Pet Ownership Predicts Adherence to Cardiovascular Rehabilitation1

An island of sanity during COVID-19 pandemic: Does pet attachment support buffer employees' stress due to job insecurity?

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress, the current study investigates whether employee job insecurity triggers employee behavioral strain reactions (i.e., alcohol use, marijuana use, and cigarette use) and psychological strain reactions (i.e., emotional exhaustion and depression) through stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we integrate social support theory and expect the moderating role of pet attachment support in the above relationships. By collecting two-wave data from 187 employees with pets in the United States, we found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress mediated the relationships between job insecurity and predicted behavioral and psychological reactions. Moreover, pet attachment support buffered the relationships between stress and these behavioral and psychological strain reactions (all except cigarette use). Pet attachment support also alleviated the conditional indirect effects job insecurity had on the two types of strain reactions via stress. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this study.

The Lived Experience of Human-Pet Relationships among Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Given the high prevalence and severe consequences of childhood sexual abuse, it is essential to identify ways to support adult survivors. One potential and relatively unexplored resource available to survivors is the human-pet relationship. In the literature, the human-pet relationship is linked to many positive benefits to physiological regulation, mental health, physical health, and social support - areas of functioning where survivors of childhood sexual abuse may be particularly at risk. Despite existing evidence, there is little research on human-pet relationships among survivors of childhood sexual abuse. To help address this gap, this qualitative study explored the lived experience of human-pet relationships among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Utilizing data collection and analysis methods from Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The following themes were developed from the data: (a) close bond with pet; (b) idiosyncrasies within the human-pet relationship; (c) moral responsibility; (d) fundamental differences between pets and humans; (e) safety in the human-pet relationship; (f) resource for coping with painful experience; (g) positive impact on well-being; (h) buttress for human-human social interaction; (i) medium for skill and knowledge development; and (j) shortcomings of the human-pet relationship. Findings are discussed in the context of the existing literature, along with considerations for practice and future research with childhood sexual abuse survivors.

Food Security Challenges and Health Opportunities of Companion Animal Ownership for Low-Income Adults

PURPOSE

Do pets provide benefits or risks for low-income individuals in regards to food security?

METHOD

Surveys of food security were administered to 392 low-income adults utilizing food pantries. Data collection included a self-administered questionnaire about demographics, food security, health and well-being, and for those with pets, animal attachment, commitment and animal information. Qualitative interviews were conducted with fifteen pet-owning individuals who completed the questionnaire and agreed to be contacted and interviewed over the phone about food security and their pets.

RESULTS

Bivariate analyzes suggested that those with pets were more food secure and logistic regression found pet ownership associated with greater food security. The interviews suggest that pets assisted in creating a routine, and motivation for obtaining food.

DISCUSSION

It is critical that social workers realize the importance of pets in the lives of humans and include them in psychosocial assessments and as motivators for health interventions.

Does owning a pet protect older people against loneliness?

BACKGROUND

Pet ownership is thought to make a positive contribution to health, health behaviours and the general well-being of older people. More specifically pet ownership is often proposed as a solution to the problem of loneliness in later life and specific 'pet based' interventions have been developed to combat loneliness. However the evidence to support this relationship is slim and it is assumed that pet ownership is a protection against loneliness rather than a response to loneliness. The aim of this paper is to examine the association between pet ownership and loneliness by exploring if pet ownership is a response to, or protection against, loneliness using Waves 0-5 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

METHODS

Using data from 5,210 men and women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, cross-sectional and longitudinal regression analysis was used to assess the bi-directional relationship between loneliness and pet ownership among adults aged 50 + .

RESULTS

In 2001 (wave 0) 41% of participants were pet owners compared with 30% in 2010 (Wave 5). The association between pet ownership and loneliness is stronger in women than men, and in both directions (i.e. pet ownership predicting loneliness and loneliness predicting pet ownership) and of the similar magnitude (OR 1.2-1.4). Age, social relationships, demographic factors and health behaviour variables have only a minimal influence upon the association between loneliness and pet ownership. The results of our longitudinal analysis showed that women who reported being lonely always in Waves 0 to 5 were more likely to have a pet in Wave 5.

CONCLUSION

Reported loneliness is dependent on socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, household income, household living arrangements and health status. Taking those factors into account, owning a pet significantly influences later reporting of loneliness in women in our longitudinal analysis. In the reverse direction, reported loneliness influences pet ownership in later waves. In both directions, the relatively strong gender interaction suggests the association is limited to women with effects for men minimal or non-existent.

