Companion Animal Relationships Research Articles

Measurement of attachment in human-animal interaction research

Abstract Researchers in the field of human-animal interaction often investigate the construct of the human-animal bond in order to measure contextual information about companion-animal relationships beyond simply living with a pet. This practice allows researchers to go beyond a simple manifest variable (e.g., dog-owning vs. cat-owning participants) to investigate how specific relationships with companion animals may impact outcomes. However, the current measures of the relationship between people and their pets (i.e., attachment) are flawed. Specifically, their initial validations were based on homogenous samples, the original conceptualizations of the human-animal bond were fragmented, and some used improper statistical techniques in determining the underlying factor structure of the measure. The current study utilized confirmatory factor analysis ( n = 589) to examine the factor structure and underlying psychometric properties of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and the Short Attachment to Pets Scale. The factor analysis revealed that the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and the Short Attachment to Pets Scale both have issues with model fit in a sample of undergraduate students at a public Southwestern University. This article offers recommendations for future research investigating the human-animal bond.

“Significant Otherness” versus Othering in Marian Engel’s Bear

This article explores Marian Engel’s portrayal of what Animal Studies scholar Donna J. Haraway terms “significant otherness” (the simultaneous interconnection and mysterious difference between animal and human life/connections) and othering as a form of dismissal and a perpetuation of colonial hierarchies of gendered and racial power. I explore the overlaps of Engel’s othering of Indigenous characters in the novel and the racism present in speciesism, exposing why the character of the bear is more knowable to the protagonist than Lucy Leroy (Cree). I offer a decolonial reading of this seminal Canadian text, drawing on Engel’s desire to disrupt literary utilization of animals as images of nationalism and emblems of patriotic virtue, while simultaneously exposing the prevalence of entrenched gendered and racial hierarchical perceptions of Indigenous women and relationships to nature. In offering this reading, I hope to suggest that decolonial readings offer us the tools to integrate the ideals expressed in Haraway’s “significant otherness” reading of companion-animal relationships with decoloniality and the deconstruction of hierarchies of power as pioneered by Indigenous authors, artists, and activists. This generates hope.

Longitudinal Associations Between Pet Relationship Quality and Socio-Emotional Functioning in Early Adolescence.

Adolescence is a key developmental period for socio-emotional skills, and companion animal relationships may be one potential source of emotional support and resilience during this time. This study used longitudinal data from 940 pet-owning adolescents, collected over four time points, from youth in the Northeastern United States. We assessed whether pet relationship quality (indexed by relationship satisfaction, companionship, and emotional disclosure) predicted trajectories of loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. Results indicated that high satisfaction with a pet relationship was associated with more favorable trajectories, but companionship (i.e., regarding frequency of interacting with the pet) was not related significantly to socio-emotional functioning. High levels of disclosure to a pet were linked with less favorable trajectories for loneliness and depression, but not related to social anxiety. These results suggest that a pet relationship can, in some cases, be associated positively with socio-emotional development, but that there is significant complexity in these associations. Families, educators, and practitioners should take a nuanced approach to understanding individual adolescent-pet relationships as a contextual asset for specific youth.

Considering Cats, Dogs, and Contradictions: Pets and Their Relational Influence on Experiences of Aging in Place.

Relationships with companion animals, or "pets", may promote health and well-being for older adults as they age-in-place. Less is known, however, about ways that pet-related challenges may simultaneously influence aging-in-place experiences. This study explores the relational qualities of having pets later in life by considering qualitative accounts of older adults who are aging in the community. Semi-structured interviews with 14 socio-economically diverse, community-dwelling older adult pet-owners (≥ 60 years) living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, were analyzed reflexively. Four recurring themes suggested that companion animal relationships were valued in older adults' lives and helped them cope with challenging circumstances, even when pets were central to these challenges. Findings also confirmed the relational nature of human-animal relationships as being shaped by both individual attributes and systemic factors. Methodological approaches to addressing these multifaceted complexities when studying pets and aging are considered. Enhanced cross-sectoral community and policy-level supports for aging-in-place with pets may have a population-level influence on health, well-being, and social justice across the socio-demographically diverse aging population.

Companion Animal Relationships and Adolescent Loneliness during COVID-19

Simple SummaryThis study assessed the relationship between pet ownership, pet attachment, loneliness, and coping with stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to our hypotheses, results did not support the presence of a buffering effect of pet ownership on loneliness, with pet ownership predicting increases in loneliness from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic. Dog owners showed lower levels of loneliness prior to the pandemic as well as higher levels of attachment, suggesting possible species-level differences in these relationships. Pet owners also reported spending time with their pet as a highly used strategy for coping with stress, suggesting that future research should explore the role of pets in coping with stress and social isolation during the pandemic. These results indicate that the relationship between pet ownership and adolescent loneliness during the pandemic is complex and warrants further research.The pandemic associated with the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is an unprecedented historical event with the potential to significantly impact adolescent loneliness. This study aimed to explore the role of companion animals and attachment to pets in the context of the pandemic. We used longitudinal quantitative survey data collected prior to and during the pandemic to assess the role of pets in predicting adolescent loneliness. Pet ownership was not a significant predictor of loneliness before the pandemic, but did predict higher levels of loneliness during COVID-19 as well as higher increases in loneliness from before to during the pandemic. Dog ownership predicted lower levels of loneliness prior to, but not during the pandemic, and dog owners were significantly more attached to their pets than non-dog pet owners. Adolescents with pets reported spending more time with their pets during the pandemic, and frequently reported pet interactions as a strategy for coping with stress. Overall, the results from this study did not support the presence of a buffering effect of companion animals on loneliness for adolescents and indicate complexity in the relationships between pet ownership, attachment, loneliness, and coping with stress. These results suggest a need for additional research further assessing how features of the relationship such as species and relationship quality might contribute to adolescent mental health outcomes.

