Article

Fostering secure attachment: experiences of animal companions in the foster home

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

This study sought to use attachment theory as a lens through which to explore children’s relationships with animal companions in the context of long-term foster care. Inductive and deductive thematic analyses of longitudinal case study data from eight children and their foster families suggested (a) that children’s relationships with animal companions satisfied attachment-related functions in their own right and (b) that animal companions also helped to soften perceptions of foster caregivers, facilitating opportunities for the development of closeness. Animals in the foster home may therefore play an important part in helping children to find and develop secure, warm, and loving relationships.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... We based our study on research conducted by Buchner et al. (2022), specifically focusing on examining a companion animal's influence on a child or youth in foster care, analyzing the information through the lens of attachment theory. Carr and Rockett (2017) Wiens et al. Human-Animal Interactions (2024) 12:1 https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2024.0021 ...
... Furthermore, they noted that early exposure to adverse caregiving environments and continued challenges may impact mental and physical health by provoking changes to neurobiological regulatory systems. Research has shown that pets can provide attachment-related benefits in line with the principles of human attachment theory (Beck and Madresh, 2008;Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012;Carr and Rockett, 2017;Hawkins et al., 2017). The connection or attachment that foster children have to their pets can influence their behavioral development is an example of human attachment theory. ...
... The connection to an animal companion is so significant that the concepts and measures of attachment theory can be used to study the human-animal bond (Beck and Madresh, 2008;Carr and Rockett, 2017). Given that pets function as secondary attachment figures (Hawkins et al., 2017), the bond established between foster children or youth and the foster family's pet is valuable in promoting a seamless transition into care, affording ample space for the relationship between caregiver and child or youth to thrive. ...
Article
Full-text available
This qualitative exploratory inquiry examined foster parents’ perspectives of the impact companion animals had on the children/youth in their care. Six foster parents were interviewed and six themes, including 12 subthemes, were uncovered: (1) provision of companionship (unconditional love); (2) strengthening of the foster home environment (environmental connection, increased feelings of safety); (3) teaching empathy (responsibility, compassion); (4) emotional regulation (grief, emotional support, calming presence); (5) benefits to foster parents (friendship, affection, emotional support, additional support); and (6) challenges. These findings have important implications for social work practice. Specific recommendations based on the findings are presented.
... (Kidd and Kidd, 1990). Nine studies collected data regarding the family composition (Kidd and Kidd, 1990;Melson et al., 1991;Van Houtte and Jarvis, 1995;Paul and Serpell, 1996;Bodsworth and Coleman, 2001;Black, 2012;Westgarth et al., 2013;Carr and Rockett, 2017;Hartwig and Signal, 2020); however, this information was not always considered as a variable in the analyses. The number of participants varied greatly between studies from eight in a qualitative study (Carr and Rockett, 2017) to 6,700 in a quantitative study (Muldoon et al., 2019b). ...
... Nine studies collected data regarding the family composition (Kidd and Kidd, 1990;Melson et al., 1991;Van Houtte and Jarvis, 1995;Paul and Serpell, 1996;Bodsworth and Coleman, 2001;Black, 2012;Westgarth et al., 2013;Carr and Rockett, 2017;Hartwig and Signal, 2020); however, this information was not always considered as a variable in the analyses. The number of participants varied greatly between studies from eight in a qualitative study (Carr and Rockett, 2017) to 6,700 in a quantitative study (Muldoon et al., 2019b). Nine articles had between 8 and 99 participants, 11 articles included 100 to 299 participants, and nine articles had over 300 participants. ...
... Only the study by Westgarth et al. (2013) included a table with the time the companion animal was owned (<1 year, 1-5 years, >5 years, all their lives). In a study regarding children in foster-care, the time the companion animal had spent in their current family was reported (7-13 months) and was, therefore, interpreted as the duration of the bond (Carr and Rockett, 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Companion animals can fulfill children’s attachment needs. A secure attachment to humans is positively associated with psychosocial health, therefore, the extent to which this applies to a strong child-companion animal bond is worth examining. Aims We aimed to gain insight into the current literature regarding the bond between children and companion animals and psychosocial health. Secondary, we also synthesized evidence about the (1) characteristics of children and companion animals and the strength of their bond; (2) the correlations between attachment to humans and the child-companion animal bond; and (3) the instruments used to measure the child-companion animal bond. Method According to PRISMA guidelines, we searched three major electronic databases (PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science) in September 2021 and included records with the following criteria: peer reviewed English articles with quantitative and qualitative data on child-companion animal bonds and children’s psychosocial health. Reports with participants younger than 18 years of age with a family owned companion animal were included. Two authors performed the screening and determined eligibility according to a predefined coding protocol. Results The search revealed 1,025 unique records, of which we included 29 studies. Some positive associations were reported between the strength of the child-companion animal bond and children’s psychosocial health outcomes like empathy, social support, and quality of life, although some results were contradictory. We found differences in associations between a child’s gender, companion animal species and the strength of the child-companion animal bond. A secure attachment style to parents was positively associated with a stronger child–companion animal bond. Most of the instruments currently used, measure the strength of the bond. Discussion This review suggests that the child-companion animal bond could be beneficial for children’s psychosocial health, but some results were inconclusive. Also, not every relationship develops into an attachment. Since a strong bond with animals might not be the same as a secure attachment, we advise to modify human attachment instruments, in order to effectively study children’s attachment to companion animals. Lastly, research designs that are able to investigate the causality of the relationship between the child-companion animal bond and psychosocial health are required.
... Two studies investigated children's experiences shortly after being placed in foster care, resulting in shorter timeframes-6 to 36 months [50] and 1 to 5 months [55]. Eight studies discussed number of placements experienced by children [40,41,45,47,49,52,57,58]; included children experienced a wide range of placements, such as 1 to 6 [40], 1 to 8 [58], or 1 to 11 placements [45]. ...
... Several of the studies [23,44,47,52,54] cited the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child or associated legislation (e.g., Children Act 1989, the main source of child welfare law for England and Wales) to justify the necessity of investigating children's perspectives. Common theoretical frameworks used by study authors across time to frame their study or findings were theories of attachment [40,41,43,48,49,63], child development [41,45,46,49,50,58,63], child well-being [40,41,45,46,49,50,52,56] and identity development [23,40,47,52,54,56,61,63,64]. Another influential discourse was the "best interests of the child" which was referenced by eight studies [23, 46-48, 50, 56, 60, 62], two from a critical perspective [23,60]. ...
... Several of the studies [23,44,47,52,54] cited the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child or associated legislation (e.g., Children Act 1989, the main source of child welfare law for England and Wales) to justify the necessity of investigating children's perspectives. Common theoretical frameworks used by study authors across time to frame their study or findings were theories of attachment [40,41,43,48,49,63], child development [41,45,46,49,50,58,63], child well-being [40,41,45,46,49,50,52,56] and identity development [23,40,47,52,54,56,61,63,64]. Another influential discourse was the "best interests of the child" which was referenced by eight studies [23, 46-48, 50, 56, 60, 62], two from a critical perspective [23,60]. ...
Article
Full-text available
The objective of this meta-synthesis was to systematically synthesise qualitative research that explores foster children’s perspectives on participation in child welfare processes. Searches were conducted in Medline (OVID), Embase, PsycINFO, and Social Science Citation Index. Children in non-kinship foster care in any setting (high-income, middle-income, low-income countries) who self-reported their experiences of care (removal from home, foster family processes, placement breakdown) were eligible for inclusion. Selected studies took place in 11 high-income countries. A total of 8436 citations were identified and 25 articles were included in this meta-synthesis. Studies summarized the views of 376 children. Children had been in foster care between two weeks and 17 years. Findings synthesize ‘facets’ of children’s participation (e.g., being asked vs making decisions), as well as children’s perceived barriers and facilitators to participation. A main priority for children was the quality of their relationships, especially in terms of values (e.g., fairness, honesty, inclusivity). No one way of participating in child welfare processes is better than another, as some children more clearly expressed a desire for passive listening roles and others indicated a desire for active roles in decision-making. However, meaningful adults in foster children’s lives have a responsibility to act in a way that strengthens the emphasis on children’s needs and voices.
... Many child-pet relationships are positive ones, as animals are often viewed by children as being central to their family and social systems and are often granted the status of 'best friend'; this bond and friendship are often perceived as being reciprocal [1][2][3]. Children are often found to be emotionally expressive toward their pets and turn to them for support and comfort, particularly in times of distress and adversity, which can increase resilience and protect against psychopathology [4][5][6]. Dogs especially can serve a therapeutic function, particularly for children with emotional problems through increasing emotional stability, evidenced by the prevention and de-escalation of episodes of emotional crisis [7,8]. Children have an innate motivation to care for and engage in positive interactions with animals that could positively impact their psychological development [9,10]. ...
