Abstract
An association between childhood cruelty to animals and dangerous aggression against people at a later age could have important implications regarding early detection and treatment, preventive psychiatry, and a social ethic that encourages positive attitudes toward living creatures in general. Research reports in the literature are inconsistent and inconclusive regarding a possible relationship between animal cruelty and aggression against people. Although a single act is not predictive of another act, a pattern of substantial animal abuse may conceivably be associated with a pattern of recurrent violence directed against people. In the present study, extensive interview schedules were administered to aggressive criminals, nonaggressive criminals, and noncriminals. The nature of abuse was described for each subject who gave a history of substantial abuse. A clear relationship was found between early substantial abuse and recurrent violence against people. Possible explanations for conflicting results in the literature are discussed.
Footnotes
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This study was done with permission and cooperation from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions or assertions contained herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of th Federal Bureau of Prisons or the Department of Justice. Presented at the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Nassau, Bahamas, October 27, 1984.
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Dr. Felthous is chief of forensic services and associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, and was formely section chief, C.F. Menninger Memorial Hospital, Topeka, KS. Dr. Kellert is associate professor, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT.
- Copyright © 1986, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
