“Bystander Apathy in Animal Abuse Cases,” (original) (raw)
Related papers
Bystander Apathy in Animal Abuse Cases: Exploring Barriers to Child and Adolescent Intervention
The present study examines how children and adolescents respond when witnessing animal abuse and why many do not intervene to help animal victims. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with 25 late adolescents who witnessed animal abuse months or years earlier. Results were generally consistent with, but not identical to, findings from previous research on bystander intervention with human victims. On the one hand, the response of bystanders to animal abuse was similar to that of bystanders witnessing violence against humans. Both kinds of bystanders are very troubled by what they witness but often appear to be indifferent to the distress of victims, saying or doing little if anything to stop victims from being harmed or to prevent perpetrators from repeating their violence. On the other hand, while both types of bystanders faced the same general barriers to helping, the nature and salience of these barriers differed when comparing the two groups. Child and adolescent bystanders of animal abuse, unlike bystanders of human violence, were heavily deterred by a definition of animal abuse as a form of play among peers that normalized violence and included bystanders as participants, the fear of being labeled a tattletale or spoilsport if bystanders reported the abuse to others or caused it to stop, and individual attitudes and beliefs that led bystanders to excuse or justify the abuse or to feel as though they had no support for protesting, reporting, or preventing it. Implications of the findings are discussed for educating children and adolescents to intervene on behalf of abused animals. Keywords: animal abuse, bystander apathy, child and adolescent helping behavior Despite long-standing interest in promoting humane behavior, researchers have failed to examine real-life situations where children and adolescents could, but often do not, behave altruistically to help animals that are intentionally harmed, neglected, or otherwise left in distress by peers, family members, or strangers. Like their counterparts
Research into bystander apathy has focused on the barriers to intervening when the perpetrators and witnesses of violence are strangers. Although violence also occurs in the presence of friends, family, and other close ties, it is unclear how these affiliations constrain the behavior of bystanders in these situations. To explore this question, qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 adolescents who were bystanders to animal abuse committed and/or witnessed by family members, friends, or known others. Most interviewees claimed that, despite feeling disturbed by the animal abuse, they did little if anything to stop the abuse and did not report it to adult authority figures. Friendship norms and breeches presented most interviewees with significant barriers that either stopped or tempered their interventions. Implications of these findings are discussed for educating adolescents to intervene on behalf of abused animals. Keywords animal cruelty, adolescent friendship norms and breeches, bystander apathy, qualitative research Article
Bystander Responses to Public Episodes of Child Abuse
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1994
Bystander responses to public episodes of child abuse were surveyed among 269 self reported witnesses. Respondents completed an 80-item self-report questionnaire which inquired into a broad range of events, experiences, and behaviors surrounding naturally occurring incidents of perceived child abuse witnessed in public places. Almost one-half of the sample reported having witnessed at least one event of child abuse in public, but only one out of four witnesses acted to intervene. Data analyses identified 40 statistically significant variables across four categories: characteristics of the bystander, situation, victim, and perpetrator. Results were generally consistent with predictions and findings from previous research on bystander intervention, but a number of new and significant variables were identified that characterized intervention events. Direct and indirect forms of intervention were also distinguished. Implications of the findings are discussed, and educating people to intervene on behalf of abused children is proposed.
Animal Abuse as a Sentinel for Human Violence: A Critique
Journal of Social Issues, 2009
It has been suggested that acts of violence against human and nonhuman animals share commonalities, and that animal abuse is a sentinel for current or future violence toward people. The popular and professional acceptance of strong connections between types of violence is beginning to be used to justify social work interventions and to influence legal decision making, and so requires greater scrutiny. Examination of the limited pool of empirical data suggests that animal abuse is relatively common among men, with violent offenders having an increased probability of reporting prior animal abuse—with the majority of violent offenders not reporting any animal abuse. Causal explanations for “the link,” such as empathy impairment or conduct disorder, suffer from a lack of validating research and, based on research into interhuman violence, the assumption that violence has a predominant, single underlying cause must be questioned. An (over)emphasis on the danger that animal abusers pose to humans serves to assist in achieving a consensus that animal abuse is a serious issue, but potentially at the cost of failing to focus on the most common types of abuse, and the most effective strategies for reducing its occurrence. Nothing in this review and discussion should be taken as minimizing the importance of animals as frequent victims of violence, or the co-occurrence of abuse types in “at-risk” households. However, given the weakness of the underlying data, emphasizing the indiscriminate dangerousness of all animal abusers may have unforeseen and unwanted consequences.
The psychology of animal cruelty: An introduction to the Special Issue
Psychology, Crime, and Law
As guest editors for Psychology, Crime, and Law, it is with great pleasure that we present this Special Issue, “The Psychology of Animal Cruelty”. In this introductory article, we offer broad insights into what we think to be the importance of studying this type of offending behavior. This forms the basis and justification for putting together this compilation of research, which spans three continents, that is diverse in theory application, method and research design. We provide brief synopses for the articles included in this issue. These articles cover the social and psychological factors related to child and adult perpetrators, offence heterogeneity (e.g., varying levels of abuse severity), victim characteristics, amongst other features of animal cruelty. We also offer a commentary on where the research can go next, identifying specific gaps in the existing literature. We conclude that there is an abundance of extant, related research that we can draw upon to inform future studies (e.g., implicit theories, scripts/schemas, dynamic risk factors) and clinical practice.
Critical Understandings About Animal Cruelty for Law Enforcement
For years, law enforcement agencies across the nation have encountered disturbing animal cruelty cases involving youth, which has led to the development of a variety of new training programs for practitioners at all levels on the prevalence of animal cruelty and its identification. This article examines the logical pathway to violence for juveniles and how animal cruelty and abuse can lead to future offending, the links with social and emotional learning development and an examination of evidence based practices involving animals and assessment, and how further awareness and training for law enforcement agencies can lead to a better understanding of the link between juvenile violence and animal abuse. Keywords: Animal abuse, animal cruelty
Understanding the Inter-Relation between Animal Abuse and Human Aggression and Violence
Social Work Chronicle, 2021
Animal abuse is one expression of antisocial behaviour. Aggression and violence towards people in most cases begin with the abuse of animals. Animal abuse is associated with bullying, behavioural problems, experiences of abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), and juvenile delinquency. The link between animal abuse and human behaviour needs considerable attention and it is critical for practitioners to be aware of the associations between cruelty to animals and human behaviour. A fascination with cruelty to animals is a red flag in the backgrounds of serial killers and rapists. Acts of animal abuse are symptomatic of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty on animals do not stop there; many of them move on to their fellow humans. Animal abuse needs to be looked at as a significant indicator of human aggression and violence. People who abuse animals are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviours and commit violence against people. People who abuse animals tend to commit more crimes and engage in criminal activities. Antisocial behaviours like abusing animals usually originate from a traumatic childhood. According to Bratley, A., "Animal mercilessness is certainly not an innocuous venting feeling in a solid individual however this is a significant warning sign". There are deep psychological issues that lead to violent crimes against people. We should surely address the link between animal cruelty and human aggression and violence to prevent and cure conduct disorders in children.
Critical Understandings about Animal Cruelty for Law Enforcement Practitioners
For years, law enforcement agencies across the nation have encountered disturbing animal cruelty cases involving youth, which has led to the development of a variety of new training programs for practitioners at all levels on the prevalence of animal cruelty and its identification. This article examines the logical pathway to violence for juveniles and how animal cruelty and abuse can lead to future offending, the links with social and emotional learning development and an examination of evidence based practices involving animals and assessment, and how further awareness and training for law enforcement agencies can lead to a better understanding of the link between juvenile violence and animal abuse.