... It could be argued that children with insecure human attachments, who display emotional and behavioural difficulties, may have difficulties forming a secure attachment to a dog, and thus engage in negative interactions. It could also be argued that, when a child lacks a secure human attachment, a secure dog attachment and associated positive interactions are still possible, buffering against the development of psychopathology [4,33]. Assessing a child's human attachment in addition to pet attachment and examining directionality is therefore an important future research direction. ...
... Future interventions could test the possibility and value of targeting such factors identified in this study (human-pet attachment, positive interactions, emotion regulation skills) to promote the treatment of animals and to improve human developmental outcomes. However, it is important to consider that positive human-pet attachment could act as a buffer against a lack of human-human attachment, thus acting as a protective factor in the development of psychopathology, such as in cases of childhood adversity, where exposure to, and participation in, animal cruelty is more likely to be observed [4,31,33,34]. The current study did not consider exposure to adverse childhood events; therefore, this is a further important research avenue. ...
Article
Full-text available
Emerging evidence suggests that pet dogs can offer features of a secure attachment which has been associated with healthy psychological development across the lifespan. Limited research has investigated the underpinning mechanisms that may contribute to the benefits and risks of child–dog attachment during childhood. This study aimed to test the potential mediating role of caregiver-observed positive and negative child–dog behaviours, on the relationship between child-reported child–dog attachment, and caregiver-reported child psychopathology and emotion regulation. Data from 117 caregiver reports and 77 child self-reports were collected through an online survey in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parallel mediation analyses indicated that child–dog attachment had a significant indirect effect on conduct problems through negative child–dog behaviours only. Child–dog attachment had a significant indirect effect on emotional symptoms, peer problems, prosocial behaviour, emotion regulation, and emotional lability/negativity through both positive and negative child–dog behaviours. Although this study found modest effect sizes, the findings suggest that the types of interactions that children engage in with their pet dogs may be important mechanisms through which pet attachment contributes to psychological development throughout childhood, and therefore further attention is warranted. Positive and safe child–dog interactions can be facilitated through education and intervention, which may have implications for promoting positive developmental outcomes.
... Although attachment theory has primarily focused on parent-child bonds (Ainsworth, 1973;Bowlby, 1970), the theory has been extended to include the bond between youths and their pets. Multiple studies indicate that pets provide comfort, affection, and a sense of security that mirrors that of a positive attachment figure (Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012) while separation from a pet can provoke separation anxiety that mimics natural attachment relationships with humans (Carr and Rockett, 2017). This attachment may explain why children and adolescents perceive their bonds with their pets as significant and, further, why relationships with pets may have an impact on youths' socio-emotional development. ...
... Other researchers have utilized human attachment theory principles to determine whether a person's attachment with their pet meets the four criteria for an attachment relationship: (a) proximity maintenance, (b) attachment figure as safe haven, (c) and safe base, and (d) separation distress (Ainsworth, 1991;Bowlby, 1982). Using these four criteria, Carr and Rockett (2017) examined how youths in foster care viewed their companion animals and whether pets could act as an attachment figure for these youths. Qualitative interviews with eight youths, ages 10-16 years, found that youths established secure attachments with their pets, even in the absence of secure attachment relationships with human caregivers, and that youths' observations of caregivers' consistent and affectionate interactions with pets help to facilitate trust and a secure attachment between the youth and caregiver (Carr and Rockett, 2017). ...
... Using these four criteria, Carr and Rockett (2017) examined how youths in foster care viewed their companion animals and whether pets could act as an attachment figure for these youths. Qualitative interviews with eight youths, ages 10-16 years, found that youths established secure attachments with their pets, even in the absence of secure attachment relationships with human caregivers, and that youths' observations of caregivers' consistent and affectionate interactions with pets help to facilitate trust and a secure attachment between the youth and caregiver (Carr and Rockett, 2017). ...
Chapter
This chapter summarizes current theoretical and empirical research on the influence of human-animal interaction on youths’ development and wellbeing. We highlight the potential benefits and risks associated with interactions with companion animals, emphasizing the importance of factors such as attachment and bonds with pets in the context of youths’ development. We also discuss the inclusion of animals in educational and therapeutic interventions. We conclude with recommendations for how researchers and practitioners can advance the assessment of risk and resilience among youths by attending to relationships and interactions with companion animals within the family system and broader developmental context.
... These scholars suggested that research on children's secure attachments has mainly focused on their attachments with other humans, but cite a growing body of literature that is beginning to examine the influence of human-animal bonds on attachment and child development. Research from the United Kingdom (Carr and Rockett 2017) has suggested that although human-animal bonds cannot fulfill all of the features of child-caregiver bonds, they can supplement them by meeting the requirements of an attachment relationship-including proximity-seeking and maintenance, safe haven, secure 1 3 base, and separation distress-that are salient in theories of human-human attachment relationships. ...
... The importance of animals in out-of-home settings has been further demonstrated by Carr and Rockett (2017) who conducted a study of 8 foster children aged ten to 17 years old who had experienced a history of transient living arrangements. These children were placed into foster care settings that included dogs, and these researchers reported that the animals served as 'social lubricants' (Levinson and Mallon 1997) to the children forming relationships with caregivers. ...
... They found that these children also exhibited higher social competence than those children less interested in the animals, but the study design could not assign directional causality to this relationship. Interestingly, while the more solitary children in Wedl and Kotrschal's study did not spend more time interacting with the animals, they did spend more time in proximately with the rabbits and therefore with those children who interacted with the animals, supporting the premise that animals can serve to "social lubricate" relationships (Levinson and Mallon 1997) between children who are reluctant to form attachments with other humans, as similarly shown in Carr and Rockett's (2017) study. ...
Article
Full-text available
While the importance of secure relationships between children and caregivers has been well established in the literature as an essential feature of healthy child development, the influence of animal-human relationships on healthy development and attachment is also beginning to gain attention. A burgeoning literature supports the developmental and sustainability benefits of such relationships to children. One hundred seventeen directors of childcare centres in Manitoba, Canada (16.5%) caring for 24% of children in licensed care responded to a survey about animals in childcare facilities. Findings showed that only 51% of facilities currently had animals, with fish and caged rodents being the most common. Although centre directors agreed that the benefits of centre-based animals included children learning responsibility as well as increased calmness and happiness in children, the drawbacks in terms of children’s allergies, the costs, and the inconvenience outweighed these benefits in almost half the centres. Given the benefits of animals in young children’s lives, a list of variables for consideration is provided to aid directors in decision-making about animals in childcare centres.
... Household pets are important aspects of the social and environmental ecologies of children (Carr & Rockett, 2017). When examining family relationships and social support, it is important to consider broad modern networks of relationships and the subsequent impact on development, which include pet animals (Cassels, White, Gee, & Hughes, 2017;Melson, 2003). ...
... Additionally, caring for pets may contribute to a child's global sense of competence and positive self-regard, which may be particularly beneficial to promoting child resiliency in households where there is family conflict and/or parents struggle to demonstrate healthy parenting practices (McDonald, Corona et al., 2016;. Furthermore, prior research suggests that animals can offer children a path towards re-establishing attachment security with others and can help facilitate human-human attachments (Carr & Rockett, 2017;Cassels et al., 2017;Messent, 1983;Parish-Plass, 2008). ...
... Research into the impact of animals on human health and wellbeing has shown that interactions with animals are associated with reductions in stress, mental health problems, loneliness, aggression, and increases in quality of life, positive wellbeing, happiness, sociality and prosocial behavioral outcomes (Kotrschal & Ortbauer, 2003;Beetz, Uvnäs-Moberg, Julius, & Kotrschal, 2012;Charnetski, Riggers, & Brennan, 2004;Handlin et al., 2011;Marsa-Sambola et al., 2016;McNicholas & Collis, 2000;Purewal et al., 2017). Prior research also indicates that pets can mitigate against adverse effects of life trauma and stress, acting as a 'protective' factor against the development of psychological problems following potentially traumatic events, such as losing a spouse (Akiyama, Holtzman, & Britz, 1987) and growing up within the foster care system (Carr & Rockett, 2017). However, there is a paucity of research on the links between pet ownership, pet attachment, and mental health in childhood, and no research to date has examined whether and to what extent relationships with family pets help children cope with childhood adversity due to family violence. ...
