title: Children's experiences of companion animal maltreatment in households characterized by intimate partner violence.
abstract: Cruelty toward companion animals is a well-documented, coercive tactic used by abusive partners to intimidate and control their intimate partners. Experiences of co-occurring violence are common for children living in families with intimate partner violence (IPV) and surveys show that more than half are also exposed to abuse of their pets. Given children's relationships with their pets, witnessing such abuse may be traumatic for them. Yet little is known about the prevalence and significance of this issue for children. The present study examines the experiences of children in families with co-occurring pet abuse and IPV. Using qualitative methods, 58 children ages 7-12 who were exposed to IPV were asked to describe their experiences of threats to and harm of their companion animals. Following the interviews, template analysis was employed to systematically develop codes and themes. Coding reliability was assessed using Randolph's free-marginal multirater kappa (kfree=.90). Five themes emerged from the qualitative data, the most common being children's exposure to pet abuse as a power and control tactic against their mother in the context of IPV. Other themes were animal maltreatment to discipline or punish the pet, animal cruelty by a sibling, children intervening to prevent pet abuse, and children intervening to protect the pet during a violent episode. Results indicate that children's experiences of pet abuse are multifaceted, potentially traumatic, and may involve multiple family members with diverse motives.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Academic Learning Commons, 1000 Floyd Avenue, Third Floor, P.O. Box 842027, Richmond, VA 23284-2027, USA.
authors.forename: Shelby Elaine
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Craig Hall, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nicotera
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Craig Hall, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
authors.forename: Tina O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Hageman
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Craig Hall, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Ascione
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, Craig Hall, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA.
authors.forename: James Herbert
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The University of Michigan, 2265 East Hall, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA.
authors.forename: Sandra A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Graham-Bermann
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D057805:Pets; D011678:Punishment
keywords: Childhood trauma; Domestic violence; Pet abuse