Research on human–animal relationships suggests that close bonds with animals can enhance empathy, reduce speciesism, and improve human physical and psychological health. This study investigated whether pet ownership—particularly attachment to a companion animal during childhood—is associated with differences in moral concerns toward all
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Research on human–animal relationships suggests that close bonds with animals can enhance empathy, reduce speciesism, and improve human physical and psychological health. This study investigated whether pet ownership—particularly attachment to a companion animal during childhood—is associated with differences in moral concerns toward all animals in adulthood. It also aimed to explore the potential effects of empathy and speciesism on overall moral concerns toward animals. Using self-report questionnaires among 72 participants recruited online, the analyses revealed a significant effect of animal categories on moral concerns, F(1, 1.98) = 59.37,
p < 0.001. Mean moral concern scores were significantly higher for companion animals (M = 6.04, SD = 1.15) than for food animals (M = 4.90, SD = 1.44), unappealing wild animals (M = 4.20, SD = 1.87), and appealing wild animals (M = 5.73, SD = 1.32),
p < 0.05. Additionally, childhood pet owners reported greater moral concerns for all animals, F(1, 1.98) = 4.87,
η2 = 0.065,
p < 0.05. Attachment to a companion animal in childhood was positively correlated with moral concerns for all animal categories. Finally, although attachment and empathy were both positively related to moral concern, only attachment was a significant predictor (
p < 0.05). Further research is needed to understand the psychological mechanisms influencing views on animal rights and welfare.
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