Article
Background: It is estimated that more than half of children living in households where intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs are also exposed to animal cruelty (AC). Although prior research links bonds with pets with higher levels of socioemotional competence among school-age children, exposure to AC may negate the protective effects of pet ownership and/or exacerbate the potentially deleterious effect of IPV on children’s mental health. Objective: The current study evaluates whether and to what extent the associations between exposure to IPV and several indicators of children’s mental health vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC. Participants and Setting: Participants included 204 children (aged 7–12 years; 47% female; 57% Latinx) and their maternal caregiver who were recruited from domestic violence agencies in a western U.S. state. Method: Multiple moderation analysis evaluated whether the association between children’s exposure to IPV and internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC. Results: Analyses revealed several moderation effects for positive engagement with pets (e.g., internalizing problems: [b = −.15, t(195) = −2.66, p = .008]; posttraumatic stress symptoms: [b = −.13, t(195) = −2.24, p = .026]), whereas exposure to AC only moderated the association between IPV and anxious/depressed symptoms (b = .32, t(195) = −2.41, p = .017). Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential protective effects of positive engagement with pets and importance of screening for exposure to AC when engaging in trauma-informed work with children exposed to IPV.
... There is growing evidence that animals are capable of offering features of a secure attachment relationship for children and that children can form emotional attachment with pets that are consistent in some respects with human attachment theory [16,17]. Pets may offer children aspects of emotional attachment such as an affectional bond, special friendship, and may meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship in terms of proximity seeking/maintenance, safe-haven, secure base and separation distress, which are observed in human-human attachments [16][17][18]. ...
... There is growing evidence that animals are capable of offering features of a secure attachment relationship for children and that children can form emotional attachment with pets that are consistent in some respects with human attachment theory [16,17]. Pets may offer children aspects of emotional attachment such as an affectional bond, special friendship, and may meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship in terms of proximity seeking/maintenance, safe-haven, secure base and separation distress, which are observed in human-human attachments [16][17][18]. Pets may act as supplementary attachment figures satisfying many attachment functions, but are unlikely to fulfil all functions of secure human attachment relationships that develop between children and their caregivers. For example, the observed distress of children following separation from pets may not be due to children feeling less safe in a pets' absence [17] but rather because of their concerns about their pets' welfare [19]. ...
... Pets may act as supplementary attachment figures satisfying many attachment functions, but are unlikely to fulfil all functions of secure human attachment relationships that develop between children and their caregivers. For example, the observed distress of children following separation from pets may not be due to children feeling less safe in a pets' absence [17] but rather because of their concerns about their pets' welfare [19]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Attachment to pets has an important role in children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, mental health, well-being, and quality of life. This study examined associations between childhood attachment to pets and caring and friendship behaviour, compassion, and attitudes towards animals. This study also examined socio-demographic differences, particularly pet ownership and pet type. A self-report survey of over one thousand 7 to 12 year-olds in Scotland, UK, revealed that the majority of children are strongly attached to their pets, but attachment scores differ depending on pet type and child gender. Analysis revealed that attachment to pets is facilitated by compassion and caring and pet-directed friendship behaviours and that attachment to pets significantly predicts positive attitudes towards animals. The findings have implications for the promotion of prosocial and humane behaviour. Encouraging children to participate in pet care behaviour may promote attachment between children and their pet, which in turn may have a range of positive outcomes for both children (such as reduced aggression, better well-being, and quality of life) and pets (such as humane treatment). This study enhances our understanding of childhood pet attachment and has implications for humane education and promoting secure emotional attachments in childhood.
... Although some studies suggest that a secure child-caregiver attachment can saturate the child's need for an attachment relationship with a pet dog (Ribera et al., 2023), other studies suggest that children who are either securely or insecurely attached to their caregiver can derive comfort from their companion dog, and can form an emotional attachment with them (Wauthier et al., 2022a). Moreover, children's internal working models of human attachment relationships do not seem to transfer to their pets (Kurdek, 2008;Julius et al., 2013;Wauthier et al., 2022a), and some studies have suggested that in the absence of a secure child-caregiver attachment, dogs may act as an important attachment "substitute", protecting against the development of psychopathology (Carr and Rockett, 2017;Hawkins et al., 2019). ...
... Our findings may be further explained through research demonstrating that families with dogs tend to report more fun and humorous conversations between family members, less family conflict, and lower parental stress (Tannen, 2004;Hall et al., 2016;Cassels et al., 2017), which may increase the quality and nature of family relationships. Having a dog that a child feels attached to, and feel they can rely on for social support, may therefore also facilitate positive relationships and foster attachment between a child and their other family members, improving family functioning, and increasing social satisfaction (Wright et al., 2015;Carr and Rockett, 2017). Such possible mechanisms should be explored in future HAI research. ...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract The importance of secure human attachments in childhood for healthy psychological development is well-established, yet the well-being implications of child-dog symbiotic relationships are less understood. Children form strong emotional bonds with their pet dogs that meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship. These bonds can be mutually reinforcing and beneficial and could indicate positive child well-being. However, not all child-dog relationships are positive and here we explore whether harmful and unsafe interactions are associated with poorer emotional and behavioural functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether the type of child-dog behaviour (positive or negative) mediates the relationship between child-dog attachment and well-being indicators. Data from caregiver reports (N = 117) and child self-reports (N = 77) were collected through an online survey. The results revealed that positive child-dog interactions significantly mediated the relationship between high attachment scores and better child outcomes (higher scores for well-being, positive outlook, happiness, quality of life, higher social satisfaction, and lower loneliness), whereas the reverse was found for negative child-dog interactions, predicting lower attachment scores and worse child outcomes (negative outlook, increased loneliness and social dissatisfaction, lower quality of life). This study has identified important mechanisms through which pet dogs may pose both benefits and risks to children’s psychological well-being. These findings will aid the development and evaluation of interventions that promote positive and safe child-dog interactions and subsequent child and dog psychological health and welfare.
... A growing body of evidence shows that dogs might serve as attachment figures for children and that their presence might also compensate for some deficiencies in attachment relationships with parents (Carr & Rockett, 2017;Hawkins et al., 2017;Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012). In fact, a dog may serve as a secure base, encouraging a child to explore the environment and providing feelings of proximity, closeness, and support and an emotional bond. ...
... Adults and children evaluate pets as consistent sources of emotional support on par with family and friends (Kurdek, 2008;Meehan et al., 2017), with those who demonstrate more intense attachment to the animal rating their pet higher in their attachment hierarchy than those less attached (Meehan et al., 2017). Of course, the pet cannot fulfill all attachment needs, but it can facilitate human relationships and re-establish secure attachment with others, particularly where other attachment figures are absent or where human attachment relationships are disrupted (Carr & Rockett, 2017;Hawkins et al., 2017;Strand, 2004). ...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of a pet at home influences children’s attachment to their parents and psychological adjustment. A convenience sample of 276 participants (48.9% of whom owned of a dog or dogs; 138 children with a mean age of 8.79 years and 138 parents with a mean age of 40.37 years) was used. Two multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs), controlling for parent’s age, were performed to analyze the data. The MANCOVA results show lower levels of attachment to the mother and father in children with pets compared to children without pets. Additionally, compared to children without pets, children with pets scored lower in emotional symptoms and conduct problems and higher in prosocial behavior. These findings suggest that the presence of a pet could correlate with less perceived security in the attachment relationship with parents, probably because pets are often adopted into families with children to compensate for loneliness or closeness. However, according to the literature, the presence of a pet in itself seems to be a protective factor for a child’s psychological development. Limitations and future research perspectives are described.
... Humans can also create a secure relationship with companion animals that is consistent with human attachment (Carr et al., 2017). Emotional attachment leads to emotional links between people and others, including companion animals (Sable, 1995), developing a strong emotional connection between humans and their companion animals (Pirrone et al., 2015). ...
... Emotional attachment leads to emotional links between people and others, including companion animals (Sable, 1995), developing a strong emotional connection between humans and their companion animals (Pirrone et al., 2015). Moreover, companion animals can offer affectional bonds, special friendships, and secure bases (Beck & Madresh, 2008;Carr et al., 2017). Additionally, companion animals can provide comfort, assistance, and protection (Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
As the population of individuals from minoritized ethnic background continues to grow in the United States, the relationship between humans and their companion animals can provide valuable information for human services professionals. Attachment to companion animals can play a significant part in clients’ emotional well-being, family dynamics, and quality of life. This study aimed to examine the associations between human attachment with companion animals and their educational training and attitudes about animals. Analysis revealed that relational attachment was significant among Latino students in the study, and particpants’ positive attitudes and beliefs about animals significantly predicted their level of attachment to companion animals. Participants also reported having diverse species of companion animals that demanded different responsibilities. Considerations to enhance service delivery and educational preparation of future human services professionals have implications for humane education and improved client outcomes.
