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Adult-perpetrated Animal Abuse: Development of a Proclivity Scale

Alleyne, Emma, Tilston, Laura, Parfitt, Charlotte, Butcher, Roxanne (2015) Adult-perpetrated Animal Abuse: Development of a Proclivity Scale. Psychology, Crime & Law, 21 (6). pp. 570-588. ISSN 1068-316X. (doi:10.1080/1068316X.2014.999064) (KAR id:48700)

Abstract

There is a clear discrepancy in the reporting of animal cruelty complaints, prosecutions and convictions suggesting that any prevalence figures of abuse are significant under-representations. Therefore, it can be inferred that there is a large number of animal abusers who are unapprehended. Currently there is no validated tool that assesses the proclivity or propensity to engage in animal abuse amongst members of the general public. Such a tool would enable researchers to study individuals who may think like animal abusers or may be unapprehended offenders themselves. This paper presents the newly developed Animal Abuse Proclivity Scale (AAPS) and some preliminary findings. The results from our two studies show that: (1) the psychometric properties of the AAPS indicate that the scale is a highly reliable measure; (2) the AAPS relates to measures assessing offence-supportive attitudes and reflects the gender differences seen in the literature; and (3) the AAPS demonstrates cross-national validity. These findings support that the AAPS, similar to other offending proclivity measures, is a tool that can be used to examine the factors most related to animal abuse propensity. We discuss how the AAPS can contribute to future developments in theory and practice in the field.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/1068316X.2014.999064
Uncontrolled keywords: animal cruelty, animal abuse proclivity, adult offenders, offence-supportive cognition
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Emma Alleyne
Date Deposited: 01 Jun 2015 11:14 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 02:02 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/48700 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Alleyne, Emma.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4335-7176
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Parfitt, Charlotte.

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