Chinese University Students' Attitudes Toward the Ethical Treatment and Welfare of Animals

An important step in ensuring ethical animal treatment and welfare is to understand people's attitudes toward them. However, research is lacking from some Asian countries, such as China. This needs improvement. In this study I asked Chinese university students about their attitudes toward animal welfare issues. The students reported strong concern for the treatment of animals across a broad spectrum of issues, although the level of concern varied according to the issue. The results are in agreement with recent research showing that Chinese society displays generally positive attitudes and behaviors toward animal welfare initiatives. This study, combined with previous work reported in the literature, suggests that the Chinese public is perhaps philosophically ready to accept and support the urgent changes needed to improve animal welfare standards in their country.     

Attitudes Toward Animal Use

Abstract

Four hundred and ninety-five people completed a questionnaire in which they rated 35 specific examples of uses of different species of animals on a 5-point scale of acceptabilityunacceptability. Ratings depended on both the particular example used (medical research, behavioral research, product-testing research, use for educational purposes, use for luxury garments, or animals as pests) and the species involved. Examples using dogs, cats, or monkeys were rated less acceptable than those using rats or mice, nonmammalian vertebrates, or invertebrates. Examples in which animals were used to make luxury garments were rated the most unacceptable and educational uses of animals and behavioral research were the most acceptable. Ratings of examples were very consistent within individuals, leading to the conclusion that a person's attitude toward animals may represent a unitary characteristic. Gender, age, pet ownership, and religious affiliation were all significantly related to attitude toward animals, as determined by averaging responses to the 35 examples together for each respondent, but all of these variables combined accounted for less than 5% of the variability in ratings.     

Patient Attitudes Toward Physician's Assistants

A study was conducted in urban Los Angeles to assess patient acceptance of the use of physician''s assistants. Data collection was facilitated by the development of an attitude scale and responses were analyzed to determine differences between various socioeconomic stratifications. With a few exceptions, acceptance was highest among non-married middle-class respondents who have had some exposure to college. As to the perceived complexity of procedures a physician''s assistant might perform, 91 percent of all respondents would not object to injections administered by a physician''s assistant, but this tolerance diminishes to 34 percent in the case of first examination of a patient by a physician''s assistant if there appeared to be a serious head injury.     

Development of the Attitudes Toward Vegetarians Scale

Abstract

Studies have explored the motivations behind the decision to become vegetarian, and have explored the well being of vegetarians. However, little research has focused on the social psychological and interpersonal aspects of vegetarianism. The focus of this study was to develop a scale designed to measure attitudes toward vegetarians (ATVS). This scale measures a one-factor construct with adequate internal consistency. The ATVS correlated significantly with the construct of authoritarianism, and, as expected, the ATVS did not correlate significantly with social desirability. In addition, attitudes toward vegetarians were found to be generally positive. The positive attitudes toward vegetarians may be the result of using a college student population that was overwhelmingly female.     

Osteoporosis and Dental Osteopenia in the Elderly1

Osteoporosis is a common, morbid, and expensive disease of the elderly skeleton, particularly in the postmenopausal female, resulting in fractures of the spine, hip, and wrist. Dental osteopenia (inadequate bone mass, particularly of the mandible) is also a condition of significant morbidity for the elderly, associated with loss of teeth and poorly fitting dentures. Questions of immediate concern regarding these disorders are: (1) Are techniques available for quantitating mandibular bone mass? (2) Is dental osteopenia a localized manifestation of a generalized skeletal osteoporosis, with similar etiologies and risk factors, or is it an entirely separate disease process, due primarily to periodontal disease with its associated causal factors? (3) Are therapeutic measures noted to be of benefit in osteoporosis also of benefit in dental osteopenia? Recent studies from our laboratories address these questions and indicate efficiency of the mandibular microdensitometry technique for measuring mandibular bone mass. Also, these studies suggest that dental osteopenia is part of a generalized skeletal osteoporosis of the elderly female, and that therapy for osteoporosis would possibly be of value in the treatment of dental osteopenia.     

Attitudes Toward Animals: Origins and Diversity

Abstract

It would be difficult to overestimate the significance of animals in the social and psychological life of our species. Images of animals are everywhere: in our language, religions, dreams, television programs, and folklore. The feelings that we exhibit toward our fellow creatures are intense, complex, and paradoxical. Responses to animals range from the disgust we feel when confronted with a bloated tick to the reverence for animals as deities in so-called primitive cultures; from the love of a child for a pet bunny to the paralyzing fear of phobic experiences when confronted by a harmless spider.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in human-animal relationships by investigators from a variety of disciplines. We will not attempt a synthesis of the growing literature on attitudes toward animals, but will follow a different course. For the past decade we have been exploring the diversity and origins of human-animal relationships, and our research has taken us into some rather odd places: cockfights in the United States and Latin America, slaughterhouses, and most recently, the world of supermarket check-out-counter magazines. In this article, we will summarize some of our findings and speculations that bear on the subject of attitudes toward animals. We will also briefly examine alternative methods of gathering information that do justice to the richness of human experience with animals.     

