Research Korner: Violent Behaviors

Gang Violence Leads to Juvenile Delinquency

Gang Violence Leads to Juvenile Delinquency               One of the most relevant social issues in every society, most especially in the United States society is the issue on gang violence and juvenile delinquency. It has been reported that although progress has been made in past decades, the plight of youths in the contemporary American society is still one of the country’s most ominous dilemmas, conspicuously different from the decadence that their predecessors faced a century ago. In today’s society, American youths experience violence, both as victims and doers, at alarming rates (2004). One would be curious to ask the benefits or advantages of being a member of a gang, which inflict damages to themselves, their families, their peers, and the society. In this sense, this essay aims to express the statement that juveniles adhere to gang violence in order to gain recognition.             Many authorities wonder what attracts young people to these criminal organizations. Conditions in inner cities and some suburbs may be one factor. Many gang members have surfaced from neighborhoods plagued with overcrowding and unemployment, filled with high school dropouts and dysfunctional families, and lacking recreation and productive distraction. Unfortunately, gangs may offer young people some necessities that their families cannot. The gang and its members become truly a surrogate family. Leaders are quite skilled in drawing in new members by promising money or drugs to, by intimidating, or by acknowledging vulnerable and impressionable teenagers. In the end, a gang produces loyal gang members, having not long-term aspirations, and do not consider the consequences of their gang-related behavior ( 2000). Several reasons may be attributed to juveniles joining gangs. However, one of the primary reasons of young people why they join gangs and commit violence is to gain recognition in the community. Some gang members are the children of gang members themselves and are following in their parents’ footsteps (2000). In this sense, gang members commit different forms of violence, as being influenced by the violence being committed also by their parents. A child or young individual become who they are depending on the rearing patterns of his or her parents, and the environment from he or she is exposed to. If they perceive that violence enable their parents to gain recognition from the community, then chances are, their perception of recognition and prestige from the community would also be through violent acts. In addition, more often than not, gang recruits and gang members often have poor self-images, low self-esteem, and no adult to provide counseling and support (2000). In this regard, because of low self-esteem and self-images, a new recruit would be persuaded to join gangs easily, in the perception that gangs would be able to help them find their identity in the community. In relation to this, many young individuals join gangs in order to reward one’s masculinity, as means with which to solve the gender problem of accountability (1993). If a young man is able to join a gang and be able to do the activities the rest of the members do, then he would be able to be recognized as a “real man”, capable of inflicting harm and becoming powerful and superior in the community. A young recruit would be driven to perform violent acts in order to prove his masculinity in the gang, and in order to prove to them that he also deserves to belong to the group. In this regard, the process of initiation, which often involves stealing, drugs, rape, killing, and other forms of violent acts, would entitle the gang member recognition if he or she is able to perform such acts, and such recognition may either be in the form of money, position in the group, or rewards. Furthermore, gang members often gain recognition from other gang members and from a society that fears them, thus, making them obtain attention and respect ( 2000). In terms of participating in a gang encounter, one can gain honor by acting bravely, thus, establishing character for oneself and possibly robbing it from an opponent. The praise for heart and bravery from other gang members provide another high in the aftermath of a gang encounter, most especially after inflicting damage or resorting to violence (1994). In addition, committing violence by gang members result from being threatened from being dominated by other gangs. Because of this, they commit violence in their aim to protect their territory or to protect their peers. If a particular member is able to exhibit an extraordinary strategy to protect their territory, such as through killing or damaging their enemy, then recognition would be provided. In this sense, the recognition that one gets from other members of the gang involves one’s ability to become violent towards the gang’s opponents. From this, it can be perceived that gang members commit violence due to their aim to become recognized in a group, in order to uplift their self-esteem and self-image personally and in the community. If this perception would not be changed by the community and their family, then juvenile and gang violence would continue to increase and be regarded as one of the most alarming issues in the society.

Gang Violence Leads to Juvenile Delinquency

Gang Violence Leads to Juvenile Delinquency One of the most relevant social issues in every society, most especially in...

