Intentional Harm to Animals: A Multidimensional Approach

Abstract

Despite growing awareness of the social and psychological issues linked with animal abuse, there is a lack of large-scale research on the multidimensional factors at play in relation to such abuse in the adult population. In this first survey on animal abuse carried out in higher education in France and based on a highly powered sample (N = 55,040 participants), we investigated the relative weight of risk factors pertaining to major criminological dimensions in a multivariate model controlling for relevant demographics: General Strain Theory (GST), Social Bond Theory (SBT), and Generalized Deviance Theory (GDT), as well as three key psychological dimensions: Callousness, Sensation seeking, and Impulse control difficulties. We observed that 6.4% of the participants declared having perpetrated animal abuse in the past, with males having done so about three times more often than females. Animal abuse was linked with callousness, difficulties in impulse control and sensation seeking. Participants who reported a climate of violence in their family, or who had witnessed acts of violence by their father against their mother, were particularly prone to abuse animals, which supported GST predictions. To a lesser extent, in line with SBT, animal abuse was higher among students with lower attachment to their mother, and who had a weaker belief in justice. Finally, animal abuse was perpetrated significantly more often by participants reporting higher alcohol consumption, as predicted by GDT. In summary, animal harm is related to a combination of risk factors pertaining to major criminological and psychological perspectives on aggression and violence, knowledge of which is useful in prioritizing future research directions and prevention strategies.