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ways the disparate strands of thought from the biophysical sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.
Lisa Anne Zilney is a young scholar in the vanguard of this new subfield. This volume, as well as her articles and professional service activities, establish her credentials.
In this book, Dr. Zilney examines the links between humans and nonhuman animals in their shared environment. This work devolves from studies of battered women in shelters as well as research on correlates of violent behavior reported by prisoner samples. She poses the question: does youthful participation in, or observation of, violence against animals increase the likelihood that the individual will act aggressively against humans as an adult? Sustaining such an argument has useful applications.
An established connection between youthful animal abuse and adult abusive behavior sets up a diagnostic protocol that clinicians (physicians, psychologists, and social workers), teachers, and police can use in generating databases to monitor family abuse and, perhaps, explain some types of homicide. Indicators that facilitate longitudinal monitoring of potential perpetrators of violent crimes could reduce the levels of victimization in society. This type of research not only contributes to the criminology and social problems literatures but also suggests a new avenue of thought and research in the environmental sociology literature. Rather than viewing animal rights as simply a gooey form of environmental activism that many people find easy to scorn (“hey, dogs are people too, dude!”), a truly sociological lens is focused on the intrinsic connection between humans and their nonhuman counterparts to suggest that human abuse