Companion animal bereavement: Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire

Abstract

This work provides psychometric data on the validity and reliability of the Spanish adaptation of the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire (PBQ), as well as information on the intensity of bereavement in the Spanish population. The study evaluated 333 Spanish participants of legal age (M = 31.5; SD = 11.6), mostly women (76.3%). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested the adequacy of three different structures present in literature, finding better fit indexes for a model that kept the original three-factor structure (grief, guilt, and anger) but rearranged 2 of the 16 items. Around 70% of participants reported signs of intense bereavement on the grief scale, with higher means among women. The results confirm adequate psychometric qualities of the PBQ, offering healthcare professionals a tool to evaluate bereavement intensity after the loss of a companion animal in Spanish samples.

Acknowledgements

The authors want to show their gratitude to Dr. Melissa G. Hunt for allowing us to use the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire in this study; and to Dr. Ines Testoni and Dr. Lucia Ronconi for providing unpublished data to complete comparisons to Italian sample.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.