Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025
09:12
The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
Published on: July 4, 2013
72.3K
Bestiality Among Sexually Violent Predators
Brian Holoyda1, Ravipreet Gosal2, K Michelle Welch2
1Dr. Holoyda is a forensic psychiatrist, Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Gosal is a Resident in the Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. Ms. Welch is Senior Assistant Attorney General, State of Virginia Office of the Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia. holoyda@gmail.com.
Summary
Bestiality, or sexual contact between humans and animals, was found in 2.6% of sexually violent predators in Virginia. These individuals had higher rates of childhood sexual abuse and animal abuse.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Criminology
Background:
- Bestiality is poorly understood, with limited research on prevalence, motivations, and associated risks.
- Scientific literature lacks data on the intersection of bestiality and sexually violent offending.
Purpose of the Study:
- To descriptively analyze the prevalence and characteristics of bestiality among sexually violent predators (SVPs) in Virginia.
- To investigate correlations between bestiality and other forms of abuse and offending behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Descriptive analysis of 1,248 SVPs in Virginia (2003-2017).
- Examination of records for history of bestiality, childhood sexual abuse, animal abuse, and child sexual abuse.
Main Results:
- 33 (2.6%) SVPs had a history of bestiality.
- SVPs with bestiality history were more likely to be childhood sexual abuse victims (P < .005), engage in animal abuse (P < .0001), and commit child sexual abuse (P < .005).
- Most common animal sexual contact was with dogs; other atypical sexual behaviors were noted.
Conclusions:
- The 2.6% prevalence suggests potential underreporting of bestiality by offenders.
- Childhood sexual victimization is a significant correlate of bestiality in SVPs, warranting further investigation.
- More research is needed to understand human-animal sexual interactions in SVPs and other populations.
Related Concept Videos
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
20.9K
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.
20.9K
01:23Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
262
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
262
01:47Aggression
30.0K
Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for...
30.0K
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
379
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
379
02:20Milgram's Obedience to Authority
7.1K
Obedience to authority is classically demonstrated in a more famous series of social psychology experiments performed by Stanley Milgram. He was a social psychology professor at Yale who was influenced by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Eichmann’s defense for the atrocities he committed was that he was “just following orders.”
7.1K
00:54What is Behavior?
9.9K
Behaviors are actions that an organism engages in—they can be related to finding food, reproducing, defending against threats, and many other possible actions. Behaviors include activities related to the environment around the animal—such as migration—as well as social interactions within a species or population. Many behaviors involve motor output—that is, muscle movements—while others involve less visible actions, such as learning.
9.9K