... In fact, research suggests that children of single-parent homes [19] and children with no siblings [20] report greater attachment to companion animals than children in two-parent households and children with siblings, suggesting that children may turn to animal companionship for social support. Despite limited causational research quantifying the potential protective role that positive childanimal relationships play in the face of adversity, few cross-sectional studies have found that children form strong attachment relationships with companion animals in the context of certain adversities such as living in foster care [21], experiencing parental divorce [22], and witnessing familial conflict [23]. In addition, a 2012 study found that college-aged females who had been neglected during childhood reported more attachment to their current pets than females who had not been neglected, suggesting that pets may serve as important sources of social support for adversity-exposed individuals throughout the lifespan [24]. ...
... There were no significant correlations between child-pet relationship variables and ACEs, such that participants who reported more ACEs did not report being more or less emotionally close with their pet dogs, nor did they report having more or less positive interactions with their pets in general. This is in contrast with research suggesting that children may develop strong relationships with pets in times of adversity (e.g., [21,23]). There were also no significant correlations between child-pet relationship variables and BCEs, which suggests that positive child-pet interactions may be independent of positive interactions with peers, adults, and teachers. ...
Article
Full-text available
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health. Emerging research demonstrates the protective role of positive childhood experiences, including positive sense of self and relationships with both humans and animals, in mitigating the impacts of early life adversity on mental health outcomes. This study examined whether benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) or relationships and interactions with pets during childhood moderated the link between ACEs and current mental health symptoms in a sample of young adults. Students (N = 214) recruited from a public university in the U.S. completed an online survey. Results showed that ACEs were significantly associated with worse mental health symptoms, including anxiety and depression. Neither emotional closeness to a childhood pet dog nor positive interactions with a childhood pet were significant moderators of the relationship between ACEs and mental health. In contrast, more BCEs were associated with better mental health, and their interaction with ACEs was significant such that adversity-exposed young adults with high BCEs reported fewer mental health symptoms than those with low BCEs. Results highlight the need for continued research on differential experiences that may be protective in the relationship between adversity exposures and mental health.
... Touch, physical intimacy and 'contact comfort' (e.g. Carr and Rockett, 2017) are core mechanisms through which a sense of attachment to others and connection to the world are created and maintained (e.g. Playfair, 2010). ...
... Attachment theorists (e.g. Kwong and Bartholomew, 2011;Carr and Rockett, 2017) have suggested that contact comfort (skin-to-skin physical contact) is an important feature of human connection and researchers have also suggested (e.g. Playfair, 2010) that physical touch can be an important mechanism through which EL is mitigated and through which we can literally feel connected to the world. ...
Article
This study sought to explore qualitatively experiences of existential loneliness (EL) in 80 older people living in retirement communities across the United Kingdom and Australia. Qualitative semi-structured interviews permitted in-depth exploration of issues such as biographical narrative, close relationships, loss, feelings of loneliness and retirement living. It was our intention to conduct a large-scale, deep-listening exercise that would provide further clues about EL in older people and the circumstances that give rise to such feelings. Data provided rich insight into older people's inner lives. Core themes identified loss of close attachments, lack of physical touch and intimacy, deterioration of health and body, and lack of an emotional language through which to express EL as central to older people's experiences. Furthermore, there was a suggestion that the move to retirement living was for many people inextricably connected to their experience of EL. Our data further support and extend the notion that EL can be thought of as a gradual sense of separation from the world and that ageing intensifies a myriad of social, emotional and physical circumstances that prompt its emergence. This sense of existential isolation need not be thought of as exclusive to those experiencing extreme frailty or who face death imminently – our data pointed to a clear and gradual emergence of EL throughout later life.
... Pets can also facilitate bonding between youth and foster parents and be a source of security and comfort for youth in government care (Carr & Rockett, 2017). ...
... The role of pets as companions is well documented in the literature (e.g.,Carr & Rockett, 2017), and pets are widely understood to be integral members of a family(Cassels et al., 2017;Power, 2008).Recent research has found that young people view pets and siblings as equal in the companionship they provide. However, youth often receive more satisfaction and engage in less conflict with pets than with their siblings(Cassels et al., 2017). ...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Connections and Companionship II is a sequel to a 2016 report which looked at the relationship between adolescents and their pets. It includes data from the 2018 BC Adolescent Health Survey and from a 2020 survey specifically about youth’s relationship with their pet.
... Overall, companion animals can have a positive impact on individuals who own and interact with them from both a psychological (e.g., through mood enhancement and stress and anxiety reduction) and physiological perspective (e.g., through the reduction in cortisol levels, heart rate, and blood pressure) [32,33]. Most importantly, it has been argued that companion animals can aid in the development of one's capacity for emotional regulation [34]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Emotional dysregulation involving anger can have severe consequences on the individual's psychosocial and emotional functioning. This study aimed to investigate the role that the companion animal bond and the personality dimension of trait anger play in explaining affective dysregulation. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 365 participants. Using the PROCESS macro for SPSS, a moderated model was tested to analyze the hypothesis that affective dysregulation depends on trait anger and that the companion animal bond moderates the relationship between trait anger and affective dysregulation. The results showed that the effect of trait anger on affective dysregulation increases especially when the degree of bonding to an animal companion is low, suggesting that a strong bond to a companion animal may protect individuals with trait anger from the likelihood of experiencing affective regulation problems. The psychological, health-related, and educational implications of the current anthrozoological study include the potential of the human-animal bond in acting as a facilitator of adaptive affective regulation processes, which can reduce the levels of uncontrolled anger-related emotions and the subsequent risk of out-of-control behaviors.
... Companion dogs can provide social and emotional support through stable social contact, positive social interactions, and social facilitation (Melson and Schwarz, 1994;Wood et al., 2005;Wood et al., 2015). Youth often turn to their pets for emotional support and comfort when distressed (Melson and Schwarz, 1994;Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012;Carr and Rockett, 2017). Attachment to a pet can serve as an emotional buffer during times of stress and has been associated with the utilization of socially-oriented coping skills (Mueller and Callina, 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
Adolescence is a key developmental period for the onset of social anxiety, as it is a time of social transitions and stressors. Therefore, it is important to identify protective factors within the environment that can prevent and/or reduce the effects of social anxiety in addition to existing evidence-based treatments. The presence of a supportive pet dog may be one way of reducing the effects of acute social stressors for youth, but these effects have not been tested robustly in real-world settings. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess physiological responses to pet interactions in real-life scenarios among adolescents with social anxiety ( n = 37). Results indicated that this protocol was perceived as feasible by youth participants and allowed for integration across different data streams. Participant use of a wearable sensor to collect electrodermal activity was generally successful, with an average of 12 h of data collected per participant. However, the use of a timestamp button on the sensor was not an effective strategy for data collection. These findings suggest that EMA using self-report activity diary data combined with continuous psychophysiological measurement using wearable sensors is generally a feasible person-centered approach for measuring adolescent-dog interactions in a way that maintains ecological validity.
... Animals serve as attachment figures for children. Research evidence supports the idea that children's bonds with nonhuman animals can manifest many of the characteristics of a secure attachment relationship between human beings (Carr & Rockett, 2017). This emotional attachment and attraction of children to animals can very well be harnessed to raise children's understanding of animals and animal care, fostera sense of empathy for animals among children, and engage children in animal advocacy activities (Horsthemke, 2018). ...
Article
Full-text available
... 1. Among people living with NHAs, a stronger human-animal bond would enable people living through COVID-19 related restrictions to experience higher levels of well-being despite the COVID lockdowns, which led to a loss of freedom of movement and interaction (Carr & Rockett, 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Using a One Health lens, this study explored whether the strength of the bond between humans and non-human animals would predict well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the substantial existing research done over the last several decades, we hypothesized that the presence of non-human animals (NHAs) may be linked directionally to well-being. Participants were recruited to this online survey using social media. A demographic survey as well as the World Health Organizations' Well-being Scale (WHO5) and a 10-item Pet Attachment Scale (PAS10) were used. Results showed that the human-animal bond, as measured by the PAS10, was the only significant predictor of well-being. The bond with NHAs itself was influenced by the role non-human animals play, with the strongest bond among those who reported that they considered NHAs to be family members. The article concludes that governments should support the human-animal bond during stressful and dangerous times, such as a pandemic, as it is an important one health strategy that can protect the mental and physical health of humans and non-human animal companions.
