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The Construction of a Pet Attitude Scale

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Abstract

An 18-item Likert-format Pet Attitude Scale was developed. It was found to have a Chronbach’s Alpha of.93 and test-retest reliability of .92. Correlations with the Mini-Mult, Eysenck Personality Inventory, Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, and the Personality Research Form were determined. Varimax rotation yielded three factors, labeled love and interaction, pets in home, and joy of pet ownership. Kennel workers had significantly higher scores than social work students, an indication of criterion-oriented validity as well as face validity.

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References Note

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Appreciation is extended to Barbara Westerfield and Joyce Malone of the Fresno SPCA for their assistance in obtaining subjects, to Gene Steinhauer for his help in the factor analysis, and to Mary Ellen Morris for her assistance in questionnaire scoring and data tabulation.

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Templer, D.I., Salter, C.A., Dickey, S. et al. The Construction of a Pet Attitude Scale. Psychol Rec 31, 343–348 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394747

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