Citation

Hensley C, Tallichet SE. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2007; 52(2): 175-184.

Affiliation

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X07303913

PMID

17615432

Abstract

Few researchers have investigated the potentially predictive power of motives for childhood and adolescent animal cruelty as it is associated with interpersonal violence in adulthood. Based on a sample of 261 inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons in a southern state, the present study examines the relationship among several retrospectively reported motives (anger, fun, dislike, and imitation) for animal cruelty and violent crime convictions (assault, rape, and murder). Almost half reported abusing animals out of anger, whereas more than one third did so for fun. Dislike for the animal and imitation were less frequently occurring motives. Participants who abused animals at an earlier age and those who did so out of anger or for fun were more likely to repeat the offense. Regression analyses revealed that abusing an animal out of fun in their youth was the most statistically salient motive for predicting later interpersonal violence as adults.

Language: en