... This process is often noted as a mechanism whereby children develop empathy, sympathy, and prosocial behaviors (Barber et al., 2005). Along with the more recently proposed ecosocialization to explain ones' relationship with the nonhuman world around them (Keto & Foster, 2021) and the role animals can play in developing attachment needs (Carr & Rockett, 2017), it is not unreasonable to suggest that a humane education could provide the origins of a new and needed worldview, one that addresses the issues of the Anthropocene (Crutzen, 2006) and places the child learner in a new (nondominant) position in relation to their other living counterparts. ...
Article
Full-text available
Early childhood education builds the foundation for students’ academic careers, but perhaps more importantly emphasizes developmentally appropriate practices that encourage social and emotional learning and prosocial behaviors. Similarly, humane education addresses students’ capacity for empathy, compassion, and perspective-taking through connecting the needs of humans, animals, and the environment. This paper describes the development of an emerging framework for humane education grounded in and evolving from Freire’s critical pedagogy and its alignment with Hirschi’s social control theory that sets the conditions for a humane classroom. Highlighting prosocial interactions and social cohesion, this article proposes logical outcomes and measures to move students from an anthropomorphic perspective to an ecocentric one where learners understand their role in this world and their ability to act within it. The result is a roadmap for teaching and learning that connects animal, planetary, and human needs within the crucial timeframe of early childhood development.
... Animals serve as attachment figures for children. Research evidence supports the idea that children's bonds with nonhuman animals can manifest many of the characteristics of a secure attachment relationship between human beings (Carr & Rockett, 2017). This emotional attachment and attraction of children to animals can very well be harnessed to raise children's understanding of animals and animal care, fostera sense of empathy for animals among children, and engage children in animal advocacy activities (Horsthemke, 2018). ...
Article
Full-text available
The paper intends to discuss India’s humane cultural traditions and its animal protection laws, justify the current need for humane education in Indian schools and preschools, offer examples of humane education curriculum ideas, and highlight the work of animal welfare organizations in India. Since ancient times, reverence and compassion for animals have been woven into India’s cultural motif. All major religions in India uphold these beliefs. Hinduism, in particular, has endowed animals with a sacred status and perceives animals within the same spiritual unity that pervades the cosmos. Although not presented formally in schools, children in India grew up listening to stories that highlighted compassion for animals and participated in family rituals that showed reverence for animals. However, such cultural beliefs and practices are losing ground for a host of reasons in recent years. For example, while pet ownership has increased in recent years, incidents of pet abandonment, as well as stories of cruelty towards animals, have also wound their ways into the news headlines. Many animal protection laws have been introduced over the years, yet violations of these laws continue. Laws will not protect the rights of animals in India, but humane citizens will. Humane education programs have the potential to help plant the seed of compassion and justice for all animals early in children’s hearts. Teachers may implement a carefully crafted humane education curriculum based on free resources provided by animal welfare organizations worldwide. A review of the literature shows that humane education is still uncharted territory for scholars in India. It is hoped that the article will draw attention to the topic of humane education among Indian researchers.
... Pets are present in over 60% of U.S. households and increasingly recognized as a social determinant of health (Mueller et al., 2018). It is well documented that young people turn to their pets for comfort and emotional support when coping with negative emotions such as anger and sadness (American Pet Products Association, n.d.; Bryant, 1990;Carr & Rockett, 2017;Covert et al., 1985;McDonald et al., 2015;McNicholas & Collis, 2001;Zilcha-Mano et al., 2012). Cumulative evidence documents a wide range of emotional health benefits from pet ownership in both childhood and adolescence. ...
Article
Objective : The current study evaluates whether, and to what extent, the association between gender-based victimization and wellbeing among sexual and gender minority emerging adults varies as a function of emotional support from companion animals. Method : Data were collected from young people between the ages of 18 and 21 years who self-identified as a sexual and/or gender minority ( N = 134; 37.3% ethnic/racial minority; 49.2 % gender minority; 98.5% sexual minority). Results: Results of simple and multiple moderation models suggest that the effect of victimization on self-esteem is moderated by comfort from pets, and that the relation between victimization and self-esteem is statistically significant at low levels of comfort from pets and high levels of social support. We did not find evidence of moderation in models with either anxiety or depression as the dependent variable. Conclusions: These findings underscore the potential role of emotional comfort derived from relationships with pets in supporting psychological wellbeing following gender-based victimization, as well as the importance of community collaboration between human and animal support services.
... From this literature, there is increasing evidence that children often form deep emotional attachments to their pets. These attachments can resemble secure human attachment relationships [6][7][8] in providing several key resources, such as affection, Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s0078 7-020-01594 -5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. ...
Article
Full-text available
Pet ownership is common. Growing evidence suggests children form deep emotional attachments to their pets. Yet, little is known about children's emotional reactions to a pet's death. The goal of this study was to describe the relationship between experiences of pet death and risk of childhood psychopathology and determine if it was "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all". Data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK-based prospective birth cohort (n = 6260). Children were characterized based on their exposure to pet ownership and pet death from birth to age 7 (never loved; loved without loss; loved with loss). Psychopathology symptoms at age 8 were compared across groups using multivariable linear regression. Psychopathology symptoms were higher among children who had loved with loss compared to those who had loved without loss (β = 0.35, p = 0.013; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.63), even after adjustment for other adversities. This group effect was more pronounced in males than in females. There was no difference in psychopathology symptoms between children who had loved with loss and those who had never loved (β = 0.20, p = 0.31, 95% CI = -0.18-0.58). The developmental timing, recency, or accumulation of pet death was unassociated with psychopathology symptoms. Pet death may be traumatic for children and associated with subsequent mental health difficulties. Where childhood pet ownership and pet bereavement is concerned, Tennyson's pronouncement may not apply to children's grief responses: it may not be "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all".
... For example, children may become more attached to their pets when facing adversity such as parental divorce (Strand, 2004) and violent family environments (McDonald, Collins, et al., 2015a, b;McDonald, Vidacovich, et al., 2015a, b;Newberry, 2017). It has also been suggested that pets may serve as secure attachment figures for children (Zilcha-Mano, Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2011), particularly in the absence of nurturing and positive relationships (Carr & Rockett, 2017;Hawkins et al., 2019). Prior studies suggest that children exposed to IPV report high levels of positive engagement with pets (e.g., caretaking, play), and rely on animals for stress reduction in times of adversity (McDonald, Collins, et al., 2015a, b;McDonald, Vidacovich, et al., 2015a, b). ...
Article
Full-text available
[in press] Background: Prior research has found that co-occurring forms of family violence exacerbate the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure on children’s externalizing behaviors. Although exposure to animal cruelty (AC) is prevalent among children living in households where IPV occurs, no study to date has tested whether and to what extent AC moderates the relationship between IPV exposure and externalizing behaviors. The current study evaluates whether the associations between exposure to IPV and several indicators of externalizing behavior vary as a function of children’s AC exposure and engagement with pets. Method: Participants included 204 mother-child dyads recruited from IPV services (children aged 7-12 years; 47% female; 77.5% ethnic minority). We conducted a separate multiple moderation analysis for each externalizing outcome (rule-breaking behavior, aggressive behavior, oppositional defiant problems, and conduct problems) using PROCESS to evaluate whether the association between exposure to IPV and externalizing behavior varied as a function of children’s engagement with pets and exposure to AC (adjusting for demographic covariates). Results: Approximately 27% of children were exposed to AC. We did not find evidence that positive engagement with pets or AC exposure moderated the association between IPV and externalizing problems. Conclusions: Although prior research suggests that AC exposure and positive engagement with pets may impact the development of internalizing behavior, this study’s findings have important implications as they suggest that these aspects of human-animal interaction may play a less significant role in the development of externalizing behavior, particularly in the context of IPV.
... Of the 82.5 million households with pets, roughly 40% own dogs, while 33% own cats and around 4% own other mammals (Steneroden et al. 2011). Pets are an increasingly integral part of society, and many of those households owning pets even consider them a member of their family (Carr and Rockett 2017). In addition to family pets, there are over 20,000 service dogs serving in the United States, according to the American Humane Association (Canines and Childhood Cancer n.d.). ...
Book
This book provides an up-to-date overview of the current knowledge and research concerning domestic pets as sentinels, forecasters and promoters of human health. Written by leading specialists in the fields of medicine, veterinary, environment, analytical chemistry, sociology and behavioral science, this volume provides a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of pets in what regards to human health. The first seven chapters are devoted to the use of pets as sentinels for their human companions, in terms of exposure to different classes of environmental chemicals. The following five chapters address the use of pets as models for human diseases and promoters of human health. The final two chapters highlight the psycho-social and psychophysiological aspects of human-animal interactions. The book offers an integrated approach to the One Health concept, providing, in a truly holistic manner, tools to assess the equilibrium between the environment, men and animals. This exercise will highlight and reshape our position towards the planet that despite being “a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot lost in the unimaginable infinity of the Universe” is still our own. At the end of the day, pets will always be there to help us.
