Clifton P. Flynn

Animal Abuse in Childhood and Later Support for Interpersonal Violence in Families

A survey of university students tested whether committing animal abuse during childhood was related to approval of interpersonal violence against children and women in families. Respondents who had abused an animal as children or adolescents were significantly more likely to support corporal punishment, even after controlling for frequency of childhood spanking, race, biblical literalism, and gender. Those who had perpetrated animal abuse were also more likely to approve of a husband slapping his wife. Engaging in childhood violence against less powerful beings — animals — may generalize to the acceptance of violence against less powerful members of families and society — women and children. This paper discusses the implications of this process.

RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE BY WOMEN: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

This article presents an analysis of the use of violence by women against their intimate partners. Although women may use violence as often as men do, both the motives for and the effects of womens violence are quite different. The political agenda of some observers caused them to ignore or downplay violence by women, fearing that attention would be diverted from the more serious problem of male violence. Such a strategy is likely to have negative consequences for women and science. Finally, implications for prevention, intervention, and research are discussed.

Acknowledging the "Zoological Connection": A Sociological Analysis of Animal Cruelty

Sociologists have largely ignored the role of animals in society. This article argues that human-animal interaction is a topic worthy of sociological consideration and applies a sociological analysis to one problematic aspect of human-animal relationships - animal cruelty. The article reformulates animal cruelty, traditionally viewed using a psychopathological model, from a sociological perspective.The article identifies social and cultural factors related to the occurrence of animal cruelty. Ultimately, animal cruelty is a serious social problem that deserves attention in its own right, not just because of its association with human violence.

Relationship Violence: A Model for Family Professionals.

Courtship and marital violence represent forms of the same phenomenon and should be examined as relationship violence. A model of relationship violence is proposed, based on three premises: (a) Premarital and marital relationships share characteristics which contribute to the occurrence of violence within those relationships; (b) the forms and frequency of violence in courtship and in marriage are remarkably similar; and (c) violence in premarital relationships may serve as a training ground for marital violence. The advantages and implications of a model of relationship violence for family professionals are discussed.

“It’s a Dog’s Life” Culture, Empathy, Gender, and Domestic Violence Predict Animal Abuse in Adolescents—Implications for Societal Health

Whereas the majority of previous research conducted on animal abuse has been in environments where animal abuse is rarely evidenced, the current study investigated the ramifications of animal abuse in an environment wherein the national culture creates an ethos of the “social acceptability” of animal abuse in society. Two survey studies were conducted with adolescent participants, to investigate the role played by several factors in the prediction of animal abuse in this age group. In Study 1, with samples from two different national cultures (101 from Germany and 169 from Romania; 143 boys/135 girls; age 13 to 17), animal abuse was negatively associated with affective empathy and national culture; more frequent animal abuse was found in Romania. Affective empathy fully mediated the association between gender and animal abuse. Specifically, girls were found to be higher in affective empathy; in turn, participants who were higher in affective empathy committed less animal abuse. Witnessing animal abuse was also predictive of engaging in animal abuse, but not independent of national culture. In Study 2, 15-year-old males (n = 21) and females (n = 39) took part, 29 from rural and 31 from urban locations in Romania. Rural adolescents were more likely to abuse animals and had higher exposure to domestic violence, which (in turn) was associated with more animal abuse. The implications of these findings in a society where animal abuse is encouraged and enacted on a national scale are discussed.