Childhood Cruelty to Animals and Later Aggression Against People: A Review (From Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research and Application, P 69-76, 1998, Randall Lockwood and Frank R. Ascione, eds. -- See NCJ-179175)

• NCJ Number: 179176
• Author(s): Alan R. Felthous M.D.; Stephen R. Kellert Ph.D
• Editor(s): Randall Lockwood, Frank R. Ascione
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Purdue University Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Reprinted from the American Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 144 (1987), p. 710-717

Annotation

The existing literature on the relationship between childhood cruelty to animals and later violence against people appears to be inconsistent.

Abstract

The authors review controlled studies that did and did not support a relationship between cruelty to animals and personal violence and studies. They identify several methodological factors that may have contributed to the contradictory findings. Studies using direct interviews to examine subjects who commit multiple acts of violence point to an association between a pattern of childhood animal cruelty and later serious and recurrent aggression against people. The identification of such a relationship may improve the understanding of impulsive violence and facilitate early intervention and prevention. The authors emphasize that clinicians, jurists, school teachers, parents, and others who work with children should be aware of the potential significance of cruelty to animals in childhood in the commission of later violent acts against persons. 33 references