VICTIMOLOGY

VICTIMOLOGY   UNIT 1- Targets of Predators Professor: May 3, 2007 A. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects a person's employment or education, unreasonably interferes with a person's work or educational performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or learning environment. In the interest of preventing sexual harassment, the University will respond to reports of any such conduct (, 1992). Sexual harassment may include incidents between any members of the University community, including faculty and other academic appointees, staff, coaches, house staff, students, and non-student or non-employee participants in University programs, such as vendors, contractors, visitors, and patients. Sexual harassment may occur in hierarchical relationships or between peers, or between persons of the same sex or opposite sex (, 1992).     B. Child Molestation In determining whether the reported conduct constitutes child molestation, consideration shall be given to the record of the conduct as a whole and to the totality of the circumstances, including the context in which the conduct occurred. While romantic relationships between members of the family and the children may begin as consensual and they may evolve into situations that lead to charges of child molestation, subject to this policy. Child molestation that is not sexual in nature but is based on gender, sex-stereotyping, or sexual orientation also is prohibited by the government's nondiscrimination policies if it is sufficiently severe to deny a person's ability to participate in the creation of a hostile environment. Thus, in determining whether a hostile environment due to child molestation exists, the government may take into account acts of child molestation based on gender. C. Drug-related Crime It is often recognized that drug-related crime are triggered by the violence that is brought about by the altered state of mind that illicit drugs induce. In attempting to comprehend the manners in which alcohol and drug utilization may have a say to violent actions, it is similarly imperative to deem the manner in which substance abuse is about human actions generally. A number of attempts have been carried out in the study of psychological expectancies in relation to alcohol's consequence on actions ( 1994), the connection involving alcohol and cognitive functioning, and the dynamic developmental consequences of untimely introduction to alcohol and aggression among young individuals and among women who have been wronged as kids and as grown-ups. Comparable work has tried to recognize the connection involving illicit drugs and behavior, even though as a result of the interest centered on the indiscretion of these substances; this organization of work have the tendency be most caught up with unlawful behaviors that may well be connected with drugs. Instances from this literature takes account of assessments of the connections involving drug use and criminal behavior amongst juvenilesn( 1993); associations involving substance use and domestic aggression ( 1995); the manners in which the employment and circulation of illicit drugs are connected to all kinds of crime, principally nonviolent property misdemeanors ( 1994); and the effects of drug employment on the capability to sustain interpersonal relationships (1996).             REFERENCES   DISCUSSION BOARD – Victim Precipitation Professor: May 3, 2007 In my opinion, the Victim Precipitation Theory first introduced by  in the 1940s, which states that the victim shapes and molds the criminals, has not yet been applied effectively to redress the disadvantages and injustices experienced by victims by reason only of their genders or statuses in life. In this sense, respect for human rights fails to be "universal." I think the reasons for this general failure to enforce the Victim Precipitation Theory are complex and vary from country to country (, 1999).   They include lack of understanding of the systemic nature of the subordination of victims, failure to recognize the need to characterize the subordination of victims as a human rights violation, and lack of state practice to condemn discrimination against the victims of crimes. Moreover, there has been unwillingness by traditional human rights groups to focus on violations of victim's rights, and a lack of understanding by organizations of the potential of international human rights law to vindicate the Victim Precipitation Theory.   Although perhaps, the Victim Precipitation Theory gradually evolved in the early 20th century and was fuelled by victim movements in the 21st century; the mild, moderate and radical feminist groups mustered their organizing influence to slowly inflict change in the society. For instance, the barrier that significantly defined the fate of every victim in molding the character of criminals has been increasingly downgraded by the emphasis on competitiveness and productiveness (, 1986). Still it is imperative and highly relevant for the society to be vigilant particularly when the most important institution in the community – which is the family – is threatened. Recognizing the social damage of increased cases and incidents of violence should be realized as detrimental not just to the victims of the abuse but also the overall well being of the entire community. REFERENCES               UNIT 2: Victims of Political or Identity Status: Part I Professor: May 3, 2007 The family as a social institution and its basic unit will remain the basis for any society’s concerns regarding happiness, liberty, equality, and prosperity for all its members and the community it belongs to. But historically, the problems regarding domestic violence still exists up to this day. According to  (2004) domestic violence is defined as any hurtful or unwanted behavior perpetrated upon an individual by an intimate or prior intimate which normally is characterized by physical, psychological and emotional abuse. Domestic violence is based on the victim-offender relationship in the form of marriage, family ties, romantic relationships or a former marriage. It includes violence and abuse within same-sex relationships, violence by women against men as well as violence and abuse perpetrated by one family member against another (, 2004). However, studies show that most cases of domestic violence which occurred have been on women as well as children ( & , 1992; ., 2000).  