23.
Mead, M. (1964). Cultural factors in the cause and prevention of pathological homicide. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 28, 11-22.
24.
Ressler, R. K., Burgess, A. W., Hartman, C. R., Douglas, J. E., & McCormack, A. (1998). Murderers who rape and mutilate. In R. Lockwood & F. R. Ascione (Eds.), Cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence (pp. 179-193). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
25.
Spiegel, M. (1988). The dreaded comparison: Human and animal slavery. New York: Mirror Books.
26.
Tapia, F. (1971).Childrenwhoarecrueltoanimals. Child Psychiatryand Human Development, 2, 70-77.
27.
Wax, D. E., & Haddox, V. G. (1974a). Enuresis, firesetting, and animal cruelty in male adolescent delinquents: A triad predictive of violent behavior. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 2, 245-271.
28.
Wax, D. E., & Haddox, V. G. (1974b). Enuresis, firesetting, and animal cruelty: A useful danger signal in predicting vulnerability of adolescent males to assaultive behavior. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 4, 151-156.
29.
Wax, D. E., & Haddox, V. G. (1974c). Sexual aberrance in male adolescents manifesting a behavioral triad considered predictive of extreme violence: Some clinical observations. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 19, 102-108.
