Applied Medical Research. 2023;
10(1):(139-176)
Analyzing the Psychology Behind Animal Abuse and Tendencies of Human Criminality
Nastassia Lini and Satesh Bidaisee
Abstract
The correlation between being exposed to or partaking in animal abuse at a young age and growing up
to direct those traumas and tendencies towards people has been a major topic of multiple psychologic
and criminal studies. There has been increasing importance in understanding how different variations of
familial violence play a role in a child’s ability to compartmentalize emotion, considering the influence
that animals may have in this growth and development. A great deal of current evidence shows that
animal abuse is not solely a result of a child’s character, but more of a symptomatic effect caused by
systemic emotional trauma from unstable familial dynamics. There is also clear evidence that serial
killers, domestic abusers and other individuals reported to have drastic violent tendencies towards
others, typically showed a habit of abusing animals, or being exposed to animal abuse as children. This
narrative review is completed in order to assess this correlation and determine if there could be ways of
preventing children from maturing into adulthood and misdirecting their juvenile traumas towards other
adults through acts of violence.