argued that despite being weakened and embattled, the family will survive as a fundamental social institution having been the cradle of the modern social order for quite a long time. However it is imperative to distinguish the impact of violence among women and children in order to help the victims cope with the short-term and long-term consequences of the suffering they have experienced. Since every case of abuse leads to permanent damage and great long-term suffering, domestic violence may also lead to psychological trauma. Shipway defined psychological trauma as the unique individual experience of an event or enduring conditions, in which the individual's ability to integrate emotional experience is overwhelmed, or the individual experiences (subjectively) a threat to life, bodily integrity, or sanity. Domestic violence not only affects the women. The study conducted by  (1990) indicated that 40 to 60% of parents who abuse their partners also abuse their children. Thus, children who are exposed from such violence may have nightmares, insomnia, bed-wetting, anxiety and depression while others perform poorly or behave aggressively in school due to developmental and social problems (, 1990).  (1996) indicated that the impact of domestic violence to children includes emotional, behavioral, and developmental impairments simply from witnessing while ,  and  (2003) claimed that children are affected by domestic violence in various ways and their recovery is likewise influenced by a range of factors. There have been studies which indicated that severely battered women are usually isolated and lack individuals in their social network who can provide them with support ( 2001; , , & , 1996).  These women victims are usually in need of friends and relatives who can help them overcome the trauma of being battered and abused by their partners. Psychological help are also made available to victims of domestic violence through the support of different social organizations and the government. Normally there are shelters appropriated for families who have experienced domestic violence. These support systems are made available from the moment of the victims of the concerned individuals’ report of such incident. The available support systems and resources for victims of domestic violence include people who are knowledgeable of how to best help the victims overcome their bad experiences in their homes. They make it a point to hear out and empathize with the victims. Both government and private organizations have been active in changing and improving the domestic lives of the victims who called and asked for help. Among the battered women who were recruited from domestic violence shelters,  (1995) found out that positive support has been directly associated with great well-being while negative support constitutes poorer mental health functioning ( & , 1983). According to  (2002) funding for domestic violence programs used different means and ways to build support since the enactment of the Violence Against women Act of (VAWA) 1994 which included $1.3 billion financial support in order to “(1) improve the criminal justice response to violent crimes against women, (2) expand services and community support for domestic violence victims, (3) improve safety for women in public transit and public parks and assistance to victims of sexual assault, and (4) provide support for a variety of educational, health and database services” (). Aside from the support systems available to victims of domestic violence, community volunteers and social workers have been active in several social campaigns which includes educating the youth about domestic violence, recommendations regarding health care strategies, as well as improving the incorporation of data regarding stalking, and domestic violence into local, state and national crime information (, 2002). REFERENCES     DISCUSSION BOARD – Domestic Violence Victims Professor: May 3, 2007 I believe that social workers have an important role in the social resolve of domestic violence victims. However, the discussions in this part of the paper will be on account of the resolve of the social workers in dealing with victims of domestic violence. One issue is the participation of social workers in treatment schemes for domestic violence. Increasing the contribution of social workers in domestic violence would perk up the success of this very important service area. The underlying principle for such extended contribution takes account of development in direct services to victims, assessment and accountability of schemes, assessment on practice concerns, and growth of new treatment paradigms (, 1997).   