For more in-depth discussion on motivations see a typology for juvenile firesetters has been used to also assess juveniles who engage in animal cruelty.
The above three categories may provide an effective way to assess and intervene in addressing juvenile animal abusers. The following DSM-5 diagnostic categories include animal cruelty. It should be noted that animal cruelty may or may not play a role for a violent individual and those with any of the following diagnosis may or may not have ever engaged in animal cruelty.
However, unless specific questions are asked, it is likely that many individuals who are psychologically or forensically assessed may not disclose a history of animal abuse. Self-report is also a concern in that people can deny engaging in animal cruelty despite having done so. However, when considering any of the following diagnosis or other diagnosis as well it is imperative that specific questions be asked to determine whether the individual has ever engaged in animal cruelty.
Traits of psychopathy become evident in childhood, including the hallmark sign of callous- unemotional traits. These include a lack of a sense of guilt and empathy and the callous use of others for their own gain. Again, not all children who engage in animal cruelty will continue to do so nor will they all become psychopathic or homicidal. When assessing children and adolescents for Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder , it is imperative to assess for other types of acting out behavior as well, in addition to assessing the home environment for abuse and other deviant issues.
Childhood animal abuse has been tied to childhood histories of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to domestic violence 29 When assessing children for Conduct Disorder , it is important to separate out those that engage in animal cruelty from those who do not. Remember that animal cruelty occurs within the context of a complicated set of factors e. Animal abuse is a marker for adult violence but should not in and of itself be the only factor assessed.
Animal cruelty occurs within a deviant environment. When assessing bestiality , it is important to remember that bestiality and young age of first instance of animal cruelty are important indicators for a dangerous home and for future violence against people.
There is also a significant relationship between sexually abusing animals bestiality and sexual offending against humans. Engaging in sex with an unconscious or severely intoxicated individual implies at least some degree of preference of sex with those unable to refuse or resist. Other mental health diagnosis correlated with cruelty to animals include Conduct Disorder , Antisocial Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and a significant association with Substance Use Disorders, Pathological Gambling, and a family history of antisocial behavior.
Because of the important role pets play in the family, it is imperative that domestic abuse shelters allow for pets. Victims are often isolated from family, friends, and then their pets, which places them at higher risk for returning to the abusive and violent home. Keeping the pets with the victim will help in victim safety. Most will temporarily shelter a pet to help a victim of domestic abuse be safe. For veterinarians, it is important to work with other agencies, especially law enforcement, when abuse or neglect is suspected.
For further information, see. The reason this article and review of literature was undertaken was to address frustration at how the dangerous connection between animal abuse, domestic and child abuse, and witnessing parental abuse somehow continue to be missed.
The missed dangerous connection between animal cruelty and other forms of violence is one for mental health professionals to address. The literature and research has clearly demonstrated that the risk factors for animal cruelty are no different than those for aggression, violence, and antisocial behaviors. Pet abuse is often one of the first indicators noticed of a violent home situation, one that if ignored may develop into a pattern of violence against both animals and people.
Over fifty years of research supports that animal cruelty is an indicator of risk for violence towards humans. Physical batterers and assaulters, as well as sexual offenders, often have a history of engaging in animal abuse. The Dark Triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy often result in violence towards animals and humans.
Callousness is perhaps the most supported factor involving the development of aggression towards animals and humans. It is suggested that early antisocial childhood behavior that includes callous and unemotional traits is related to both genetics and family environment; Children who engage in animal cruelty are demonstrating a hallmark of psychopathy.
Again, not all children who engage in animal cruelty will become psychopaths or harm others. The importance of identifying and intervening in situations where children are exposed to domestic violence is imperative. Witnessing parental violence is an important and often missed connection between children who become violent towards animals and humans and those who do not become violent.
Rapists, pedophiles, and murderers often have histories of engaging in animal cruelty beginning in their childhood or adolescence.
Domestic abusers and child abusers often abuse or kill companion animals in order to exert power over others, to express rage, to punish or terrorize, to teach submission, and to discourage their partner from leaving. In summary, abusers engage in animal cruelty to control and intimidate others. In summary, the VGH theory suggests that children learn about and practice animal cruelty and are desensitized to the consequences of the violent behavior before they graduate to violence against humans.
The DHG theory suggests that animal cruelty may precede or follow interpersonal violence, following a trajectory of violence in many arenas. Both offer support for the important of examining the presence of animal cruelty. Intervention for any type of violence should include an assessment to address whether the individual has a current or prior history of engaging in acts of animal cruelty.
When law enforcement and animal control officials are called to investigate animal cruelty complaints, it is important to refer the suspects for a violent risk assessment. Again, not all people who engage in animal cruelty will become mass murderers and certainly many children who have engaged in animal cruelty may cease the animal cruelty on their own or when intervention occurs.
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Withdrawal Guidlines. Publication Ethics. Withdrawal Policies Publication Ethics. Literature Review Volume 6 Issue 5. Definition of animal cruelty In summary, animal cruelty is defined as any intentional and repeated behavior that causes physical or psychological distress in animals, including, but not limited to, causing unnecessary pain, suffering, distress, or death of an animal. Definition of domestic violence The term domestic violence will include any act of emotional, psychological, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect that occur within a family unit, regardless of the relationship between the adults and children.
