Is Cruelty to Animals in Childhood a Predictor of Later Criminal Behaviour?
Does cruelty to animals as a child predict interpersonal violence
in adulthood?
Reference
Knight KE, Ellis C, & Simmons SB (2014). Parental Predictors of Children's Animal Abuse: Findings From a National and Intergenerational Sample. Journal of interpersonal violence PMID: 24777142
New research by Kelly Knight, Colter Ellis and Sara Simmons (Sam
Houston State University) investigates how many children are cruel to animals
and whether it persists through generations. The study is especially valuable
because it uses a sample that is representative of the US population and tracks
families over the years.
There are two main theories about childhood cruelty to
animals. One theory is that if children are cruel to animals they will grow up
to be violent adults. This is called the “graduation hypothesis”. It rests on
the idea that there is something wrong with the individual and that they ‘graduate’
from animal abuse to interpersonal violence. This seems to be the theory we
hear about most in the popular press. Although there is some evidence to
support it, it may not be the whole story.
An alternate theory is that if a child is cruel to animals,
it is a sign they have been subject to maltreatment of some kind and/or live in
an environment of domestic violence. In other words, it could be a sign that something
is wrong in the child’s life to cause them to behave this way.
It is a difficult topic to research. One of the problems is
that many studies focus on a criminal or at-risk population. For example, if you
study people who have been in trouble with the law and you find that many of
them were previously cruel to animals, it is valuable information. However there
might be other people who were also cruel but did not grow up to be criminals,
and who would not feature in your sample. Retrospective studies could also miss
other important factors, such as the context provided by the family in which
the person grew up.
Knight et al’s study uses data from the National Youth
Survey Family Study, which ran from 1977 until 2004. There were 12 waves of
data collection over three generations. By
the end, the first generation to take part were grandparents. Since they had
not been asked about animal abuse they were not included in Knight’s study.
There were 1,614 participants (1067 children and 547
parents). The children were the third generation in the overall study, and were
interviewed in 2003 – 2004. Their parents had been interviewed many times over
the years. In 2003, they were asked if they had been cruel to animals when they
were children. The study also used data from an earlier interview in the late 1980s,
when the parents (then aged 24-30) were asked about interpersonal violence.
About 3% of the parents said they had abused animals as a
child. This number is higher than found in other surveys. The average age at
which they said they started was 12. About 3% of the children reported animal
cruelty, and 11 was the average age at which they said it began.
The results showed that people who reported being cruel to
animals as children were more likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence as
adults. This supports the graduation hypothesis. However, and perhaps
surprisingly, they were also more likely to be victims of violence than those
who had not been cruel to animals.
At the same time, the results showed that if the parents
were perpetrators of violence then, fourteen years later, their children were
more likely to say they had been cruel to animals. This supports the idea that the family
context plays a role in children’s violence to animals.
There was no link between the parents’ animal abuse and
children’s animal abuse. In other words, cruelty to animals did not continue
through generations of the same family.
Other variables such as gender, ethnicity, marijuana use and
depression also came into play, showing that the picture is complex.
The researchers say, “The implications of these findings are
that early animal abuse is not only a risk factor for later involvement in IPV
[Intimate Partner Violence] violent perpetration but also violent victimization.”
There are some limitations to the study, including the fact
that only one question was used to assess animal abuse, and it relied on the
person to define their own actions. But the size of the sample, the fact it is
representative of the US population, and the way it tracks families across the
generations are extremely useful. The results improve our understanding of the
links between interpersonal violence and cruelty to animals, and will help
design better programs for children and adults who are victims of violence.
The researchers say, “The practical implications of this
research for victim services, specifically, involve improving knowledge of the
various pathways to and consequences of IPV [Intimate Partner Violence], which can
then be used to inform policy and program recommendations. In addition, there
is evidence suggesting that thorough measures of animal abuse are warranted in
future studies of problem behavior.”
It seems the links between animal abuse and interpersonal
violence are more complicated than previously thought. Developing a better
understanding will benefit both children and animals.
Reference