Social workers are skilled in and accustomed to positive therapeutic methods that present the best possibility of productively employing and assisting chemically dependent consumers. The notions of self-evaluation and examinations for practice development acquire comparatively diminutive attention in domestic violence schemes (, 1997). This lack of evaluation is partially due to the diverse origins and historical separation of domestic violence treatment from the conventional medical and mental health care arrangements. Social workers can carve up the development of domestic violence treatment by launching higher norms of professional accountability and by scheming and performing research on key programmatic concerns. For instance, social workers are well prepared to break through in generating instruments to track clients' treatment development and effects for their programs. REFERENCES                   UNIT 3: Victims of Political or Identity Status: Part II Professor: May 3, 2007 Terrorism is the deliberate creation and exploitation of fear for bringing about political change. All terrorist acts involve violence or equally important the threat of violence. These violent acts are committed by nongovernmental groups or individuals that is, by those who are neither part of nor officially serving in the military forces, law enforcement agencies, intelligence services, or other governmental agencies of an established nation-state (,  & , 1978). Terrorists attempt not only to sow panic but also to undermine confidence in the government and political leadership of their target country. Terrorism is therefore designed to have psychological effects that reach far beyond its impact on the immediate victims or object of an attack.    Terrorists mean to frighten and thereby intimidate a wider audience, such as a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country and its political leadership, or the international community as a whole. Terrorist groups generally have few members, limited firepower, and comparatively few organizational resources. For this reason they rely on dramatic, often spectacular, bloody and destructive acts of hit-and-run violence to attract attention to themselves and their cause. Through the publicity generated by their violence, terrorists seek to obtain the leverage, influence, and power they otherwise lack (,  & , 1978). Terrorism has existed for at least 2,000 years and is likely to remain a fixture on political agendas, both domestic and international, for years to come. Terrorism provides a means by which the weak can confront much stronger opponents. It therefore has an enduring appeal to the alienated and the disenfranchised, the aggrieved and vengeful, the powerless and the would-be powerful. In addition, it is relatively inexpensive to conduct while offering a vast potential payoff: the ability to evoke fear and alarm and inflict pain and suffering in the hope of compelling agreement to demands made. Terrorism, moreover, is evolving constantly to overcome governmental countermeasures designed to defeat it. Terrorism thus involves an ongoing search for new targets and unidentified vulnerabilities in its opponents. This quest also raises the possibility that terrorists may pursue unconventional means of attack, such as chemical, biological, or radiological weapons, or nuclear weapons. Future terrorist tactics could include cyber-terrorism or electronic warfare that targets critical infrastructure, such as communications and power facilities, or societies in general (,  &  1978). Throughout the world, terrorism reinvents itself in new and more dangerous forms. As older groups are defeated or exhausted, more radical and more violent successors often take their place. Although terrorism likely can never be completely eradicated, countering its threat requires continuing vigilance. The highly individual nature of terrorism’s causes, the diversity of its perpetrators, and the complexity of its fundamental characteristics present enormous challenges to those who must effectively counter this menace (,  & , , 2004). Stereotyping is a thing if given to a person or a group of person becomes hard to remove. Having given stereotypes makes a person or a group of people prone to violence, hate, and discrimination. In reading and understanding the global war on terror, terrorism and civil wars we, can see a direct relationship between global war against terrorism and the civil wars that is happening in many countries of the world. In short we can see that the global war on terror provides a valid and applicable framework that encompasses civil wars in different parts of the globe. This framework is evident because the idea of global war on terror tends to simplistically brand military actions and offensives as events that are perpetrated by terrorists. The global war on terror provides capacity and the rationalization to governments that deals with civil wars. The global war on terror therefore is a situation and a framework where all events and actions made by a group fighting in a civil war are grouped and labeled together. The global war on terror provides easy classification and categorization of acts that are labeled as terrorism just because the group is labeled as a terrorist. REFERENCES         DISCUSSION BOARD – Hate Crime Professor: May 3, 2007 I think that hate crime may take many forms, often combining physical, emotional sexual, psychological and financial abuse.  The level of abuse and violence varies within each partnership, often occurring on a continuum of severity and effect. For some the violence and abuse are periodic with minimal long-term effects. However, countless victims are so controlled and inhibited that they are unable to make even simplest decision or act without permission, responding with complete obedience to every order given and every rule imposed by their partners and this mostly happened to those women/wife living away from their own nation (, 1995).  The violence becomes insidious, permeating every action, every thought that deed until eventually, for some women, suicide remain the only escape.  