Definition of batterer The term batterer will include those who emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually harm or abuse their romantic or relationship partner, regardless of whether married, sexual preference, or whether residing together. Corporal punishment Parents who condone corporal punishment are at higher risk of also engaging in animal cruelty. Risky families Children who develop aggressive and antisocial behaviors including animal abuse tend to be exposed to what is referred to as the risky family.
Motivations for animal cruelty Batterers use threats to harm, actual harm, and actually kill pets in order to control their victims. The violence graduation hypothesis This approach suggests that animal cruelty in childhood is predictive of violence towards humans in adulthood. Some of the motivations for engaging in animal cruelty include: Control of the animal or of others Retaliation Expression of aggression Shock and amusement Displacement of aggression Sadism Specific developmental motivations may include: 49 Curiosity or exploration Peer pressure Mood enhancement Sexual gratification Force abuse being forced to engage in sex with animals Attachment to the animal Posttraumatic play Imitation Intimidation abuse pet to intimidate others For more in-depth discussion on motivations see a typology for juvenile firesetters has been used to also assess juveniles who engage in animal cruelty.
Psychopathy Traits of psychopathy become evident in childhood, including the hallmark sign of callous- unemotional traits. Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder When assessing children and adolescents for Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder , it is imperative to assess for other types of acting out behavior as well, in addition to assessing the home environment for abuse and other deviant issues. Additional mental health diagnosis associated with animal cruelty Other mental health diagnosis correlated with cruelty to animals include Conduct Disorder , Antisocial Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and a significant association with Substance Use Disorders, Pathological Gambling, and a family history of antisocial behavior.
The author declares that there is no conflict of interest. Ascione FR. The abuse of animals and human interpersonal violence: Making the connection. Child abuse, domestic violence, and animal abuse: Linking the circles of compassion for prevention and intervention. IN: Purdue University Press. Dadds MR. Conduct problems and cruelty to animals in children: What is the link? Violence against animals and people: Is aggression against living beings generalized?
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Child Abuse Review. Neglect is the failure to provide adequate levels of food, water, shelter, and veterinary care to animals causing poor physical condition. Veterinarians are likely to encounter some form of animal abuse during their career.
Whether providing expert advice to the local humane authorities, visiting neglected farm animals, or treating an animal victim of violence, veterinarians are on the front lines of dealing with abuse. Federal and provincial legislation affords animals protection from abuse, but veterinarians are sometimes concerned about disclosing information to humane authorities due to concerns regarding client confidentiality and personal liability.
Most victims of animal cruelty are pets, not wild animals. Wild animals e. Hoarding cases usually involve dogs and cats and most involve multiple species. Neglected animals are often found in households where residents have alcohol and drug problems and where residents are overwhelmed and have difficulty meeting their own basic needs. Although a few studies have shown that a small proportion of violent adult criminals were chronic animal abusers as children, most children who are cruel to animals commit mild, infrequent acts of cruelty and eventually grow out of it.
Perpetrators are most likely to be older adolescents or young adults. Males commit intentional acts of cruelty toward animals more often than females. They may also express anger about other situations by abusing the animal.
Although far less common than physical abuse or simple neglect, hoarding has attracted a disproportionate amount of research. As a result, the profile of a typical hoarder is far more specific. Hoarders are most frequently single females who live alone, do not work outside the home, and are socially isolated. However, hoarding cases also involve single males and couples of varying ages and living arrangements. Research has identified several types of hoarders, including the following: Regardless of the motivation, without adequate treatment and limits on future pet ownership, nearly all hoarders reoffend.
Research has not examined the specific locations where physical abuse or simple neglect occurs. We do know that although animal cruelty occurs at all socioeconomic levels and in all communities, it is concentrated in households of lower socioeconomic status. Although research describes the characteristics of the households in which hoarding occurs, we do not know the geographic concentrations of hoarding cases. Although the seasonal patterns of animal cruelty have not been researched in depth, the research implies that simple neglect e.
The co-occurrence of animal cruelty with other forms of violence compounds the harms associated with it. Although the link between the physical abuse of animals and interpersonal violence is unlikely to be as causal as some research suggests, the occurrence of either type of violence should cue police to check whether other forms of mistreatment may also be present.
As a result, people who abuse animals may be at risk of committing interpersonal violence, and vice versa. While presuming that people who abuse their pets also abuse their children or spouses is inappropriate, being vigilant about the potential co-occurrence of various forms of violence is only prudent.
Women in domestic violence situations may delay leaving a violent partner, in part because they are concerned about pets that would be left behind. An informal experiment, but it seems to illustrate a very human tendency to think of animals and humans according to different standards.
That tendency has been observed in many contexts. Robert Nozick influentially discusses a bifurcated view along these lines in his classic Anarchy, State, and Utopia. But the question of whether such a view can be attributed to ordinary people is only recently being rigorously studied by psychologists such as Lucius Caviola at Harvard University.
Read more: Illegal hunters are a bigger problem on farms than animal activists — so why aren't we talking about that? Beyond psychological research, we can look to institutions for evidence that this sort of bifurcated view is widespread, as we have argued elsewhere. For example, when animals are used in scientific experimentation, researchers are mainly expected to show the benefits outweigh the costs: a utilitarian standard. So we tend to be more utilitarian about animals than about humans.
Think about your family dog. Would your conscience allow you to kill her to save five other dogs? For an example, consider the way the fishing industry treats bycatch as disposable.
Such a view is defended by world-renowned Australian philosopher Peter Singer , among many others.
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