How I will use information

Over the course of this assignment, I have been going through my sources and I have done extensive highlighting and underlining of the things I have learned that will help my assignment. The Database information that I have gathered all talks about my topic, but some of it is not information that I would really need.
Using my outline I have sections organized with specific data that can back up each of the points being made in the body of the paper.

Animal Cruelty facts

•  Children exposed to domestic violence are 3 times more likely to act out animal cruelty than children in nonviolent homes. Currie, C. L. (2006). Animal crueltyby children exposed to domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(4), 425-435.
• “Extreme cruelty toward animals is a marker for potential violence toward
  humans.” Psychologist Stephanie LaFarge, court-mandated animal abuse counseling
•  Men and teenage boys commit a high percentage of intentional animal cruelty.

Reasons why people abuse animals

 Personal gain & pleasure
•    Believing abuse is justified
•    Lack of empathy
•    Animals suffer in silence
•    They are defenseless, making an easy target
•    Little or no consequences for perpetrators
•    Traditions, customs or rituals
•    Desire to assert power or authority

Interesting facts and new information on Animal Cruelty

 70% of animal abusers also had records for other crimes. Domestic violence victims whose animals were abused saw the animal cruelty as one more violent episode in a long history of indiscriminate violence aimed at them and their vulnerability.

Many despicable and vile acts of cruelty happen right under our noses in the family home. Perpetrators of domestic violence often use the family pet to intimidate the spouse. The spouse is often too afraid to escape in fear of leaving the animal’s fate in the hands of the abuser.  There is a link between children victims of domestic abuse and violence against animals. To alleviate the feeling of helplessness, abused children try to gain authority by committing similar acts to animals.

Interesting facts and new information on Animal Cruelty

71% of pet-owning women entering women’s shelters reported that their batterer had injured, maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologically control victims; 32% reported their children had hurt or killed animals

Abusers kill, harm, or threaten children’s pets to coerce them into sexual abuse or to force them to remain silent about abuse. Disturbed children kill or harm animals to emulate their parents’ conduct, to prevent the abuser from killing the pet, or to take out their aggressions on another victim. 

Definitions to key words.

Antisocial personality disorder: APD

sociopath - someone with a sociopathic personality; a person with an antisocial personality disorder (`psychopath' was once widely used but has now been superseded by `sociopath')

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy combined with abnormally immoral conduct despite an ability to appear normal

Interview questions

Thses are just the first 8 questions i have for Professor Yalowitz.

·         Is there any evidence of a connection between animal cruelty and human violence? 

·         What do you define animal cruelty as?

·         What is a type of Physiological disorder that is connected with animal Cruelty?

·         Do you believe that there is a connection between children who have seen animal cruelty and them growing up to live a criminal life?

·         How many types of studies are there on the different disorders that connect to animal abuse?

·         What is going on in the brain while someone is committing an act of animal cruelty?

Field tool

For my field tool I decided on conducting an interview. Questions that directly apply to animal cruelty. For this interview i plan on meeting with Professor Yalowitz of Southern Vermont College. Professor of psychology.

Interview

To gather more information on my topic i decided that the best way to go about getting information would be to find someone who is in that type of profession or a profession that studies this topic. A psychologist would be the ideal person to ask questions on my topic. Professor Daniel Yelowitz is a Psychology professor here at Southern Vermont College. I sat down with him and got a few questions answered. I conducted an interview.

Animal Cruelty Topic

Animal Cruelty has been something that has interested me for a very long time, there are many different cases and all over the world animal cruelty cases are documented. To take the subject more in depth I would like to find out the connection between children who are exposed to animal cruelty and who are the ones conducting the animal cruelty and how it effects them mentally and growing up.( does this behavior create a criminal mindset?)

Animal Cruelty Defined

Animal Cruelty is the deliberate or intentional act of hurting and animal. Even if the animal can defend itself. Examples of animal cruelty are the hitting of domestic animals,the slaughtering of animals at meat houses.