... The therapeutic value of animal companionship comes in part from animals' biological capacity to detect chemical changes in human bodies (as in the examples of end-of-life care and epilepsy) and in part from their role as beings that seem to have a knack for responding positively to human stress and anxiety. In mental and neurological health, companionship and interaction with animals has been identified as a breakthrough therapy for autistic children (Solomon 2010), and as providing a means for neglected children to mediate attachment to human adults (Carr and Rockett 2017). It is here that the human-animal relationship, rather than the presence of the animal alone, becomes most obviously therapeutic. ...
Article
Full-text available
This introductory article maps out the parameters of an emerging field of medical anthropology, human animal health, and its potential for reorienting the discipline. Ethnographic explorations of how animals are implicated in health, well‐being, and pathogenicity allow us to revisit theorizations of central topics in medical anthropology, notably ecology, biopolitics, and care. Meanwhile, the conditions of the Anthropocene force us to develop new tools to think about human animal entanglement. Anthropogenic change reorients debates around health and disease, but it also requires us to move beyond what some consider the traditional boundaries of the discipline. Zoonotic diseases, veterinary medicine, animal therapeutics, and food and farming are examples of topics that force such movement.
... Odnos između djeteta i njegova ljubimca poprima karakteristike sigurne privrženosti, a emocionalno povezivanje djeteta s ljubimcem konzistentno je tumačenjima razvoja privrženosti u odnosima među ljudima (Carr i Rockett, 2017). Djeca u odnosu sa svojim ljubimcima realiziraju funkcije karakteristične za privrženost, poput traženja blizine, separacijske anksioznosti i sigurnog utočišta. ...
Article
The main purpose of this research was to test the applicability of the basic concepts of the attachment theory in the field of relationship between humans and their pets, i.e. to define the basic features of the aforementioned relationship in the context of attachment. The relationship between the owner and the pet is interpreted in the context of close relationships within a family, romantic and friendly domain. The survey included 219 dog owners, who were personally contacted and who agreed to fill in the questionnaire. The measuring instruments used in the questionnaire were as follows: Attachment Features and Functions Questionnaire, Modified Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, Attachment to pets questionnaire. In a relationship with a pet, the function of separation anxiety before a safe haven is shown as an indicator of the attached behaviour. A relationship with a romantic partner is perceived by the dog owners as the one with the most powerful experience of a safe haven, while a relationship with a pet is perceived as the least powerful. Differences in the experience of separation anxiety between relationships are somewhat less evident, although they are present and support the leading status of a relationship with a romantic partner. A low degree of consistency among the dimensions of attachment in a relationship with humans and a relationship with a pet has been established. Individuals who are more inclined to avoid closeness and refuse intimacy are more likely to establish fewer attached behaviours in specific relationships (applies to all investigated types of relationships). The research has contributed to defining the characteristics of the relationship between the owner and the pet since it includes the presumed role of the attachment in such a relationship. Generally, the results point towards the conclusion in the theoretically expected direction, which is that the relationship with the pet relates to the remaining three close interpersonal domains in terms of quality of attachment. It can be concluded that the relationship with the pet imitates a close interpersonal relationship. © 2018, Faculty of Arts and Sciences in Rijeka. All rights reserved.
... Although we did not assess why dog owners may be more willing to talk about jealousy and apathy with their dogs than their partners, research suggests that owners often consider their pets as safe havens (Geisler, 2004;Kurdek, 2009), and act as a secure base, allowing them to explore and take risks more confidently . Pets have also been shown to provide a source of comfort and support in times of need (Carr & Rockett, 2017;Zilcha-Mano, Mikulincer, & Shaver, 2011, 2012, over and above that experienced in the presence of a friend or family member (Allen et al., 1991(Allen et al., , 2002. Thus, it might be that, they fulfil this function in the psychological world as well as the physical world. ...
Article
Full-text available
Many owners talk to their pets about a wide range of issues, but there is very little research that has considered the content of this, or its impact on owner wellbeing. Verbal disclosure brings a range of potential health benefits, yet a number of factors may prevent individuals from confiding in their partners or friends (confidants). As such, in some circumstances, dogs may provide a more favorable alternative focus for disclosure. In a survey, we assessed dog owners’ (n = 286) and non-dog owners’ (n = 64) self-reported willingness to talk to their dog (dog owners only), their partner and their confidant. We used the Emotional Self Disclosure Scale (ESDS) for non-dog owners, and an adapted version of this for dog owners: Emotional Self Disclosure Scale–Dog Owners (ESDS-DO). Both dog owners and non-dog owners demonstrated a greater willingness to disclose to their partner than a confidant. For dog owners, their dog appeared to play a similar role as their partner, with greater willingness to talk to their dog about depression, jealousy, anxiety, calmness, apathy, and fear-related emotions, compared with a confidant. When talking about jealousy and apathy, dog owners reported greater willingness to talk to their dog than their partner or a confidant, but between-group comparisons (dog owner vs non-dog owner) revealed that dog owners and non-dog owners did not significantly differ in their willingness to talk to their partner or confidant, suggesting human relationships were not negatively affected by confiding to the dog. Participant age and length of relationship with their partner did not affect disclosure patterns for dog owners or non-dog owners. Males and females showed different willingness to disclose to confidants, but not to dogs. The results have implications for considering the value of dogs for human psychological health.
... There is growing recognition that owning a pet can benefit individual well-being [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Although mechanisms underlying the "pet-effect" are unclear, one theory which has received considerable attention is that pets act as secure attachment figures, providing comfort and support in times of need [7][8][9]. Attachment styles are shown to be significant predictors of quality of life across a range of ailments and demographic factors [10][11][12][13][14]. One cohort of individuals who may, in particular, experience the benefits of attachment to a pet are those who own an assistance dog, since these individuals rely on their dog for support with essential daily tasks. ...
Article
Full-text available
Attachment styles have been shown to affect quality of life. Growing interest in the value of companion animals highlights that owning a dog can also affect quality of life, yet little research has explored the role of the attachment bond in affecting the relationship between dog ownership and quality of life. Given that the impact of dog ownership on quality of life may be greater for assistance dog owners than pet dog owners, we explored how anxious attachment and avoidance attachment styles to an assistance dog affected owner quality of life (n = 73). Regression analysis revealed that higher anxious attachment to the dog predicted enhanced quality of life. It is suggested that the unique, interdependent relationship between an individual and their assistance dog may mean that an anxious attachment style is not necessarily detrimental. Feelings that indicate attachment insecurity in other relationships may reflect more positive aspects of the assistance dog owner relationship, such as the level of support that the dog provides its owner.
Article
The impact that companion animals may have on adolescent engagement in sports and other activities is currently unclear. This study included participant data gathered from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®, a longitudinal study of brain development and youth health outcomes in the United States (n = 8,489). This study aimed to clarify the extent to which companion animal type impacts family involvement in sports and other activities. Additionally, it is framed within the bioecological model of human development, which provides a useful framework for human–animal interaction researchers going forward. This study utilized multiple logistic and linear regressions in answering the research questions posed. The results indicate that, when adjusting for context- and person-level covariates, there does not appear to be a meaningful relationship between companion animal type and family involvement in sports and other activities, physical activity, or screen time. This study serves as a guidepost for human–animal interaction researchers as to the importance of including contextual variables in their studies before making claims regarding the impact of companion animals on youth, especially when details about the companion animal relationship are unavailable.
Article
This article highlights the significance of pets for five young women with care experience, examining the impact of disruptions to those relationships when moving into or between care settings. Findings show that pets support the transition to independent living and mental health. Participants’ reflections also reveal how pets are a source of comfort and stability for children growing up in families experiencing difficult circumstances. Loss is therefore traumatic because of the support pets provided and the context surrounding loss. Despite their significance, pets were largely absent from discussions and processes associated with managing care transitions. Adults and perceived constraints in residential care dictated what happened with respect to pets. Neither consulted nor supported, children were left to cope on their own. Attention to pets should be an integral part of the process of managing care transitions and it is imperative that the impact of pet loss (at any stage in children’s lives) is understood and supported. Otherwise, the system may inadvertently foster a perpetual loop of mistrust and relational losses. We consider how some local authorities are starting to manage this process (considering pets in the family or foster carers’ homes), and existing guidance on introducing animals in residential care.
