Reports of severe physical punishment and exposure to animal cruelty by inmates convicted of felonies and by university students

A self-report questionnaire designed to assess abusive childhood environments and exposure to animal cruelty was administered to 314 inmates in a prisoner classification center. Although high rates of physical punishment characterized the entire sample, persons charged with violent, but nonhomicidal crimes reported more severely punitive childhood histories than those charged with homicidal crimes, sex offenses, and nonviolent offenses. Some exposure to animal cruelty was widespread in the sample, but there was no association between experiencing animal cruelty and the type of crime committed. Moreover, there were only modest associations between animal cruelty experiences and the aversive childhood histories of the subjects, as well as the subjects' reported use of physical and sexual coercion in dating and intimate relationships. To determine whether the high base rate of exposure to animal cruelty was unique to the incarcerated sample, a follow-up study was completed with university undergraduates. Widespread exposure to some animal cruelty was reported by undergraduates; there were modest associations between reporting animal cruelty and reporting punitive and acrimonious childhood histories. In general, the findings were consistent with the hypothesis that there is an association between punitive childhood histories and antisocial behavior but not consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to animal cruelty is importantly related to antisocial behavior or child maltreatment. Un cuestionario de autoinforme diseñado para evaluar los ambientes infantiles maltratantes yla exposición a situaciones de crueldad con animales fue administrado a 314 internos en un centro de clasificación de prisioneros. A pesar de que toda la muestra se caracterizó por unas tasas altas de castigo físico, los sujetos acusados de delitos violentos (pero sin ser homicidios) informaron de historias infantiles con castigos más severos que aquellos sujetos acusados de delitos de homicidio, ofensas sexuales y ofensas no violentas. Cierta exposición a situaciones de crueldad con los animales fue general en toda la muestra, pero no se observó una asociación entre las experiencias de crueldad con los animales y el tipo de crimen cometido. Además, únicamente se observaron asociaciones débiles entre las experiencias de crueldad con los animales y las historias aversivas infantiles. Se observaron también asociaciones débiles con la utilización de los suetos de la coerción sexual y física