Health in older cat and dog owners: The Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT)-3 study

AIM

The main objective was to compare older male and female cat, dog, and non-owners with regard to demographic and health-related characteristics.

METHOD

Data in the present cross-sectional population study were drawn from HUNT-3 in Norway. A total of 12,297 persons (5631 men; 6666 women) between the ages of 65 and 101 years were included, of whom 2358 were pet owners.

RESULTS

The main finding was that owning a dog demonstrated several health-related characteristics to a higher positive degree than both non-pet and cat ownership among the participants. Cat owners showed higher body mass index values and higher systolic blood pressure, and reported worse general health status. They also exercised to a lower degree than the others.

CONCLUSIONS

As the result implies that older cat owners are negatively outstanding in many aspects of health compared with the dog owners, in the future, more focus must be put on the worse health of those. Further, there were more married male than female cat and dog owners. This probably depends on traditional cultural thinking; the man is the owner of the pet even if the woman lives with and cares about it. It is important to point out that different groups in the population might select different pets. Consequently, the findings showing a correlation between pet ownership and health may be owing to unrelated confounding factors.

A systematic review of patient reported factors associated with uptake and completion of cardiovascular lifestyle behaviour change

BACKGROUND

Healthy lifestyles are an important facet of cardiovascular risk management. Unfortunately many individuals fail to engage with lifestyle change programmes. There are many factors that patients report as influencing their decisions about initiating lifestyle change. This is challenging for health care professionals who may lack the skills and time to address a broad range of barriers to lifestyle behaviour. Guidance on which factors to focus on during lifestyle consultations may assist healthcare professionals to hone their skills and knowledge leading to more productive patient interactions with ultimately better uptake of lifestyle behaviour change support. The aim of our study was to clarify which influences reported by patients predict uptake and completion of formal lifestyle change programmes.

METHODS

A systematic narrative review of quantitative observational studies reporting factors (influences) associated with uptake and completion of lifestyle behaviour change programmes. Quantitative observational studies involving patients at high risk of cardiovascular events were identified through electronic searching and screened against pre-defined selection criteria. Factors were extracted and organised into an existing qualitative framework.

RESULTS

374 factors were extracted from 32 studies. Factors most consistently associated with uptake of lifestyle change related to support from family and friends, transport and other costs, and beliefs about the causes of illness and lifestyle change. Depression and anxiety also appear to influence uptake as well as completion. Many factors show inconsistent patterns with respect to uptake and completion of lifestyle change programmes.

CONCLUSION

There are a small number of factors that consistently appear to influence uptake and completion of cardiovascular lifestyle behaviour change. These factors could be considered during patient consultations to promote a tailored approach to decision making about the most suitable type and level lifestyle behaviour change support.

Psychological effects of dog ownership: role strain, role enhancement, and depression

The purpose of this study is to examine the link between multiple roles and depression and to attempt to provide a clearer answer to the question of what effect, if any, the role of dog ownership plays. Role strain and role enhancement theories are drawn upon to study this relationship. Ordinary least squares regression is used to examine a national sample of 201 adults in the United States. Findings revealed sex and marital status differences in the relationship between dog ownership and well-being, with women and single adults more likely to benefit from dog ownership. The findings presented here suggest that inattention to variations in marital status and sex may have been one factor in the inconsistency in the literature on pets and well-being.

Predicting animal attachment from hypnotizability, absorption, and dissociation scores

Using a sample of nearly 300 undergraduate students, we examined whether absorption, dissociation, and hypnotizability were linked with pet attachment, and whether completing assessment scales in the same or different testing contexts affected the association. We found a positive correlation between scores on the Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS; Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974) and the Companion Animal Bonding Scale (CABS; Poresky, Hendrix, & Mosier, 1987), but failed to find a positive link between animal attachment and scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). We observed a small positive correlation between Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A; Shor & Orne, 1962) scores and animal attachment among our female participants. Collectively, absorption, dissociation, hypnotizability, age, gender, years owning a pet, and the testing context accounted for no more than 16% of the variance in CABS scores.

Exploring the impact of depressive symptoms and medication beliefs on medication adherence in hypertension--a primary care study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the levels of adherence in a sample of hypertensive patients being cared for in primary care in Northern Ireland and to explore the impact of depressive symptoms and medication beliefs on medication adherence.

