Design and validation of the animal welfare scale: Emotional education of children to prevent abuse

Abstract

It is important to have reliable instruments that can evaluate the attitude towards animal welfare of elementary school students. The abuse or mistreatment of children towards vulnerable groups deserves full attention, therefore we emphasize that animals constitute a vulnerable group that needs further studies. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study aimed to validate the design of a scale that measures the attitude towards animal welfare (ABA) in 100 students from fourth to sixth grade of elementary school. It includes children between 9 to 12 years old residents of communities in the state of Sonora, Mexico.  The factor analysis yielded two factors that explain 39.32% of the total variance with a Keizer-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index of 0.86 and high internal consistency index for the total scale (0.90) and the subscales. Additionally, the confirmatory factor analysis produced an adequate practical and statistical fit in the covariance model and the second order model. The covariance analysis also evidenced convergent and divergent validity. Comparison analyzes by groups showed that sex and school grade do not influence attitudes in favor or against the animal species. Finally, we found that older children living in an extended family develop better attitudes in favor of animal care and protection.