Attitudes Toward Weight Gain in Pregnancy

Recently, there has been increased interest in the influence of maternal prenatal nutrition on the course and outcome of pregnancy. Evidence has accumulated that a woman''s weight before pregnancy and the weight gained during pregnancy directly affect infant birth weight, incidence of neonatal mortality, and growth and development of the infant during the first year of life. Although recent recommendations for weight gain in pregnancy have been liberalized, a survey of 195 pregnant women who had prenatal visits in both clinic and private offices showed deficiencies in their understanding of the subject. Some 37 percent of women believed they should gain 20 pounds (9 kg) or less during pregnancy. Eight percent admitted to dieting before at least one antenatal visit and 54 percent thought their doctor would not be concerned about too little weight gained during pregnancy. This suggests that many women and some doctors are still ignorant of current concepts of proper nutrition during pregnancy. Apparently, increased lay and professional educational efforts are needed.     

Attitudes Toward Animals Among Norwegian Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Attitudes towards a wide range of animals were measured among a sample of 562 children and adolescents, aged between 9 and 15 years, from one urban and two rural areas in Southern Norway. The respondents completed a questionnaire based on Kellert's (1996) attitude typology toward animals. The results showed that the humanistic attitude type ranked first, followed by the moralistic, ecologistic, naturalistic, negativistic, dominionistic, and utilitarian attitude types. Gender differences appeared on the moralistic and negativistic (girls highest), and the naturalistic, dominionistic, and utilitarian (boys highest) sub-scales. Scores on the ecologistic, naturalistic, and dominionistic sub-scales decreased with increasing age. Urban respondents had higher moralistic, and rural respondents had higher dominionistic sub-scale scores. Respondents who owned a pet had higher humanistic, moralistic, and lower utilitarian sub-scale scores than had non-owners.     

The Genesis and Correlates of Attitudes Toward Pets

Abstract

Pet Attitude Scale score (Templer, Salter, Dickey, Baldwin, and Veleber 1981) of adolescents was best predicted both in univariate and multivariate analyses by Pet Attitude Scale score of the adolescent's mother and by the presence or absence of a pet in the home. The pet attitude of daughters correlated more highly with the pet attitude of their mothers and their fathers than did the pet attitude of the sons. A noteworthy finding was the virtual absence of any relationship between pet attitude of fathers and pet attitude of sons. Other variables associated with higher pet attitudes of adolescents included not being afraid of animals, and on the Family Environment Scale, more expressiveness, more independence, less achievement orientation, and less control. Pet contact in school was not related to adolescent pet attitude.     

Attitudes of Obstetric and Gynecologic Residents Toward Abortion

As a follow-up to Wolf''s study of attitudes of obstetrical housestaff toward therapeutic abortion,⁵ the attitudes of 48 obstetrical residents in the San Francisco Bay area were evaluated by questionnaire and structured interview. Specific issues studied were: (1) Willingness to perform therapeutic abortion, (2) impact of therapeutic abortion on Resident Training Program, (3) attitudes toward different operational procedures, and (4) preferred physician-patient relationship with therapeutic abortion patients. Findings suggest that although there is recognition and acceptance by most residents of the social need for therapeutic abortion, considerable ambivalence persists.     

The Epidemiology of Dental Diseases in the Elderly1

This paper summarizes and evaluates epidemiologic evidence on adult dental conditions with a focus on older adults. Information is presented on coronal caries; root caries; loss of teeth, attrition, abrasion, and erosion; periodontal diseases; and oral cancer. The author concludes that the oral health status of the elderly in the United States is essentially unknown. There are no recent, representative population base studies of oral conditions in the elderly. Studies of prevalence or incidence of oral diseases typically include few elderly persons or describe a select group of elderly who are at high risk. Furthermore, it is not really known whether the incidence and prevalence of coronal caries or root caries is actually increasing or is part of a cohort effect. While oral cancers have been shown to increase with age, there is no information as to whether their incidence rates are increasing. While, clinically, there are indications that attrition, abrasion and erosion are characteristics that are more likely to be seen in older adults, there is no information about their distribution in the population. There is evidence that loss of teeth is decreasing but nothing is known about the patterning of that loss. As for periodontal diseases, much work is needed to identify various syndromes that may be distinguished by their distribution in the population as well as determining whether periodontitis is a condition responsible for a majority of tooth loss or just the majority of tooth loss in a small high risk group. In addition, some suggestions are presented for future directions of research in this area.     

Body Size Perceptions and Eating Attitudes in Elderly Men

The majority of studies on eating attitudes, dieting and body size perceptions have focused on young adults and women. This study examined these attitudes in 334 black and white men, ages 55 to 98 years, who were members of the Charleston Heart Study cohort. Associations of the eating attitude variable with race, education and weight status were examined. Eighty-two percent of the overweight white men studied had dieted to lose weight, whereas only 49% of slimmer white men had dieted. In contrast, overweight black men did not diet more than slimmer black men. Overall black men dieted less than white men (37% reported dieting). Black men who were high school graduates were 1.3 times more likely to have dieted than were less educated black men. Overweight white men were over twice as likely as slimmer white men to feel guilty after overeating. This difference was not found in overweight versus slimmer black men. Education was not associated with measured body mass index (BMI) or perceived or ideal body size. However, there were some racial differences in these variables. White men preferred to be slightly thinner than black men (ideal BMI 25.6 vs. 26.1 kg/m²), and the difference between actual and desired BMI was 0.6 kg/m² greater in white than in black men. These results indicate that effects of race and weight status on eating restraint and body size perceptions seen in younger subjects and in women are also present, at least to some degree, in elderly men.     