Other victims express their self-disgust and powerlessness through alcohol or drug abuse or self-mutilation, exhibiting signs of severe depression and total dependency on the abuser.  Intimate partners, may demand and achieve, through physical and emotional violence, complete obedience to every order, using humiliation as an important strategy in obedience training in their women.             Nowadays, I think the issue of hate crime has become more and more prominent. The issue is no longer of concern only from non-government organizations but to government and other members of the society as well. In England for instance, there exist 150 multi-agency for a in which social services, police, legal professionals, probation, housing services, health services and voluntary agencies are working hand in hand in local communities to deal with hate-crimes specifically for those people who came from different nations. International human rights law has not yet been applied effectively to redress the disadvantages and injustices experienced by victims of hate-crimes. In this sense, respect for human rights fails to be "universal." The reasons for this general failure to enforce human rights are complex and vary from country to country (, 1995). Moreover, there has been unwillingness by traditional human rights groups to focus on hate-crimes, and a lack of understanding by groups of the potential of international human rights law to eliminate hate-crimes. REFERENCES                 UNIT 4: Victims in Organizational Contexts Professor: May 3, 2007 Prison Violence Prison violence has been defined as a continuum of behavior ranging from verbal abuse, physical and sexual assault, to rape and even homicide in prisons.  The vast majority of such incidents and the most severe and chronic events are perpetrated by prisoners against prisoners School Violence It is undeniable the students in contemporary society are in crisis as they are facing a lot of difficulties and conflicts.  This crisis is of great scope and magnitude. The crisis of this generation of students includes, too, younger children.  The character and detail of this crisis is social and derives its characteristics from two basis properties: a high risk environment and negative justice system. One of the problems encountered by the students today, especially those who are considered as young offenders is about the context of custody.  In this manner, the authorities, specifically the justice system and other concern citizens are trying to provide a comprehensive system to protect the youth and to prevent youth problems. School violence commonly accompanies social disorder. A survey in Britain of thirteen thousand young teenage students revealed that more than half had committed at least one crime. Since many young students are engaged in delinquencies, criminal behavior and wrongdoings, the issue of young offenders’ custody is in the limelight.  In addition, justice system for youth is also in the list of the issue. Davis adheres to the notion that school offenders must be able to have a well managed custody and security.  There must be an implementation of a strategy for the secure estate, which will provide dedicated and child-focuses units for students who are sentenced to custody, a main independent review of physical restraint and the specification of advocacy services in order for the students in custody to voice out their concerns and perceptions. In addition, the achievement also include the establishment of Juvenile Awareness Staff Programme (JASP), this aims to trains all staff in Young Offender Institutions to ensure protection and as well as to tackle safeguarding issues and concerns. Workplace Violence The aftermath of most resistance to change cases among organizations and companies often leads to workplace violence. Because of the adjustments that the newly combined workforce would have to endure, it is not surprising that at first the new management would hold so much power and decision-making authority.  The management would have the tendency to seldom consult its employees especially in making crucial decisions. As a precautionary measure, the change management would include having a perfectionist type of management to make sure that the new reporting system would remain consistently efficient. The motivation environment is often characterized through the establishment of a new structured set of rewards and punishments (. 2001). However, as time goes by the workforce and the new management gets to jive with each other. Along with this is the changing of leadership type from autocratic to a democratic type. This way, the participation of all key stakeholders especially the workers will be more encouraged. If they feel something is right or wrong, or if they want to tell something important to the management, they can now be free do so without any worries. Also, a democratic leadership approach allows the management to have a feedback regarding the policies and regulations being implemented. They will immediately know if there is any tension going on between or among the stakeholders involved. Thus, immediate action can be planned and implemented by the management to keep matters from getting worse. It is normal that when the new management starts to assume its post, it will have to implement stricter rights and privileges for its workers. There is a possibility that the once strong and transparent relationship that existed between the management and workers prior to the acquisition or merger would be replaced by frustration and hatred. When this happens, the performance of the new workforce will surely be severely affected and their efficiency will decline. This is because of concentrating on their work, they will now be more