Article
Pets contribute significantly to social, cognitive and emotional development of children. Taking into consideration the importance of pets in a child's life, this paper is focused on treating pets and children's pets preferences. The subjects were fourth-grade pupils in a primary school in Belgrade. We wanted to find out if children prefer pets and which ones, and then whether pupils differ in terms of gender and pet ownership regarding pet care and treating. Descriptive statistics have been applied, while t-test has been used as a technique. Results show that boys and girls are largely in the same position regarding pet ownership, and that pupils preferred mostly dogs as pets, which were followed by fish and cats. There is no statistically significant difference between boys and girls considering friendly pet treating. There is a statistically important difference between pupils who have pets and those who do not regarding friendly treating. It would be interesting to research why children prefer dogs, fish and cats to pets like hamsters, parrots etc. Further research can be focused on emotional attachment of pupils to pets.
Article
Aims and methods Loneliness is a prevalent and significant issue. It has been identified as a particularly important physical and mental health risk for older people. This article critically explores and discusses a recent study that sought to qualitatively explore the lived experiences of existential loneliness in a large sample of older people living in retirement community contexts. Findings The data pointed to complex, multilayered challenges, often brought about by ageing, that give rise to unique experiences of existential loneliness for many older people. Conclusions For clinical practitioners, understanding how older people experience existential loneliness is essential if we are to develop support mechanisms that compassionately and empathically respond to them.
Article
Background: Childhood interspecific relationships can be viewed as a mirror of the person’s capacity to interact with other living beings. The interspecific relationship can involve different attachment styles, affect regulation skills, transitional object dynamics, and self-awareness and mentalization processes. Yet interspecific relationships can also be disrupted, since they can be associated with cruel behavior toward animals, which is in turn related to possible psychopathology. Method: We provided a conceptual framework based on the literature addressing the interspecific relationship in both its adaptive and positive features as well as in its disrupted aspects. Discussion: Pets have often been regarded as attachment figures that can aid children in socialization and growth processes. They have been deemed to represent “social catalysts” that tend to facilitate human relationships, thus increasing prosocial behaviors. On the dark side of the pet-child interaction, childhood abuse of animals tends to be associated with behavioral and emotional problems that have been thought of as underlying psychopathology (e.g., conduct disorder and antisocial personality traits). Childhood cruelty to animals seems to accompany emotion dysregulation, poor social information processing, and low empathy. Conclusions: Since the child-pet relationship has substantial implications for the individual’s mental health and for the potential development of psychopathology, addressing children’s attitudes toward animals can aid in understanding the affective and emotional dimensions of their interpersonal experience.
Article
Full-text available
For families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to explore how both youth and parents view their roles with regard to the shared caretaking of pets. While most human–animal interaction studies examine adult or early childhood samples, our focus was on adolescent development. We present findings from a U.S. based mixed-method study of adolescent surveys and parent interviews regarding pet care responsibility. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, we analyzed survey data from 567 pet-owning adolescents and a subset of 356 dog owning adolescents aged 10–17 as well as 31 in-depth interviews with parents of adolescents from the same study. Higher reported pet caretaking responsibilities was significantly associated with a preference for spending time with pets when stressed and improved family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic for both pet owners and dog owners. For dog owners only, increased levels of responsibility for the pet was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of identifying as a pet owner. Qualitative findings showcase the range of parental expectations and adolescent initiative around pet caretaking. Our study highlights the continued importance of pet companionship during the adolescent years as they develop their identities as responsible pet owners.
Article
Despite growing awareness of the psychological issues associated with childhood animal cruelty, there is a scarcity of research carried out directly with children. This study investigates the psychological factors influencing the likelihood of a child harming animals, specifically the roles of attachment, empathy, executive functioning, issues related to externalizing behavior, and Callous Unemotional (CU) traits. The sample comprised children at high risk of animal harm referred to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal’s Animal Guardians program (n = 9) and low-risk controls (n = 18) matched for age and school class. A range of assessment techniques was used over three interview sessions for each child. Externalizing problems were measured using teacher reports; attachment was blind-coded using the Child Attachment Play Assessment; executive functioning was assessed using a Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS); and empathy was measured using self-report and picture-based tasks, the Kids Empathy Development Scale. Children at high risk of animal harm were more likely to be insecurely attached (p = 0.002), scored significantly higher on Strengths and Difficulties (U = 1.5, p < 0.001) and CU traits (U = 6.4, p = 0.001) as rated by their teachers, scored lower on cognitive empathy (U = 36.5, p = 0.043), and performed more poorly on the DCCS test of executive functioning (U = 31.0, p = 0.014). No significant differences were found between high-risk and low-risk children on self-reported empathy or emotion recognition. We also found that insecure attachment was related to an increased score for many psychological risk factors. This exploratory study demonstrates that childhood animal harm can act as an indicator of a range of psychological issues and highlights the importance of designing appropriate interventions for this vulnerable population.
Article
It is proposed that young children may develop a felt sense of God through an attachment to nature that parallels their attachment to significant people in their lives. Children learn through their senses and young children experience a sense of awe and wonder when immersed in nature. Research supports the argument that children who are exposed to nature develop personal attributes that help them flourish. This article argues for a nexus between young children’s sensory experiences in nature and their felt sense of God.
Chapter
Pets have become an integral part of our families with over 80% of pet owners reporting that they consider their pets to be a member of their family. An estimated 29 million dogs and cats live in families that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. There are also middle-class families that live paycheck to paycheck, with limited funds for veterinary care. These families deserve the companionship of pets to enjoy the mental, physical, and emotional benefits that come from this human-animal bond. Through a grant from Maddie’s Fund®, the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition (AVCC) commissioned a national population study to better understand the barriers to veterinary care experienced by pet owners across the socioeconomic spectrum. The study also sought to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices veterinarians have regarding access to veterinary care. The overwhelming barrier for all groups of pet owners and types of care is financial. Findings confirm that veterinary service providers recognize the severity of the problem and feel a commitment to explore ways to address it. Almost all veterinary service provider respondents agreed that all pets deserve some level of veterinary care and that not being able to obtain veterinary care impacts the owner’s mental and emotional health. Lack of access to veterinary care is a complex societal problem with many causes. This report will assist in understanding these complex and interrelated issues and guide veterinary service providers, social service and public health professionals, animal welfare advocates, and policymakers in the development of solutions.
Chapter
While genomics can be used to determine genetic susceptibility to certain illnesses, genetic-based approaches alone are rarely capable of predicting the onset of a disease. Environmental factors, such as microbial exposure, often play a significant role in determining human susceptibility to illness, which impacts the genetic predictability of a disease in many cases. While humans are exposed to microbes in almost every facet of their daily lives, one vector has become of particular interest as of late: pets. In addition to the mental and physical benefits conferred by pets unto their owners, it is thought that human exposure to animal-associated microbes can play a significant role in bolstering human health. In response to this, a new treatment that leverages exposure to pet-associated microbes is being proposed for diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and even depression. Emergent treatments like these, which have grown out of the human microbiome study, have begun to open up new frontiers in the field of personalized medicine. Microbial therapies such as probiotics, fecal microbiome transplants, and personalized diets are already having a substantial impact on patient care and are heralding in a new vision of precision medicine. Microbiome-based therapeutics involving microbial exposure in homes have been increasingly investigated for their potential to prevent and treat chronic diseases. This chapter explores the evidence that symbioses between humans and their cohabiting pets shape the interaction between microbes, host, and the environment and how that interaction affects human health and disease.
Technical Report
Full-text available
The Division of Health Services in the Norwegian Institute of Public Health was commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs to conduct a systematic literature search with categorization of empirical research about support services and recruitment of foster families, including guidance and supervision of foster homes.
Article
The precise nature of attachment to pets and differences between girls' and boys' relationships at age 11, 13 and 15 years are investigated in this paper. Data from the 2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Scotland were used to examine various qualities of adolescents' attachments to their pet dogs, cats and small mammals. Survey participants (N = 2472) answered pet ownership questions and completed the ‘Short Attachment to Pets Scale’ (SAPS). Multivariate analysis revealed main effects of age, sex and pet type, but no interaction effects. There is a pattern of weakening attachment to pets with increasing age, with emotional support qualities of attachment receiving higher ratings from girls, and stronger attachments evident with dogs. These findings enhance understanding of the role played by pets in the broader relational context of adolescents' lives, and help to identify how we might intervene to support adolescents experiencing socio-emotional difficulties or life disruptions.
