The most frequently used definition of animal cruelty by social scientists is “socially unacceptable behavior that intentionally causes pain, suffering, or distress to, and/or death of, an animal” (Ascione 1993, p. 228). This definition omits behaviors that may be socially and culturally acceptable or condoned in other contexts. Such behavior may include, but is not limited to, laboratory research, hunting, and agricultural and veterinary practices. While there is general consensus over the definition of animal cruelty, there remains little to no consensus as to the relationship between childhood acts of animal cruelty and later acts of interpersonal violence. Attempts to show the possible relationship between animal cruelty and violence toward humans have produced contradictory results, especially given the numerous methodologies undertaken to examine various aspects of this phenomenon. Thus, the association proposed by academic literature between childhood acts of violence against...
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Hensley, C., Tallichet, S.E., Thomas, S. (2011). Animal Cruelty by Juveniles. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_192
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