Published in Animals, the study by Anna Broseghini, Cécile Guérineau, and colleagues addresses the need for linguistically and culturally appropriate behavioral assessment tools. The C-BARQ is widely used internationally, but translated versions must undergo rigorous validation to confirm that factors and items function as intended across populations.
The researchers collected 803 online responses from Italian dog owners and performed Principal Axis Factoring with Quartimin oblique rotation. Their analysis produced a 13-factor structure consisting of 62 items, explaining 53.5% of total variance. This structure aligns substantially with the original English version and prior international adaptations, indicating strong cross-cultural robustness.
Eight factors showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.70): • Stranger-directed aggression/fear • Dog-directed fear • Owner-directed aggression • Separation-related behavior • Chasing • Dog-directed aggression • Attachment/attention seeking • Elimination problems
Several factors showed slightly lower or modest reliability, such as non-social fear, energy level, touch sensitivity, excitability, and trainability, likely due to items capturing behaviors that arise across varied contexts rather than homogeneous stimuli.
The Italian factorial structure differed from the English version in notable ways: • Stranger-directed fear and aggression combined into a single factor. • Dog rivalry, present in the English version, did not emerge. • Dog-directed aggression and touch sensitivity appeared as distinct factors despite not being present in the current English structure.
These divergences may reflect cultural, demographic, or owner-reporting differences within the Italian population. Nonetheless, the substantial overlap with international findings supports the reliability of the 62-item Italian C-BARQ for research applications.
Source: Broseghini, A., Guérineau, C., & colleagues. (2023). Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ): Validation of the Italian Translation. Animals. Published April 1, 2023.
