Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds
Only a few birds besides domestic pigeons and poultry can be described as domesticated. Therefore, keeping a pet bird can be challenging, and the human-avian relationship will have a major influence on the quality of this cohabitation. Studies that focus on characterizing the owner-bird relationship...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.575221/full |
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| author | Anne-Kathrin Burmeister Katrin Drasch Monika Rinder Sebastian Prechsl Andrea Peschel Rüdiger Korbel Nicole J. Saam |
| author_facet | Anne-Kathrin Burmeister Katrin Drasch Monika Rinder Sebastian Prechsl Andrea Peschel Rüdiger Korbel Nicole J. Saam |
| author_sort | Anne-Kathrin Burmeister |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Only a few birds besides domestic pigeons and poultry can be described as domesticated. Therefore, keeping a pet bird can be challenging, and the human-avian relationship will have a major influence on the quality of this cohabitation. Studies that focus on characterizing the owner-bird relationship generally use adapted cat/dog scales which may not identify its specific features. Following a sociological approach, a concept of human-animal relationship was developed leading to three types of human-animal relationship (impersonal, personal, and close personal). This concept was used to develop a 21-item owner-bird-relationship scale (OBRS). This scale was applied to measure the relationship between pet bird owners (or keepers) (n = 1,444) and their birds in an online survey performed in Germany. Factor analysis revealed that the relationship between owner and bird consisted of four dimensions: the tendency of the owner to anthropomorphize the bird; the social support the bird provides for the owner; the empathy, attentiveness, and respect of the owner toward the bird; and the relationship of the bird toward the owner. More than one quarter of the German bird owners of this sample showed an impersonal, half a personal, and less than a quarter a close personal relationship to their bird. The relationship varied with the socio-demographic characteristics of the owners, such as gender, marital status, and education. This scale supports more comprehensive quantitative research into the human-bird relationship in the broad field of human-animal studies including the psychology and sociology of animals as well as animal welfare and veterinary medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T05:27:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2efd671d4da1479ebfe936525a0378f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T05:27:32Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-2efd671d4da1479ebfe936525a0378f92022-12-21T23:15:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692020-12-01710.3389/fvets.2020.575221575221Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet BirdsAnne-Kathrin Burmeister0Katrin Drasch1Monika Rinder2Sebastian Prechsl3Andrea Peschel4Rüdiger Korbel5Nicole J. Saam6Center for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, GermanyInstitute of Sociology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, GermanyCenter for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, GermanyInstitute of Sociology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, GermanyCenter for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, GermanyCenter for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles and Ornamental Fish, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, GermanyInstitute of Sociology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, GermanyOnly a few birds besides domestic pigeons and poultry can be described as domesticated. Therefore, keeping a pet bird can be challenging, and the human-avian relationship will have a major influence on the quality of this cohabitation. Studies that focus on characterizing the owner-bird relationship generally use adapted cat/dog scales which may not identify its specific features. Following a sociological approach, a concept of human-animal relationship was developed leading to three types of human-animal relationship (impersonal, personal, and close personal). This concept was used to develop a 21-item owner-bird-relationship scale (OBRS). This scale was applied to measure the relationship between pet bird owners (or keepers) (n = 1,444) and their birds in an online survey performed in Germany. Factor analysis revealed that the relationship between owner and bird consisted of four dimensions: the tendency of the owner to anthropomorphize the bird; the social support the bird provides for the owner; the empathy, attentiveness, and respect of the owner toward the bird; and the relationship of the bird toward the owner. More than one quarter of the German bird owners of this sample showed an impersonal, half a personal, and less than a quarter a close personal relationship to their bird. The relationship varied with the socio-demographic characteristics of the owners, such as gender, marital status, and education. This scale supports more comprehensive quantitative research into the human-bird relationship in the broad field of human-animal studies including the psychology and sociology of animals as well as animal welfare and veterinary medicine.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.575221/fullhuman-animal relationshippet birdscompanion birdscaleanthropomorphismsocial support (MeSH term) |
| spellingShingle | Anne-Kathrin Burmeister Katrin Drasch Monika Rinder Sebastian Prechsl Andrea Peschel Rüdiger Korbel Nicole J. Saam Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds Frontiers in Veterinary Science human-animal relationship pet birds companion bird scale anthropomorphism social support (MeSH term) |
| title | Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds |
| title_full | Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds |
| title_fullStr | Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds |
| title_short | Development and Application of the Owner-Bird Relationship Scale (OBRS) to Assess the Relation of Humans to Their Pet Birds |
| title_sort | development and application of the owner bird relationship scale obrs to assess the relation of humans to their pet birds |
| topic | human-animal relationship pet birds companion bird scale anthropomorphism social support (MeSH term) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.575221/full |
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