Human-animal interaction research is growing in popularity and methodological rigor; however, there remains a need for psychometrically validated measures and inclusion of broader populations. This study addressed these gaps by reporting on the psychometric properties of the Comfort from Companion Animals Scale (CCAS) in a sample of sexual and gender minority emerging adults. Participants included 138 emerging adults between the ages of 18-21 years (M = 19.33 years, SD = 1.11; 38.4% racial/ethnic minority) who identified as a gender (48.6%) and/or sexual minority (98.6%) and who reported living with a companion animal in the past year. We utilized the following analytic methods: (a) confirmatory factor analyses to compare the unidimensional structure of the CCAS with the two alternative models, (b) multiple group analyses to test measurement invariance across demographic groups, and (c) structural equation models to evaluate construct validity. Preliminary analysis found that the majority of participants did not endorse the two lowest response options. To conduct invariance testing, we eliminated items 3, 5, and 8 from the CCAS and collapsed the lowest response options. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the use of this revised unidimensional model. We found evidence of measurement invariance across gender identity, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity groups. Construct validity was supported by comparing the CCAS with factors on the Pet Attachment and Life Impact Scale; the positive association between the CCAS and anxiety are discussed in the context of prior research. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of validating human-animal interaction measures across samples from diverse backgrounds. We recommend that future studies continue to test the CCAS and other measures of human-animal attachment among diverse samples to delineate which aspects of human-animal interaction may be most beneficial in promoting mental health in vulnerable populations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant social disruptions for youth caused by lockdowns, school closures, and a lack of in-person social interactions. Companion animals are prevalent in US households and may provide a source of emotional support and motivation for youth to engage in adaptive coping behaviors during social challenges. The goals of this study were to assess if dog owners, non-dog pet owners, and non-pet owners differed in stress levels, positive affect, and use of adaptive coping strategies such as increased time outdoors, regular walking, and healthy behaviors. This study used data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM (ABCD) Study, a large, nationally representative dataset of American youth. In a cross-sectional sample of 6,069 adolescents, there were significant, but small, relationships between owning a non-dog pet and lower levels of positive affect, and both dog owners and non-dog pet owners reported higher perceived stress compared with non-pet owners. Dog ownership was associated with higher odds of using healthy coping strategies compared with non-pet owners, but this relationship was not significant when controlling for demographic variables. Dog owners reported higher odds of having a walking routine and spending time outdoors compared with non-pet owners. Overall, the results suggest no buffering effect of pet ownership on youth mental wellbeing, but dog ownership is associated with some healthy coping behaviors linked to walking.
The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in anxiety and depressive symptoms between older adult pet owners and non-pet owners after accounting for various correlates. Research findings on the anxiety-relieving and antidepressant effects of late-life pet ownership are mixed and limited. This may be due in part to various characteristics that impact the likelihood of owning a pet. Propensity score matching was used to pair 169 pet owners with 169 non-pet owners aged 70 to 91 years who participated in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging. One set of propensity scores was created using age, sex, race, rurality, marital status, and income, as well as self-reported health, difficulty with activities of daily living, and difficulty with instrumental activities of daily living. A second set of scores was created using age, sex, race, rurality, marital status, and income. Multiple linear regression analyses were then used to explore the relation between pet ownership status and anxiety or depressive symptoms, controlling for the other symptoms. Pet ownership was significantly associated with lower self-reported anxiety symptoms (β = -0.14) but not depressive symptoms (β = -0.03) in the data matched without health variables. When propensity score matching included health variables, pet ownership was related to neither symptoms of anxiety (β = -0.08) nor depression (β = 0.05). These results suggest that owning a pet in later life is related to fewer anxiety symptoms, over and above the impact of depressive symptoms, even after accounting for various demographic and economic covariates. However, general and functional health appear to be critical to this relation, but the direction of this relation could not be determined from our analyses (i.e., it is not clear whether the relation between pet ownership and anxiety symptoms is confounded by, mediates, or is mediated by health). This study is the first large-scale analysis to find a significant relation between pet ownership and fewer anxiety symptoms in older adults.
Recent research suggests that service dogs may have clinically-relevant benefits for military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the effects of PTSD service dogs on veterans' medication use has been largely unexplored. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of PTSD service dogs on medication use among a population of military veterans with PTSD. In a cross-sectional design, United States post-9/11 military veterans with PTSD were recruited from a single service dog provider including veterans living with a PTSD service dog (n = 52) and veterans on the waitlist (n = 44). Both populations of veterans received treatment as usual. Participants completed an online survey of self-reported medication regimens and medication changes. Regression models quantified the effect of having a service dog on physical health, mental health, pain, and sleep medications while controlling for confounding variables (age, sex, relationship status, traumatic brain injuries, and physical health). Results indicated that there were no significant effects of having a service dog on overall self-reported medication use nor any specific medication category (p's > 0.06). However, veterans with a service dog were more likely than those on the waitlist to report that their doctor had decreased dosage or removed medications since getting their service dog. The results of this preliminary cross-sectional research should be interpreted with caution, as future within-subject and pharmacy-verified research is necessary to understand the causality of these findings.