concerned about the diminished benefits they would be possibly be getting. These worries and anxieties will pave the way for them to inhibit frustration and anger towards their new supervisors and the management as a whole, feeling they are already taken for granted (Baumol, 2002). REFERENCES                                   DISCUSSION BOARD –Violence Professor: May 3, 2007 We must agree that violence as of today’s generation is considered to be as one of the controversial issue as of today’s generation involving ordinary people that will have a sense of substantial impact to the lives of individuals and how the society is responding to the issue according to legal procedures as well as the principles of law in giving importance to the issue for the betterment of such country and its territory and the people that governs the law within the embodiment of truth and justice to all mankind involved (, 1997). Therefore, when studying the different forms of violence the focus must involve a matter of taking legal actions against the supposed alleged individuals as handled by the law of the state that committed those acts of violence and invasions of privacy against others (, 1970). Thus, in speaking of violence as it implies an informal complaint and formal grievance procedure, both of which merit action by any institution and that the implemented policy regarding the issue could adhere to the failure to communicate with the people claiming they've been violated. Moreover, the government must be dedicated in generating and upholding a community wherein persons participating in the programs and activities can work and learn together in an atmosphere free of violence and exploitation as they will respond effectively to certain reports of violence and will take appropriate action in order to prevent and correct that violates such policy. REFERENCES                               UNIT 5: Victimless Crimes and Responses to Victimization Professor: May 3, 2007 The Victims Rights Amendment bars unreasonable explorations and arrests by the government. Arrest of an individual takes place when, considering all of the situation surrounding the event, an individual sensibly deems he or she is not free to leave a meeting with a government officer. The Victims Rights Amendment confirms that no individual shall be obliged in any criminal proceeding to be a witness in opposition to himself. This passage is an unsettled conundrum of huge degree for the reason that courts and academics have not been capable to describe the appropriate range of the privilege. This is so for the reason that the historical origins of the Victims Rights Amendment have been polished by the progress of the law and the truths of contemporary law enforcement to the degree that courts vaguely relate the opportunity in opposition to self-incrimination () The Victims Rights Amendment was intended to defend the defendant from this dilemma. Therefore, a lot of Victims Rights Amendment academics and judges suppose that the passage concentrated on inappropriate schemes of acquiring data from criminal suspects instead of providing defendants an entitlement to remain silent; the battle not to be obliged did not imply the real right to remain silent, but the entitlement not to be required to talk. The amendments to the Victims Rights Amendment promise victims the entitlement of due process of law, which is frequently labeled merely as due process. The Victims Rights Amendment clauses offer that the government has to perform reasonably in proportion to recognized legal processes, with reference to an individual's rights to life, liberty, and property. Based on the discussions above, due process implies that a person charged of an offence is assured specific legal procedural rights, like the right to be acquainted with the accusations in opposition to him, to face up to his complainants in court, to have legal representation, and to have a trial. These and other entitlements of the victim are indicated in the Victims Rights Amendment. REFERENCE                   DISCUSSION BOARD – Victimless Crime Professor: May 3, 2007 Due to its complexity, the problem of violence and crime requires diversified solutions depending on various causal factors – individual, academic, cultural and social – which could be at its root and have to be recognized beforehand.  There is no typical answer nor is there an easy solution for dealing with “victimless crimes”, as is the case with other problems within a society.  Thus, the whole community is challenged, politicians at various levels, parents, and the youth themselves (, 1996).   However, we know that the answer does not only lie in the pedagogical aspect nor does it lie solely in the society itself, but we do recognize, that families have an important role in implementing preventive measures, considering the impact that they have on the day-to-day life of today's youth.  In fact, this impact is not always positive and rewarding, which also turns the family environment into one of the most frequent scenarios of child and adolescent violence directed at both peers and adults.   It is therefore important and urgent that parents and all people responsible for the individual and collective life are equipped with the necessary ability and competence to be able to prevent and solve the problems that arise in societies (, 1999).  They need to be able to decide, in collaboration with other sources (either family or community), on the course of action to take against the causes and manifestations of violence in their surrounding social and cultural environment. REFERENCES

VICTIMOLOGY

VICTIMOLOGY UNIT 1- Targets of Predators Professor: May 3, 2007 A. Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual adv...

