Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation
The aim of this study is to develop an Italian translation of the 100-item Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) version and to validate its psychometric properties, in order to facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on dog behavior for Italian-speaking dog owners. A t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1254 |
| _version_ | 1797608380578136064 |
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| author | Anna Broseghini Cécile Guérineau Miina Lõoke Chiara Mariti James Serpell Lieta Marinelli Paolo Mongillo |
| author_facet | Anna Broseghini Cécile Guérineau Miina Lõoke Chiara Mariti James Serpell Lieta Marinelli Paolo Mongillo |
| author_sort | Anna Broseghini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this study is to develop an Italian translation of the 100-item Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) version and to validate its psychometric properties, in order to facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on dog behavior for Italian-speaking dog owners. A total number of 803 responses by dog owners were collected online. Using the Principal Axis Method and Common Factor Analysis with Quartimin oblique rotation (<i>p</i> < 0.05), a factorial structure was found including 13 factors composed of 62 items and explaining 53.5% of the total variance. Eight factors showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70), namely: stranger-directed aggression/fear, dog-directed fear, owner-directed aggression, separation-related behavior, chasing, dog-directed aggression, attachment/attention seeking, and elimination problems. Three factors were slightly under the threshold and two had only modest reliability (non-social fear, energy level, touch sensitivity, excitability and trainability). A potential explanation for factors with low reliability is that the composing items do not describe behaviors resulting from homogeneous stimuli or situations. Although our factorial structure resembled in most respects that of the most recently published Canadian version, some important exceptions are present regarding dog rivalry, intraspecific aggression, fear/aggression towards strangers, touch sensitivity and chewing inappropriate objects. Such differences may be due to demographic and/or cultural differences between the sampled populations. Overall, the results suggest that a 62-item Italian C-BARQ can be reliably used in studies on dog behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:43:38Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:43:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-3897920c68364f80bbf53c2365ac4c132023-11-17T16:14:53ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-04-01137125410.3390/ani13071254Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian TranslationAnna Broseghini0Cécile Guérineau1Miina Lõoke2Chiara Mariti3James Serpell4Lieta Marinelli5Paolo Mongillo6Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Università di Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, PI, ItalySchool of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3900 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyThe aim of this study is to develop an Italian translation of the 100-item Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) version and to validate its psychometric properties, in order to facilitate systematic, large-scale studies on dog behavior for Italian-speaking dog owners. A total number of 803 responses by dog owners were collected online. Using the Principal Axis Method and Common Factor Analysis with Quartimin oblique rotation (<i>p</i> < 0.05), a factorial structure was found including 13 factors composed of 62 items and explaining 53.5% of the total variance. Eight factors showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70), namely: stranger-directed aggression/fear, dog-directed fear, owner-directed aggression, separation-related behavior, chasing, dog-directed aggression, attachment/attention seeking, and elimination problems. Three factors were slightly under the threshold and two had only modest reliability (non-social fear, energy level, touch sensitivity, excitability and trainability). A potential explanation for factors with low reliability is that the composing items do not describe behaviors resulting from homogeneous stimuli or situations. Although our factorial structure resembled in most respects that of the most recently published Canadian version, some important exceptions are present regarding dog rivalry, intraspecific aggression, fear/aggression towards strangers, touch sensitivity and chewing inappropriate objects. Such differences may be due to demographic and/or cultural differences between the sampled populations. Overall, the results suggest that a 62-item Italian C-BARQ can be reliably used in studies on dog behavior.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1254aggressionanxietybehavioral problemsdogquestionnaire |
| spellingShingle | Anna Broseghini Cécile Guérineau Miina Lõoke Chiara Mariti James Serpell Lieta Marinelli Paolo Mongillo Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation Animals aggression anxiety behavioral problems dog questionnaire |
| title | Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation |
| title_full | Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation |
| title_fullStr | Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation |
| title_short | Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation |
| title_sort | canine behavioral assessment and research questionnaire c barq validation of the italian translation |
| topic | aggression anxiety behavioral problems dog questionnaire |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/7/1254 |
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