The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review
There is some evidence that family violence (intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, elder abuse) co-occurs with animal cruelty (i.e., threats to and/or actual harm of an animal), which is often referred to as “the link.” The aim of this scoping review was to comprehensively search the litera...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/11/514 |
| _version_ | 1797463882613129216 |
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| author | Camie A. Tomlinson Jennifer L. Murphy Angela Matijczak Allegra Califano Jiaxin Santos Shelby E. McDonald |
| author_facet | Camie A. Tomlinson Jennifer L. Murphy Angela Matijczak Allegra Califano Jiaxin Santos Shelby E. McDonald |
| author_sort | Camie A. Tomlinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is some evidence that family violence (intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, elder abuse) co-occurs with animal cruelty (i.e., threats to and/or actual harm of an animal), which is often referred to as “the link.” The aim of this scoping review was to comprehensively search the literature to determine the extent of empirical evidence that supports the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty and that provides prevalence rates of the co-occurrence. We searched eight electronic databases (e.g., Academic Search Complete, PsycArticles, PubMed) for peer-reviewed articles published until September 2021. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they were written in English and included the empirical study of at least one form of family violence and animal cruelty. We identified 61 articles for inclusion. The majority of articles (<i>n</i> = 48) focused on co-occurring IPV and animal cruelty, and 20 articles examined child maltreatment and animal cruelty. No articles examining elder abuse and animal cruelty were found. Prevalence rates of “the link” ranged from <1% to >80%. Findings regarding the association between family violence and animal cruelty varied. Some studies found that family violence was significantly associated with animal cruelty (or vice versa), but there was also evidence that the association was not statistically significant. Associations between family violence and animal cruelty were not significant in most studies that adjusted for sociodemographic factors. This suggests that sociodemographic factors (e.g., exposure to multiple forms of violence, and income) may explain the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty. Based on the results of our scoping review, we recommend that caution should be taken regarding assertions of “the link” without further research to better understand the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty and the factors and mechanisms that influence their co-occurrence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:59:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51536d1e9ad94c509da0fc31af1f015e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:59:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-51536d1e9ad94c509da0fc31af1f015e2023-11-24T09:59:59ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602022-11-01111151410.3390/socsci11110514The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping ReviewCamie A. Tomlinson0Jennifer L. Murphy1Angela Matijczak2Allegra Califano3Jiaxin Santos4Shelby E. McDonald5School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Ave., Richmond, VA 23284, USASchool of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Ave., Richmond, VA 23284, USASchool of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 Floyd Ave., Richmond, VA 23284, USADepartment of Psychology, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USANew York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Dr., New York, NY 10032, USADepartment of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23284, USAThere is some evidence that family violence (intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, elder abuse) co-occurs with animal cruelty (i.e., threats to and/or actual harm of an animal), which is often referred to as “the link.” The aim of this scoping review was to comprehensively search the literature to determine the extent of empirical evidence that supports the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty and that provides prevalence rates of the co-occurrence. We searched eight electronic databases (e.g., Academic Search Complete, PsycArticles, PubMed) for peer-reviewed articles published until September 2021. Articles were eligible for inclusion if they were written in English and included the empirical study of at least one form of family violence and animal cruelty. We identified 61 articles for inclusion. The majority of articles (<i>n</i> = 48) focused on co-occurring IPV and animal cruelty, and 20 articles examined child maltreatment and animal cruelty. No articles examining elder abuse and animal cruelty were found. Prevalence rates of “the link” ranged from <1% to >80%. Findings regarding the association between family violence and animal cruelty varied. Some studies found that family violence was significantly associated with animal cruelty (or vice versa), but there was also evidence that the association was not statistically significant. Associations between family violence and animal cruelty were not significant in most studies that adjusted for sociodemographic factors. This suggests that sociodemographic factors (e.g., exposure to multiple forms of violence, and income) may explain the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty. Based on the results of our scoping review, we recommend that caution should be taken regarding assertions of “the link” without further research to better understand the co-occurrence of family violence and animal cruelty and the factors and mechanisms that influence their co-occurrence.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/11/514animal crueltyfamily violencedomestic violenceintimate partner violencechild maltreatmentchild abuse |
| spellingShingle | Camie A. Tomlinson Jennifer L. Murphy Angela Matijczak Allegra Califano Jiaxin Santos Shelby E. McDonald The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review Social Sciences animal cruelty family violence domestic violence intimate partner violence child maltreatment child abuse |
| title | The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review |
| title_full | The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review |
| title_fullStr | The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review |
| title_short | The Link between Family Violence and Animal Cruelty: A Scoping Review |
| title_sort | link between family violence and animal cruelty a scoping review |
| topic | animal cruelty family violence domestic violence intimate partner violence child maltreatment child abuse |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/11/514 |
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