Psychiatric Problems Affecting Dental Care of the Elderly1

The author reviews the major psychiatric disorders that can affect the dental care of the aged. Depression and dementia are the most common problems in the upper age groups. Other less frequent disorders include paranoid states, anxiety states, and alcohol abuse. All of these illnesses have both symptomatic and specific treatments so that a thorough evaluation and aggressive treatment plan should be pursued when psychiatric symptoms present in any elderly patient. Their treatment can have a considerable influence on the patient's dental care. Ageism, orality, preventive dentistry, xerostomia and periodontal disease are discussed in the context of these psychiatric illnesses of the aged.     

Clinical Decision Making in the Dental Treatment of the Elderly1

Dental care of elderly persons is similar to that of younger persons but is modified by a variety of age-related and age-associated changes, as well as diseases and drugs. Clinical decision-making for the dental care of elderly persons is therefore more complex. The dental disease patterns in the elderly population seem to be changing and they seem to be expressed differently, which will require actual diagnosis and more complicated treatment planning. This paper evaluates the principles of problem solving and decision making in general, and applies them to dental diagnosis and treatment planning. A model of the different types of decision making in dentistry is presented, and its component parts discussed, with emphasis on the care of the elderly patient. The conclusions of this paper are that dental care for the elderly patient is becoming extremely complex, especially as more elderly patients will be dentate and more will be demanding care. Research is needed in the area of how dentists make decisions, and in methods of teaching decision-making skills. Longitudinal studies are required to evaluate the outcomes of treatment.     

Care Needs of the Elderly Treated at a Dental School1

Increased longevity and recently intensified emphasis on gerodontology mandate that dental students'exposure to clinical care of the elderly be enhanced. The extent to which individual students can be exposed to geriatric dental care depends on the availability of elderly patients to dental school clinics and the treatment needs of these patients. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the dental treatment needs of geriatric patients who seek care at a dental school, and (2) to ascertain if differences exist between the needs of older versus relatively young geriatric patients. Data collected on 128 elderly patients during a three month period indicate that 57% of the aged were either edentulous at examination or treatment planned to become edentulous and receive two full dentures. The remaining 43% were treatment planned to remain dentulous and receive therapies other than full upper and lower dentures. More older geriatric patients required full dentures than their younger cohorts. More young elderly required prophylaxes, scalings, root planing therapy, dental restorations, and partial dentures. Additional to their denture requirements, aged patients appear to have sufficient non-prosthetic needs to allow for meaningful gerodontic experience by students.     

Self-Assessed General Health and Dental Status Among the Elderly in a Swedish County

A random sample of non-institutionalized elderly people in Örebro County, Sweden, has been examined. The present paper reports on the general health conditions obtained from interviews in this population and on the relation between general health and dental status. Eighty-one percent of the clinically examined subjects considered that they were healthy or fairly healthy. A higher percentage of women as compared to men regarded themselves to be moderately or very ill. Women also used more drugs than men did. Only 6% did not feel strong enough for extensive dental treatment. Physically handicapped people used dental services less than the rest of the population did. Otherwise, general health seemed to have limited influence on the use of dental services. Subjects with better dental status reported less frequent illness, chronic diseases, and medication as compared to subjects with poorer dental status. The self-assessed general health, also in the presence of age, sex, and residence variables, showed significant correlation with the dental status but not if socio-economic variables were also included in a regression model.     

Prejudice Toward Fat People: The Development and Validation of the Antifat Attitudes Test

LEWIS, ROBIN J, THOMAS F CASH, LORA JACOBI, CRISTINA BUBB-LEWIS. Prejudice toward fat people: The development and validation of the Antifat Attitudes Test. Although the stigma of obesity in our society in well documented, the measurement of antifat attitudes has been a difficult undertaking. Two studies were conducted to construct and validate the Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT). In study 1, college students (110 men and 175 women) completed the preliminary 54-item AFAT and specific indices of body image and weight-related concerns. Psychometric and factor analysis revealed a 47-item composite scale and three internally consistent factors that were uncorrelated with social desirability: Social/Character Disparagement, Physical/Romantic Unattractiveness, and Weight Control/Blame. Several body image correlates of antifat prejudice were identified, and men expressed more negative attitudes than women. Study 2 experimentally examined the effects of information about the controllability of weight on the antifat attitudes of 120 participants. Exposure to information on behavioral vs. biogenetic control led to greater blame of persons who are fat for their body size. The implications of the findings and the potential utility of the AFAT are discussed.