METHODS

The study was conducted in 97 community pharmacies across Northern Ireland. A questionnaire containing measures of medication adherence, depressive symptoms and beliefs about medicines was completed by 327 patients receiving antihypertensive medications.

RESULTS

Analysis found that 9.3% of participants were non-adherent with their antihypertensive medication (self-report adherence scale) and 37.9% had scores indicative of depressive symptoms as determined by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). In the univariate analysis, concerns about medications had negative effects on both adherence and depressive symptomatology. However, logistic regression analysis revealed that patients over the age of 50 were more likely to be adherent with their medication than those younger than 50. Depressive symptomatology and medication beliefs (concerns) were not significantly related to adherence in the regression analysis.

CONCLUSION

Depressive symptomatology was high in the sample as measured by the CES-D. Age was the only significant predictor of medication adherence in this population.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Health care professionals should consider the beliefs of the patient about their hypertensive medications and counsel younger patients on adherence.

Content validity in the PROMIS social-health domain: a qualitative analysis of focus-group data

PURPOSE

Our aim was to assess the content validity of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) social health item banks by comparing a prespecified conceptual model with concepts that focus-group participants identified as important social-health-related outcomes. These data will inform the process of improving health-related quality-of-life measures.

METHODS

Twenty-five patients with a range of social limitations due to chronic health conditions were recruited at two sites; four focus groups were conducted. Raters independently classified participants' statements using a hierarchical, nested schema that included health-related outcomes, role performance, role satisfaction, family/friends, work, and leisure.

RESULTS

Key themes that emerged were fulfilling both family and work responsibilities and the distinction between activities done out of responsibility versus enjoyment. Although focus-group participants identified volunteerism and pet ownership as important social-health-related concepts, these were not in our original conceptual model. The concept of satisfaction was often found to overlap with the concept of performance.

CONCLUSION

Our conceptual model appears comprehensive but is being further refined to more appropriately (a) distinguish between responsibilities versus discretionary activities, and (b) situate the outcome of satisfaction as it relates to impairment in social and other domains of health.

The benefits of human-companion animal interaction: a review

This article provides a review of research published since 1980 on the benefits of human-companion animal interaction. Studies focusing on the benefits of pet ownership are presented first, followed by research on the benefits of interacting with companion animals that are not owned by the subject (animal-assisted activities). While most of the published studies are descriptive and have been conducted with convenience samples, a promising number of controlled studies support the health benefits of interacting with companion animals. Future research employing more rigorous designs and systematically building upon a clearly defined line of inquiry is needed to advance our knowledge of the benefits of human-companion animal interaction.

Psychophysiological effects of human-animal interaction: theoretical issues and long-term interaction effects

This paper reviews literature published on the psychophysiological effects of long-term human-animal interaction (i.e., pet ownership, pet adoption). A literature search was conducted using PsycInfo and Medline databases. Although the available evidence is far from being consistent, it can be concluded that, in some cases, long-term relationships with animals may moderate baseline physiological variables, particularly blood pressure. Results proved more coherent in studies where animals were adopted by owners as part of the procedure. This paper examines existing hypotheses seeking to account for these effects and the supporting evidence. Two major hypotheses have been suggested to explain the psychophysiological effects of long-term interaction, namely (1) stress-buffering effects of noncritical social support provided by pets; and (2) classical conditioning of relaxation. These mechanisms may partially account for the long-term health outcomes observed in a number of human-animal interaction studies.

The pet connection: Pets as a conduit for social capital?

There is growing interest across a range of disciplines in the relationship between pets and health, with a range of therapeutic, physiological, psychological and psychosocial benefits now documented. While much of the literature has focused on the individual benefits of pet ownership, this study considered the potential health benefits that might accrue to the broader community, as encapsulated in the construct of social capital. A random survey of 339 adult residents from Perth, Western Australia were selected from three suburbs and interviewed by telephone. Pet ownership was found to be positively associated with some forms of social contact and interaction, and with perceptions of neighbourhood friendliness. After adjustment for demographic variables, pet owners scored higher on social capital and civic engagement scales. The results suggest that pet ownership provides potential opportunities for interactions between neighbours and that further research in this area is warranted. Social capital is another potential mechanism by which pets exert an influence on human health.