Recent years have seen an increase in interest in the social, behavioral, psychological, and developmental correlates of animal abuse. The current study examined the relationships between empathy, family environment, attitudes toward animals and participation in animal abuse using a self-report methodology among a sample of college students. Within a sample of 286 college students, scores on the Attitudes Toward the Treatment of Animals Scale (ATTAS) were significantly correlated with scores on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), a measure of empathy. The Caregiving subscale of the ATTAS was found to significantly differentiate abusers from non-abusers, and to differentiate abusers who reported having first engaged in abuse prior to age 13 years from those who reported having first engaged in abuse at age 13 or later. Abusers scored significantly higher on the IRI Fantasy subscale than did non-abusers. Men who reported a history of sexual abuse were more likely to report participating in animal abuse than were those who reported no history of sexual abuse. Finally, the effect of sexual abuse on animal abuse was found to be independent of individual differences in empathy and attitudes toward animals. The potential roles of trauma and fantasy in the genesis of animal abuse are discussed.
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