Animal Cruelty and Human Violence: A Qualitative Study

Advanced Methods in Research Animal Cruelty and Human Violence How does exposure to physical abuse as an African-American young male induces them to become adult offenders of animal cruelty? 1. Introduction to the problem             This paper will present an overview of the study of how exposure to physical abuse could eventually lead to becoming adult offender of inflicting various forms of cruelty to animals. The research will particularly focus on African-American young male.  Establishing the causality of exposure of physical abuse with adult offending of animal cruelty among young African-American male is the main purpose of this research. Interviews, structured observation and document analysis are the methodologies that the researcher will employ to arrive at the in-depth investigation on the relationship between the two variables. Through this study, it is hope that the prevalence of physical abuse and adult offending as animal cruelty could be address and how these issues impact criminal justice.             In finding out how exposure to physical abuse could likely to result in adult offending like animal cruelty. Physical abuse will be defined in this context as an abuse that involves contact that is intended to cause feelings of intimidation, pain, injury and physical suffering and/or harm.  Animal cruelty, on the other hand, is the intentional infliction of suffering and/or harm to animals as an end in and of itself. There is the existence of a recurrent problem that is the influence of exposure to physical abuse that could cultivate pessimistic and unconstructive outlooks leading to inflicting animal cruelty. Criminality of these young males in the future will definitely cause changes in criminal justice systems thus it is a requirement to address the issue now prior to making the problem more severe. With this, in what ways and to what extent does exposure to physical abuse influences acts of animal cruelty. It would be also important to determine the specific behaviors that will be developed because of iterative exposure to physical abuse. Whether animal cruelty reflects a practice of future offending among young African-American male is not known. Thus, it would be also critical to know how these young males perceive their acts. Lastly, how does local police force and court address the issue and what are they doing in behalf of the offenders. Whether young males committing animal cruelty are treated as victims or perpetrators or both will be also determined. This research will be significant to better understand the interplay between the experiences of witnessing physical abuse and animal cruelty. Promoting awareness of the relationship between the two could simply alert the criminal justice practitioners as animal cruelty could be regarded as an indicator of aggressive behaviors that could likely result in serious offending in the future. Aside from future criminality, the behavioral manifestations of violence and aggressiveness of young African-American male could be also established through this study. Maximizing literatures about physical abuse and animal cruelty is central to this research especially that upon the completion of the course, I will assume a role in the criminal justice practice. 2. Background of the problem/topic             Because animal cruelty is perceived to be a sign of future interpersonal violence, cruelty to animals is considered a dangerous psychopathology. Inflicting pain or hurt to animals is a channel by which young males, in particular, perform to release own painful or hurtful feelings brought by various levels of exposure to physical abuse. Animal cruelty, usually of pets, occurs in places such as in homes and in neighborhoods where physical abuse is prevalent. The problem is that the prevalence of animal cruelty is not treated seriously although there are previous researches that there is a strong correlation between exposure to violence and animal cruelty. However, it is not yet known in what specific ways exposure to physical abuse could lead to animal cruelty. The confluence between the two as taken from the perspectives of the young African-American males is the main theme of the research. The effects of repetitive witnessing of physical abuse leading to cruelty to animals as an element of externalizing problems as experienced will be discussed in the actual study. A framework will be developed in three overlapping elements: exposure to physical abuse, animal cruelty and implications to criminal justice practice. This framework will also reflect how the study will be conducted which will start from investigating the exposure to various forms of physical abuse. Next, how such an exposure led to animal cruelty will be the second phase. A separate yet distinct investigation is the implications of exposure to physical abuse and animal cruelty to criminal justice practice will be the third phase. The first two parts will involve the participation of young African-American males who will be interviewed and observed while the last part will involve interviews of criminal justice practitioners. Figure 1 Framework of the Study Various studies that were conducted since the 1980s reflect the fact that the myriad of problems relating to exposure to physical abuse and animal cruelty as a resultant was a problem already and the very same problem still exists today. Characteristics of physical abuse are not known particularly those leading to adult offending with animal cruelty as the most common. Determining the factors leading to animal cruelty which stems from exposure to physical abuse could lead to long term objectives of reducing the number of future criminals by means