Infantilizing Companion Animals through Attachment Theory: Why Shift to Behavioral Ecology-Based Paradigms for Welfare

Abstract Attachment theory, proposed in the 1950s to understand the development of parent-child relationships, is often applied to human–companion animal relationships. I argue the application of this paradigm to test nonhuman animals’ social bonds with humans infantilizes mature animals and has a detrimental impact on animal welfare. The premise is that Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test is inappropriate to investigate the emotional ties between domestic animals and humans. Instead, I propose an alternative theory, that dogs form mature social bonds with their guardians, and that the phenomenon known as separation anxiety is the result either of the frustration of mature adult group behaviors, or an overdependency fostered by the guardian. Rather than view mature dogs as comparable to human infants in their social relationships, we should perceive them as socially and emotionally mature at adulthood and shift the focus from attachment-based paradigms to the behavioral ecology and cognition of companion animals.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Cat Care and Needs Scale (CCANS)

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to develop a brief scale, primarily intended for research applications, that measures how well people report meeting the welfare needs of their pet cats. The practice of keeping cats as a companion animal has increased, and despite their popularity, many cats suffer from poor welfare and behavioral problems. The failure to meet their welfare needs and provide for natural behaviors impacts their quality of life and may affect cats’ retention in adoptive homes. We present three studies in which we developed, piloted, and psychometrically evaluated the Cat Care and Needs Scale (CCANS) by surveying cat guardians, examining their selfreported care-taking habits and interactions in regards to a pet cat. The final study (n = 1,591) resulted in a 15-item scale which shows high reliability, with application of item response theory indicating that individual items were all suitable for inclusion. Diverse evidence, including a factor analysis, parallel analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis, supports that the scale is unidimensional. The CCANS is scalable and allows for correlational comparisons with other scales which measure any variable of interest in research exploring human–companion animal relationships or cat welfare. We propose that the CCANS scale is a step forward in measuring how well pet owners understand and meet their cats’ behavioral, welfare, and basic care needs.

Social Work Practitioners and the Human--Companion Animal Bond: A National Study

Extensive research documents powerful relationships between humans and companion animals, and 62 percent of U.S. households report having a companion animal. Social workers are likely to work with individuals and families with companion animals; thus, the inclusion of such animals in both practice and research as a natural extension of social work with humans, and their challenges, coping mechanisms, and resiliency factors, seems called for. Yet there is little in the social work literature that identifies what social workers are doing in this area. Thus, this descriptive study sought to explore nationally what social work practitioners know and are doing in the area of the human and companion animal relationships. Findings include that social work practitioners appear to have basic knowledge of the negative and positive relationships between humans and companion animals. About one-third are including questions about companion and other animals in their intake assessments, and a little less than 25 percent are including companion and other animals in their intervention practice. The vast majority have had no special training or coursework to do so. Implications for these and other findings are discussed, and recommendations for social work research, education, and practice are offered.

The importance of companion animal relationships in the lives of older people

This article presents some findings of a small exploratory research project into the relationships that older people have with their companion animals, in particular their dogs. The authors show how animals can improve and help a person's emotional and physical well-being. The case study presented here aims to illustrate the significance that companion animals might have for some older people. It is consistent with a key finding of the study that, irrespective of age, support and companionship was gained and therefore the importance of companion animals needs to be considered as part of individual care planning.

Development of the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS)

With increasing scientific and clinical attention being paid to the formation, nature and consequences of human–companion animal relationships, there is a need to develop scales with which to assess such relationships in a rigorous, empirically valid manner. Accordingly, the aim in this study was to develop a psychometrically sound, multi-dimensional questionnaire with which to assess human–companion dog relationships. A multi-step process involving over 1,000 participants resulted in the development of a scale with 28 items, the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale or MDORS. The MDORS has three sub-scales, Dog–Owner Interaction, Perceived Emotional Closeness, and Perceived Costs, that appear to be relatively stable and interpretable across participant groups and that appear to represent important and diverse aspects of the human–companion dog relationship. It is envisaged that the future use of this scale will allow researchers to significantly increase our understanding of human–companion dog relationships by permitting direct comparisons across participant groups drawn from different demographic or cultural contexts. It may also permit clinicians to analyze relationships between dog owners and their dogs in more detail and depth than is possible using existing scales.

Benefits derived from companion animals, and the use of the term “attachment”

Researchers have discovered that companion animals can physically and psychologically benefit their owners, and some argue that one's attachment to a companion animal influences those benefits. However, those studying the human–companion animal bond have used measures of attachment that may not be congruent with the school of attachment theory as it is applied to human–human relationships. We propose that the term “attachment” applied to human–companion animal relationships in research to date may share aspects of traditional attachment theory, but does not necessarily parallel attachment theory accurately. This paper provides a discussion of the similarities and differences between traditional attachment theory and measurements of human–companion animal attachment, and a review of the literature on physical and psychological benefits derived from companion animals. We conclude with a brief discussion of new research and future directions.