Young Children's Companion Animal Bonding and Adults' Pet Attitudes: A Retrospective Study

Poresky, Robert H.; Hendrix, Charles C.; Mosier, Jacob E.; Samuelson, Marvin L.

doi:10.2466/pr0.1988.62.2.419

Cited by 56 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Although past pet ownership is known to be linked to future pet ownership [54,55], this variable has not always included in studies of factors associated with pet ownership. A limitation of our data set was that we do not know the individual pet types that were owned previously.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Pet Ownership during Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort and Implications for Public Health Research

Westgarth

Heron

Ness

et al. 2010

IJERPH

105

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In developed nations, approximately half of household environments contain pets. Studies of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) have proposed that there are health benefits and risks associated with pet ownership. However, accurately demonstrating and understanding these relationships first requires a better knowledge of factors associated with ownership of different pet types. A UK birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), were used to collect pet ownership data from the mothers, from gestation to child age 10 years old. 14,663 children were included in the study, of which mothers of 13,557 reported pet information at gestation, and 7,800 by age 10. Pet types recorded include cat, dog, rabbit, rodent, bird, fish and tortoise/turtle. The dataset also contains a number of demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural variables relevant to human health behaviour. Logistic regression was used to build multivariable models for ownership of each pet type at age 7 years. Family pet ownership increased during childhood, in particular rabbits, rodents and fish. A number of socioeconomic and demographic factors were associated with ownership of different pet types and the effects differed depending on the pet type studied. Variables which require consideration by researchers include gender, presence of older siblings, ethnicity, maternal and paternal education, maternal and paternal social class, maternal age, number of people in the household, house type, and concurrent ownership of other pets. Whether the mother had pets during her childhood was a strong predictor of pet ownership in all models. In HAI studies, care should be taken to control for confounding factors, and to treat each pet type individually. ALSPAC and other similar birth cohorts can be considered a potential resource for research into the effects of pet ownership during childhood.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Pet Ownership during Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort and Implications for Public Health Research

Westgarth

Heron

Ness

et al. 2010

IJERPH

105

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“…Ascione (1992Ascione ( , 1996 found that Cronbach's alpha for the PAS to be between .61 and .82. An 8-item scale, the CABS was also developed by Poresky, Hendrix, Mosier, and Samuelson (1987) to measure behaviors and relationships toward one's companion animals. Th e scale primarily asks about the extent to which one is personally responsible for the companion animals' care and the amount of time one spends engaging in various activities with them.…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poresky, Hendrix, Mosier, and Samuelson (1988); Poresky and Hendrix (1990); and Poresky (1996) found that preschoolers with companion animals in their homes tended to have higher empathy scores than did preschoolers without companion animals in the home. Poresky also found that the richer the bond with a child's companion animals, the greater was that child's empathy toward other children.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Both Poresky (1996) and Bjerke, Odergårdstuen, and Kaltenborn (1998) found that children with pets tended to view animals more favorably than did children without pets. Most relevant, Ascione and Weber (1996) found that the effectiveness of a humane-education program to enhance children's empathy toward animals was modulated by children's attachment to/behavior toward animals, as measured by Poresky, Hendrix, Mosier, and Samuelson's (1987) Companion Animal Bonding Scale (CABS). Daly and Morton (2003), however, failed to find a difference in reported attachment to animals (CABS scores) between children with pets in their homes and children without pets in their homes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An In-class, Humane Education Program Can Improve Young Students' Attitudes Toward Animals

Nicoll

Trifone

Samuels³

2008

Soc Animals

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All 8 first-grade classes of an elementary school participated in a study of the efficacy of an inclass humane education program that incorporated regular visits from therapy animals. Th e study also investigated the relative efficacy of a popular, printed humane-education publication, although it was not possible to use this printed material in its optimal manner. Th e in-class humane-education program-but not the printed material-significantly increased students' self-reported attitudes toward nonhuman animals as compared to those of students who did not participate in the program. However, neither the in-class program nor the printed material affected student scores on another, self-report measure of interactions with one's nonhuman animal companions. Th erefore, the results suggest that such an in-class approach can change young students' attitudes toward animals for the better; not surprisingly, actual interactions with one's pets may be somewhat less tractable.

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“…Among children, the most commonly owned animals are fish and small mammals, such as rabbits, guinea-pigs, and gerbils (Paul 1992), although children's favourite pets are dogs and cats (Amatora 1960, Bryant 1990, Bucke 1903, Kidd and Kidd 1985, Paul 1992, Poresky et al 1988, Siegmund and Biermann 1988. Children with fewer siblings or no younger siblings tend to own more pets than those with many siblings or older siblings; eight to twelve year olds own more pets than four to seven year olds or thirteen to sixteen year olds; children from rural areas own more than those from urban regions; and children with parents who have a positive attitude towards pets own more than those who have parents with negative attitudes toward pets (Paul 1992, Paul andSerpell 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes to Animal use in Children

Wells

Hepper

1995

Anthrozoös

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Six hundred and fifty children, aged between 11 and 15 years, from an urban and a rural area, completed a questionnaire in which they provided information regarding their attitudes towards 13 issues involving the use of animals. Information regarding the pets the children owned was also obtained. The child's sex (male, female), age (11-15 years), and residence area (urban, rural) were related to pet ownership, and, including pet ownership, to attitudes towards the use of animals. Over 90% of the sample owned a pet, with the dog being the most common. More pets were owned by children from rural than urban areas. With regards to the animal-use issues, all the children discriminated between animal uses that lead to death of or injury to the animal and those regarded as exploitation. Children disagreed more with uses leading to the animal's death or injury. Females expressed more disagreement than males, and children from urban areas expressed more disagreement than children from rural settings. The study revealed pet ownership to be high among school children. This was matched by a high concern over activities leading to the animal's death or injury, indicating that strong attitudes to animal use are formed early during development. Early education may be important in shaping these attitudes.

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Young Children's Companion Animal Bonding and Adults' Pet Attitudes: A Retrospective Study

Cited by 56 publications

References 6 publications

Family Pet Ownership during Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort and Implications for Public Health Research

Family Pet Ownership during Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort and Implications for Public Health Research

An In-class, Humane Education Program Can Improve Young Students' Attitudes Toward Animals

Attitudes to Animal use in Children

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