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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.10.014 Byline: Cheryl L. Currie Keywords: Animal cruelty; Domestic violence; Children; Abuse Abstract: The first objective of this study was to determine if children exposed to domestic violence were significantly more likely to be cruel to animals than children not exposed to violence. The second was to determine if there were significant age and gender differences between children who were and were not cruel to animals. Author Affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada Article History: Received 1 April 2004; Revised 28 September 2005; Accepted 13 October 2005 Article Note: (footnote) [star] The research project from which this data set was utilized was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC grant 410-96-0311).

We examined the associations of children's reported "cruelty to animals" and "touching animal's sex parts" with the reported presence of physical abuse and parental physical fighting for three groups of children. Maternal caregivers of 1433 6- to 12-year-old children completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI). These children were categorized into three groups: a normative sample screened for the absence of sexual abuse (n=540), a sexually abused sample (n=481), and a psychiatric comparison group (n=412) without a history of sexual abuse. The caregivers also provided information on comorbid physical abuse and domestic violence. Single items from the CBCL and the CSBI related to cruelty to animals and sexual contact with animals were examined across the three groups. Gender and maltreatment history were significantly related to cruelty and sexual contact, with physical abuse and domestic violence, in some cases, having an additive effect. Cruelty to animals was significantly associated with cruelty to humans for all three groups; however, cruelty to animals was significantly associated with sexual contact with animals only for the sexually abused group. The reported prevalence of cruelty to animals was more than five times higher for the sexual abuse (17.9%) and psychiatric (15.6%) groups than for the normative group (3.1%). The results point to the critical need to assess cruelty toward, and sexual behavior with, animals in future studies of children who are maltreated, exposed to domestic violence, or psychiatrically distressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There is a paucity of research regarding children who are cruel to animals (CTA). Previous studies have suggested that being CTA is linked with recurrent aggression in adulthood. In this report, children with persistent conduct problems who are CTA are examined. Method: A clinic-referred sample of 141 children and a community sample of 36 children between the ages of 5–12 were assessed using a test battery of questionnaires for parents, teachers and the child on mental health symptoms, self-perception, demographics and psychosocial factors. Forty of the clinic-referred children and one of the community group were rated by their parents as sometimes or definitely cruel to animals. The CTA, non-CTA and community samples were compared. Results: The CTA group had more conduct symptoms compared with the non-CTA group. However, the older CTA group unexpectedly reported a higher self-esteem compared with the non-CTA group. There was no significant difference between the two clinic-referred groups in gender, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and internalising symptoms, and psychosocial factors. Conclusion: Being CTA is possibly a marker of a subgroup of conduct disorder which has a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anecdotal reports of cruelty to pet animals in families where partner battering occurs are common but there exist few empirical data on this issue. Determining the forms and prevalence of such cruelty is important since abuse of pets may be a method batterers use to control their partners, may be related to batterers' lethality, and may result in children in such families being exposed to multiple forms of violence, a significant risk for mental health problems. Thirty-eight women seeking shelter at a safe house for battered partners voluntarily completed surveys about pet ownership and violence to pets. Of the women reporting current or past pet ownership, 71% reported that their partner had threatened and/or actually hurt or killed one or more of their pets. Actual (as distinct from threatened) harm to pets represented the majority (57%) of reports. Fifty-eight percent of the full sample of women had children and 32% of these women reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed pet animals; in 71% of these cases, the women had also reported animal abuse (threatened or actual) by their partner. This study represents one of the first empirical analyses of the prevalence of animal maltreatment in a sample of battered women. The high prevalence rate of batterers' threatened or actual harm of animals and the relatively high rate of animal abuse reported for the children in this sample are relevant for future research and policy analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]