Human Animal Bond Assessment The term ‘human-animal bond,’ has become a popular way to refer to the relationship between human beings and their pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) defines ‘human-animal bond’ as, “a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well being of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of people, other animals, and the environment.” (AVMA, 1988, p. 257). Learn about the strength of your bond with animals by taking the human-animal bond assessment. If you have already taken the assessment in preparation for the Community Pet Chaplain workshop, congratulations! Now comes the interesting part: learning the strength of your companion-animal bond and your attitude toward pets. If not, give it a try. You may be surprised by your results. Procedures are listed below to compile your results for the surveys located at the following links: Companion Animal Bond Scale (CABS)
According to the authors of the CABS survey, it is an eight-item instrument used to measure the extent of human-animal activities. CABS focuses on the quality of the relationship between the human and the pet based on evidence that shows bonding between humans and animals can have a positive effect on humans, such as reducing feelings of alienation and lonliness. (1987, Poresky, Hendrix, Mosier, Samuelson). To compile the results for the CABS survey, simply add your total score for all eight items. Your total score is the sum of the answers. The top score is 40. The closer is you score to 40, the stronger is your companion-animal bond. Pet Attitude Scale - Modified (PAS-M)The PAS-M survey, developed by Templer, et al. (1981) and Munsell, et al. (2004), is a reliable test of your feelings toward pets and pet ownership. To compile the results of the PAS-M survey, do the following steps: - Reverse score items 4, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 17 (for example, if you selected 7, change it to 1; if you selected 6, change it to 2; if you selected 5, change it to 3; if you selected 4, leave it unchanged).
- After reversing the scores, sum just these items (4, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 17).
- Next, sum the remaining 11 items.
- Finally, add the two sums together to get your total pet attitude score.
Pet attitude scores may range from 18 (lowest) to 126 (highest). The higher the score, the more positive your attitude toward pets. |
