Pets, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Abuser's
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PETS, INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, AND THE ABUSER’S PERSPECTIVE by Rochelle Stevenson BA (Hons), Simon Fraser University 2009 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Criminology University of Ottawa © Rochelle Stevenson, Ottawa, Canada, 2012 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. i ABSTRACT Domestic violence remains a serious social issue. In North America, millions of women are victimized each year, and many of these women are victims of violence at the hand of their intimate partners. A small but growing body of research on domestic violence has shown that companion animals are among the victims of such violence. Abuse of or threats to the pets are used to control, manipulate and emotionally abuse the female partner. However, the majority of this research has focused on the perspective of the abused female partner; the male perspective is missing. Through semi-structured interviews with ten incarcerated men who have committed intimate partner violence (IPV), this thesis explores the abuser‟s motivations for abuse of the pet as well as their perspective of pets in the context of a violent relationship. The findings indicate that, contrary to previous research, most men do not abuse pets in the relationship, and in fact have positive relationships with their pets. Just as pets are sources of comfort for women in abusive relationships, pets can be sources of comfort and support for the abusive men as well. When incorporated into violence intervention and treatment programs, relationships with pets can provide a venue for men construct a masculine identity in a positive way, and the treatment of animals can illustrate how violence is not an effective solution. Keywords: intimate partner violence, animal abuse, masculinity, domestic violence, attachment, human-animal relationships ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Sarah and Angie for your time, your help in organizing the interviews, and for making me feel so very welcome. Thank you to my reviewers, Dr. Colette Parent and Dr. Véronique Strimelle, for your valuable insight, lively conversation, and support for this thesis. Thank you to my supervisor, Dr. Holly Johnson. You helped me to be a better writer, a better researcher, and to produce a thesis I am very proud of. Thank you to Alex, Kurt, Marcel, Gabe, Orson, Cameron, Elliot, Randy, Ivan, and Theo for sharing your experiences with me. This research would not have been possible without you. Thank you to Tane, Coco, and Gabby for the comic relief and unconditional love that made this research process a little bit easier. Finally, thank you to Bob, for your unfailing support, your unwavering confidence, and above all, your patience. You are my rock. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iii List of Figures .....................................................................................................................v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...........................................................................................5 Intimate Partner Violence: Prevalence and Perpetration ..................................................5 Explanations for Intimate Partner Violence ...................................................................11 Feminist Theories .......................................................................................................11 Masculinity Theory ....................................................................................................16 Social Learning Theory and Intergenerational Transmission ....................................21 Attachment Theory .....................................................................................................24 Personality Disorders..................................................................................................28 Animal Abuse: Prevalence and Perpetration ..................................................................31 Explanations for Animal Abuse .....................................................................................33 Feminist and Masculinity Perspectives ......................................................................34 Social Learning and Intergenerational Transmission .................................................35 Violence Graduation Hypothesis versus Generality of Deviance ..............................37 Agnew‟s Theory of Animal Abuse.............................................................................41 Attachment Theory .....................................................................................................43 The Connection between Intimate Partner Violence and Animal Abuse .......................45 Motivations for Animal Abuse in a Context of Violence ..............................................48 Gaps in Existing Research on Intimate Partner Violence and Animal Abuse ...............53 Chapter 3: Methodology..................................................................................................55 Major Concepts Defined ................................................................................................57 Procedures: Participants and Data Collection ................................................................59 Participants and Recruitment ......................................................................................59 Data Collection – Semi-Structured Interviews ...........................................................66 Analysis .......................................................................................................................68 Reflexivity ..................................................................................................................70 Chapter 4: Results............................................................................................................74 Direct or Indirect Companion Animal Abuse ................................................................74 General Attitudes about Companion Animal Abuse ......................................................76 The Abuser‟s Perspective: Partners and Pets .................................................................78 Attachment .................................................................................................................79 Masculinity .................................................................................................................89 iv Attachment, Masculinity, and Pets .................................................................................94 Chapter 5: Discussion ......................................................................................................98 Masculinity ...............................................................................................................100 Attachment ...............................................................................................................103 Implications of the Current Research ...........................................................................107 Limitations of the Current Research ............................................................................111 Future Directions ..........................................................................................................115 Chapter 6: Conclusion ...................................................................................................118 References .......................................................................................................................120 Appendices ......................................................................................................................137 Appendix A: University of Ottawa Ethics Approval ...................................................137 Appendix B: Correctional Service of Canada Certificate of Ethical Approval ...........139 Appendix C: Recruitment Script ..................................................................................141 Appendix D: Informed Consent Form – CSC Inmate File ...........................................142 Appendix E: Informed Consent Form – University of Ottawa ....................................143 Appendix F: Schedule of Interview Questions ............................................................145 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Ecological Model .......................................................................................................... 13 Figure 2: The Power and Control Wheel ...................................................................................... 15 Figure 3: Bartholomew's Model of Adult Attachment ................................................................. 25 Figure 4: Agnew's (1998) Social Psychological Model of Animal Abuse ................................... 42 Figure