NCJ Number
215116
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: May-June 2006 Pages: 178-187
Date Published
May 2006
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article considers the argument made by Becker and French (2005) about the link between different child abuse, animal abuse, and domestic violence and questions the appropriateness of linking different forms of violence in a predictive way.
Abstract
The authors recommend that it is essential that policies and practices targeted at victims or perpetrators of violence should take a broad intervention approach by considering the many possible causes of abuse and violence that go beyond abuse histories. The authors question the assumptions underlying the propositions that: (1) individuals who are cruel to animals are more likely to be aggressive towards their partners and children; (2) children who have been victims of violence are more likely to harm animals; and (3) children who have been victims of violence are more likely to display aggression toward people later in life. The authors discuss tentative research showing that the actual incidence of children harming animals is significantly greater than has been thought, which would imply that children who are cruel to animals are not more likely than other children to become abusive adults. The authors further stress that policies and practices based on the assumed links between abuse and violence may lead to closed thinking about other factors that influence abuse and violence, such as poverty and other structural inequalities. The methodological flaws in studies that have suggested a link between different forms of abuse and violence are exposed and include small samples, questions concerning the accuracy of self-reported data, and problems with establishing causality. References