# Initial psychometric evaluation of the European Portuguese version of the Lincoln Canine Adaptability Resilience Scale

## TL;DR

This study validates a Portuguese version of a tool to assess resilience in dogs, helping handlers and clinicians evaluate how well dogs cope with stress.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a validated European Portuguese adaptation of the Lincoln Canine Adaptability Resilience Scale (L-CARS).

## Key findings

- The Portuguese version of L-CARS showed good validity with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.83 and explained 67.56% of the variance.
- Cronbach’s α of 0.81 indicates strong internal consistency of the scale.
- All components of the scale correlated positively with the overall score (p < 0.01).

## Abstract

Dogs face a variety of stressors in their lives, either as companion or as working animals, from novel situations and challenges, to visits to the vet, kenneling, or transportation. Some individuals have personal characteristics that allow them to cope with adversity and develop positive adaptations. The Lincoln Canine Adaptability Resilience Scale (L-CARS) was developed to assess this ability. This study aimed to validate a European Portuguese version of the Lincoln Canine Adaptability Resilience Scale.

Information from 182 dogs was collected. The English version of the L-CARS was translated into Portuguese, and this version was back-translated until a unified version was obtained. Canine handlers, native Portuguese speakers, completed a copy of the translated Portuguese version of the L-CARS. Validity testing was performed with the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy. Extrated values were assessed based on Eigenvalue and scree-plot analysis. Internal consistency was tested with Cronbach’s α. The correlation between items was determined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin factor analysis was 0.83. The factor analysis model identified five factors with an eigenvalue greater than 1, accounting for 67.56% of the variance. Commonalities ranged between 0.86 and 0.29. Cronbach’s α was 0.81. All components showed positive correlation with the overall score (p < 0.01 for both).

The study presented criterion and construct validity of the European Portuguese version of the L-CARS. It is a step in providing a broader Portuguese-speaking population and clinicians with a validated and accessible tool to evaluate patients. Further studies are required.