of treating animal cruelty as an indicator. There is the necessity then of investigating and analyzing exposure to physical abuse and animal cruelty as an adult offense. Physical abuse often has negative and short long term effects to children which are manifested through inflicting cruel acts to animals. Animal cruelty therefore is abuse-related. As objects, animals are abused signifiers of violence between humans. There are two main rationales as to why children commit animal cruelty. The first focuses on the psychological and sociological characteristics of children or assaultive children, that is, who assault animals and the other on the developmental relationship between the abuse of animals by children and adolescents and, subsequently, their eventual maturation into violent adults. Animal cruelty is now included in the description of conduct disorder. Assaultive children appear to be overwhelmingly young, male, and of normal intelligence and are themselves often physically abused at home. Assaultive children often live in a family situation of spouse abuse. Other researches focus on the relationship between the abuse of animals in childhood and adolescence, on the one hand, and the concurrent and/or consequent development of antisocial, aggressive, or criminal tendencies among adults on the other. Particular focus should be given on young African-American males. African American families are more frequently expose to violence and many forms of abuse compared to other minority groups such as Caucasians. Child physical abuse and neglect, for instance, were evident in poor, less educated African-American families. National survey of children and adolescents estimated physical rates for African-American families that is slightly higher above those Caucasian families. Family victimization level for African-American children is also six times higher than national prevalence estimates. African-American parents also make use of belts, cords, straps and switches to punch their children. Further, partner abuse is also apparent in African-American family settings. African-American women are 1.23 times were more likely to experience abuse that Caucasian women and more than twice as likely to be victims of severe violence (Lutzker, 2008). Animal abuse is a signifier of violence between humans as animals represent as objects that signify the presence of a psychologistic defect of human character particularly for children who can be considered as assaultive (Bierne, 2003). Further, the relationship between the abuse of animals in childhood and adolescence, on the one hand, and the concurrent and/or consequent development of antisocial, aggressive, or criminal tendencies among adults on the other is common that it cannot be ignored (Ascione, 1993). Established patterns of behavior in the adolescents are developed in their childhood which is greatly influenced by the immediate environment. Violence towards animals tends to exist when there is violence particularly toward children. The vortex of violence almost always points to the fact that cruelty to animals is a sign that the child or the adolescent has been exposed to violence or abuse (Boat, 1995). More often than not animal abuse is linked to domestic violence (Faver and Strand, 2003). Assaultive children often live in a family situation where abuse is apparent although the frequency is not known (as cited in Bierne, 2003). Thereby, there is a developmental relationship between the abuse of animals, extent of violence exposure and eventual maturation into violent adults. Animal cruelty is also now associated with multiple personality and dissociative disorders. Nevertheless, what makes analysis difficult is the fact that the question of why some children assault animals has not yet been subjected to sociological analysis. In what ways and to what extent does growing in a violent environment makes an adolescent cruel to animals is not known. This is particularly true in the criminological discourse wherein animal cruelty brought by precedent exposure of violence receives little attention. Beirne (2003) acknowledge this fact by stating that scholarly studies of animal abuse remain virtually non-existent and that the topic is completely ignored in criminology textbooks. Miller and Knutson (1997) found out that prisoners have been exposed to animal cruelty as children and it is a prevalent behavior in sexual murderers as well (Ressler et al, 1986). As such, it is worth stressing that animal abuse enters criminological discourse here as a signifier of violence between humans (Bierne, 2003). Precisely because animals remain inadequately theorized in criminology, there is a necessity to determine how animal cruelty and physical abuse could lead to interhuman violence. The causations will be determined in three aspects, the first being the linkage between exposure to physical abuse and animal cruelty among young African-American males. Animal cruelty is symptomatic of a violent personality that was honed due to repetitive exposure to physical abuse. However, conduct disorder of children leading to animal cruelty is increasingly becoming common and the pattern is alarming. Second, the same violent practice witnessed by the young African-American males could be the main reason for inflicting cruel acts to animals. This could be considered as antisocial personality disorders which lead to the development of aggressive behaviors. Third, animal cruelty is embedded on both family and child factors. Animal abuse is often coupled with discovery of human abuse.

Animal Cruelty and Human Violence: A Qualitative Study

Advanced Methods in Research Animal Cruelty and Human Violence How does exposure to physical abuse as an African-American young male...