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result(s) for
"Pet owners Psychology."
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Why the wild things are : animals in the lives of children
Melson examines children's many connections to animals and to explore their developmental significance. She looks not only at the therapeutic power of pet-owning for children with handicaps, but also the ways in which zoo and farm animals, and even certain TV characters, become confidants or teachers for children--and sometimes, their victims.
eBook
When a pet dies
Explores the feelings of frustration, sadness, and loneliness that a youngster may feel when a pet dies.
Book
Waltham book of human-animal interaction
The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interaction: Benefits and Responsibilities of Pet Ownership discusses the scientific study of the relationship between man and animals, focusing on the behavior of companion animals, and how humans and animals affect each other's behavior.
eBook
Kangaroo to the rescue! : and more true stories of amazing animal heroes
Read about these amazing animal heroes, stories that will inspire pet owners, farm hands, anyone who has an infinity for animals and their unique behaviors.
Book
Human-animal relationships and interactions during the Covid-19 lockdown phase in the UK: Investigating links with mental health and loneliness
The Covid-19 pandemic raises questions about the role that relationships and interactions between humans and animals play in the context of widespread social distancing and isolation measures. We aimed to investigate links between mental health and loneliness, companion animal ownership, the human-animal bond, and human-animal interactions; and to explore animal owners' perceptions related to the role of their animals during lockdown.
A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020. The questionnaire included validated and bespoke items measuring demographics; exposures and outcomes related to mental health, wellbeing and loneliness; the human-animal bond and human-animal interactions.
Of 5,926 participants, 5,323 (89.8%) had at least one companion animal. Most perceived their animals to be a source of considerable support, but concerns were reported related to various practical aspects of providing care during lockdown. Strength of the human-animal bond did not differ significantly between species. Poorer mental health pre-lockdown was associated with a stronger reported human-animal bond (b = -.014, 95% CI [-.023 - -.005], p = .002). Animal ownership compared with non-ownership was associated with smaller decreases in mental health (b = .267, 95% CI [.079 - .455], p = .005) and smaller increases in loneliness (b = -.302, 95% CI [-.461 - -.144], p = .001) since lockdown.
The human-animal bond is a construct that may be linked to mental health vulnerability in animal owners. Strength of the human-animal bond in terms of emotional closeness or intimacy dimensions appears to be independent of animal species. Animal ownership seemed to mitigate some of the detrimental psychological effects of Covid-19 lockdown. Further targeted investigation of the role of human-animal relationships and interactions for human health, including testing of the social buffering hypothesis and the development of instruments suited for use across animal species, is required.
Journal Article
Plant-based (vegan) diets for pets: A survey of pet owner attitudes and feeding practices
People who avoid eating animals tend to share their homes with animal companions, and moral dilemma may arise when they are faced with feeding animal products to their omnivorous dogs and carnivorous cats. One option to alleviate this conflict is to feed pets a diet devoid of animal ingredients-a 'plant-based' or 'vegan' diet. The number of pet owners who avoid animal products, either in their own or in their pets' diet, is not currently known. The objective of this study was to estimate the number of meat-avoiding pet owners, identify concerns regarding conventional animal- and plant-based pet food, and estimate the number of pets fed a plant-based diet. A questionnaire was disseminated online to English-speaking pet owners (n = 3,673) to collect data regarding pet owner demographics, diet, pet type, pet diet, and concerns regarding pet foods. Results found that pet owners were more likely to be vegetarian (6.2%; 229/3,673) or vegan (5.8%; 212/3,673) than previously reported for members of the general population. With the exception of one dog owned by a vegetarian, vegans were the only pet owners who fed plant-based diets to their pets (1.6%; 59/3,673). Of the pet owners who did not currently feed plant-based diets but expressed interest in doing so, a large proportion (45%; 269/599) desired more information demonstrating the nutritional adequacy of plant-based diets. Amongst all pet owners, the concern most commonly reported regarding meat-based pet foods was for the welfare of farm animals (39%; 1,275/3,231). The most common concern regarding strictly plant-based pet foods was regarding the nutritional completeness of the diet (74%; 2,439/3,318). Amongst vegans, factors which predicted the feeding of plant-based diets to their pets were concern regarding the cost of plant-based diets, a lack of concern regarding plant-based diets being unnatural, and reporting no concern at all regarding plant-based diets for pets. Given these findings, further research is warranted to investigate plant-based nutrition for domestic dogs and cats.
Journal Article
Dog ownership, physical activity, loneliness and mental health: a comparison of older adult and younger adult companion animal owners
Background and aim
Dog ownership has been suggested as an intervention to increase physical activity and improve mental health, but few studies have investigated the relationships between dog ownership, physical activity, and mental health outcomes together. This study aimed to (1) investigate whether dog ownership, CA-related physical activity, and non-CA-related physical activity were explanatory variables for the relationships between CA ownership, depression, and anxiety via loneliness and (2) examine whether the relationships between these variables differed for older adult CA owners compared to younger adult CA owners.
Method
Participants were Australian CA owners from the community (
N
= 588, 76.3% female) aged 18–84 years (
M
= 55.34,
SD
= 14.90). A cross-sectional design and online/phone survey methodology were used.
Results
Path analysis showed that dog owners (compared to owners of other CA types) engaged in higher levels of both CA-related and non-CA-related physical activity, but only non-CA-related physical activity was associated with mental health outcomes. Multigroup moderation analysis showed that older adult and younger adult CA owners experienced similar moderate levels of loneliness, while in younger adults this moderate loneliness was associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety as compared to older adults.
Conclusion
Our findings indicate people who choose to own dogs over other CA types engage in more active lifestyles, but it is the physical activity they perform independently of their dog that is associated with less loneliness and greater mental health. Members of the public should not be universally encouraged by health or other professionals to own a dog to support their mental health based on a belief that dog ownership leads to beneficial physical activity.
Journal Article
Temporal patterns of owner-pet relationship, stress, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect of pet ownership on mental health: A longitudinal survey
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in numerous ways and may consequently impact our relationships with pet dogs and cats. We conducted a longitudinal survey to examine the temporal patterns of owner-pet relationship, stress, and loneliness during four phases of the pandemic: 1) pre-pandemic (February 2020), 2) lockdown (April to June 2020), 3) reopening (September to December 2020), and 4) recovery (January 2021 to December 2021). We also investigated the effect of pet ownership on stress and loneliness, by considering a set of a priori causal assumptions. In addition, we hypothesized that the differences in the levels of stress and loneliness between dog and cat ownerships were mediated by the owner-pet relationship. A total of 4,237 participants (657 non-pet owners, 1,761 dog owners, and 1,819 cat owners) completed between one and six surveys. Overall, the closeness in the relationship between owners and their pets increased with time during the study period. We also observed that dog owners consistently showed larger decreases in the levels of stress and loneliness than cat and non-pet owners. However, after adjusting for confounders, the findings did not support a mitigating effect of pet ownership. Pet ownership did not alleviate stress, social loneliness resulting from a lack of friendships or workplace relationships, or emotional loneliness due to deficiencies in family relationships. Pet owners, however, reported a lower degree of emotional loneliness caused by deficits in romantic relationships than non-pet owners. Our results also indicated that the differences in stress and loneliness levels between dog and cat ownerships were partially explained by the owner-pet relationship, and once this was accounted for, the differences between them reduced. In summary, this study highlights the dynamic effects of COVID-19 on owner-pet relationship and mental health. It also shows the complexity of the association between pet ownership and mental health, partially mediated by owner-pet relationships.
Journal Article