Article
The relationship between adolescents’ communication with their significant others (mother, father, and best friend) and quality of life (KIDSCREEN) was investigated in 2262 Scottish adolescent pet owners. The variable attachment to pets was also tested and assessed as a mediator of this relationship. A positive relationship between adolescents’ communication with their significant other (mother, father, and best friend) and quality of life decreased when controlling for attachment to dogs. In cat owners, a positive relationship between communication with a best friend and quality of life decreased when controlling for attachment to cats. In cat and dog owners, attachment to these pets predicted higher levels of quality of life. Higher attachment to dogs and cats was explained by good best friend (IV) and attachment to pets (DV) and best friends. Mediation effects of attachment to dogs and cats might be explained in terms of the caring activities associated with these types of pets.
Article
Full-text available
Children suffering from insecure attachment due to severe abuse and/or neglect are often characterized by internal working models which, although perhaps adaptive within the original family situation, are inappropriate and maladaptive in other relationships and situations. Such children have a higher probability than the general population of becoming abusing or neglecting parents. Besides the usual goals of psychotherapy, an overall goal is to stop the cycle of abuse in which abused children may grow up to be abusing parents. Therapy with these children is complicated by their distrust in adults as well as difficulties in symbolization due to trauma during the preverbal stage. Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) provides avenues for circumventing these difficulties, as well as providing additional tools for reaching the inner world of the client. This article gives a brief background of the connection between insecure attachment and intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect as well as a brief overview of the principles of AAT in a play therapy setting. A rationale for the use of AAT as a unique therapy technique for children having suffered from abuse and neglect is followed by a number of clinical examples illustrating AAT.
Article
Full-text available
Children who were maltreated and enter foster care are at risk for maladjustment and relationship disturbances with foster carers. A popular hypothesis is that prior attachment relationships with abusive birth parents are internalized and carried forward to impair the child's subsequent attachment relationships. However, the empirical base for this model is limited, especially in adolescence. We examined the attachment patterns of 62 adolescents with their birth parents and their foster parents; we compared them to a comparison sample of 50 adolescents in normal-risk families. Attachment was assessed using the Child Attachment Interview; adolescent-parent interaction quality was assessed from direct observation; disruptive behavior symptoms were assessed from multiple informants. Whereas nearly all of the adolescents in foster families exhibited insecure attachments to their birth mothers (90%) and birth fathers (100%), nearly one-half were classified as having a secure attachment with their foster mother (46%) and father (49%); rates of secure attachment toward foster parents did not differ significantly from the rate in comparison families. Within the foster care sample, attachment security to the foster mother was predicted from current observed relationship quality and the duration of current placement. In addition, attachment quality in foster adolescents was associated with fewer disruptive behavior symptoms, and this association was equally strong in foster and comparison families. Our findings demonstrate that there is substantial potential for maltreated children to change and develop subsequent secure attachments in adolescence.
Article
Full-text available
Four samples of college students (N = 923) were used to address the extent to which pet dogs, relative to humans, exhibited features of an attachment figure and to identify characteristics of persons with strong attachments to their pet dogs. Dogs exhibited the feature of proximity maintenance as well as fathers and siblings did, and secure basis and proximity maintenance were their most salient features. Differences in the closeness of relationships with dogs versus humans were minimal for students with high levels of attachment to their dogs. Attachment was positively linked to involvement in the care for the dog, the extent to which the dog met needs regarding relatedness, owner traits of openness, and dog traits of energy and intelligence.
Article
Full-text available
Anecdotal reports of cruelty to pet animals in families where partner battering occurs are common but there exist few empirical data on this issue. Determining the forms and prevalence of such cruelty is important since abuse of pets may be a method batterers use to control their partners, may be related to batterers' lethality, and may result in children in such families being exposed to multiple forms of violence, a significant risk for mental health problems. Thirty-eight women seeking shelter at a safe house for battered partners voluntarily completed surveys about pet ownership and violence to pets. of the women reporting current or past pet ownership, 71% reported that their partner had threatened and/or actually hurt or killed one or more of their pets. Actual (as distinct from threatened) harm to pets represented the majority (57%) of reports. Fifty-eight percent of the full sample of women had children and 32% of these women reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed pet animals; in 71% of these cases, the women had also reported animal abuse (threatened or actual) by their partner. This study represents one of the first empirical analyses of the prevalence of animal maltreatment in a sample of battered women. The high prevalence rate of batterers' threatened or actual harm of animals and the relatively high rate of animal abuse reported for the children in this sample are relevant for future research and policy analyses.
Article
Full-text available
In a series of studies we used attachment theory as a framework to examine human–pet relationships. We proposed that, as in interpersonal relationships, people differ in their degree of anxious or avoidant attachment to their pets, and that these individual differences influence pet-related cognitions, emotions, and behavior. We constructed a self-report scale, the Pet Attachment Questionnaire (PAQ), and examined its factorial structure, associations with attachment patterns in human relationships (Studies 1–2), relation to explicit and implicit expectations concerning a pet (3–4), and reactions to the loss of a pet (5). We found that individual differences in pet attachment do occur in the domains of attachment anxiety and avoidance, and these differences contribute uniquely to the prediction of expectations about the pet and emotional reactions to its death.Highlights► A scale tapping pet attachment was built. ► People differ in anxious and avoidant attachment to pets. ► These variations are related to pet-related cognitions and behavior.
Article
Full-text available
Although the literature on human-animal interactions has documented the physical, psychological, and social benefits resulting from positive relationships with dogs, cats, and other kinds of companion animals, many attachment instruments include items that pertain to specific kinds of interactions with dogs. For this reason, dog owners attain higher scores on these measures than owners of cats and other types of pets. This study introduces a scale for measuring attachment in terms of the perceived comfort received from a pet. A sample of 87 cat owners and 58 dog owners completed the Comfort from Companion Animals Scale. The results showed that, when two items pertaining to dogs were included, dog owners showed a significantly higher degree of attachment. When only the 11 items pertaining to the emotional nature of the relationship were included, however, there were no differences in the scores of the two groups. The results indicate the importance of clarifying both the commonalities and differences of human interactions with various companion animal species.
Article
Full-text available
In recent years, attachment theory, which was originally formulated to describe and explain infant-parent emotional bonding, has been applied to the study of adolescent and adult romantic relationships and then to the study of psychological processes, such as interpersonal functioning, emotion regulation, coping with stress, and mental health. In this paper, we offer a brief overview of the attachment perspective on psychopathology. Following a brief account of attachment theory, we go on to explain how the study of individual differences in adult attachment intersects with the study of psychopathology. Specifically, we review research findings showing that attachment insecurity is a major contributor to mental disorders, and that the enhancement of attachment security can facilitate amelioration of psychopathology.
Article
Full-text available
This study assessed the extent to which, and under what conditions, owners turn to their pet dogs in times of emotional distress. This feature of an attachment figure-safe haven-is a key characteristic of an attachment bond. Participants (N = 975, mean age = 47.95 years, 789 women and 186 men) were relatively dedicated dog owners who completed an online survey. Relative to other features of an attachment figure, safe haven was the least salient. Nonetheless, participants were more likely to turn to their dogs than they were to turn to their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, best friends, and children but less likely to turn to their dogs than to their romantic partners. Characteristics of both owners (being male, widowed, highly involved in the care of the dog, and uncomfortable with self-disclosure) and dogs (strongly meeting owner's needs regarding relatedness) heightened the likelihood that dogs were turned to rather than some humans. It is concluded that some owners develop attachment bonds with their pet dogs.
Article
Full-text available
The files of 419 children in family foster care and kinship foster care were used in a retrospective longitudinal design study that examined their placement histories in child welfare. Significant associations were found between the number of placements on one hand, and the prevalence of attachment disorders, severity of behavioral problems, and breakdowns of new foster care placements on the other hand. It appears that a breakdown can be predicted to a certain extent, the implications of which are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to identify variables that distinguish mothers who broke the cycle of abuse from mothers who were abused as children and who also abused their own children. Based on maternal interviews and questionnaires completed over a 64-month period, measures of mothers' past and current relationship experiences, stressful life events, and personality characteristics were obtained. Abused mothers who were able to break the abusive cycle were significantly more likely to have received emotional support from a nonabusive adult during childhood, participated in therapy during any period of their lives, and to have had a nonabusive and more stable, emotionally supportive, and satisfying relationship with a mate. Abused mothers who reenacted their maltreatment with their own children experienced significantly more life stress and were more anxious, dependent, immature, and depressed.
Article
Full-text available
The development of competence holds great interest for parents and society alike. This article considers implications from research on competence and resilience in children and adolescents for policy and interventions designed to foster better outcomes among children at risk. Foundations of competence in early development are discussed, focusing on the role of attachment relationships and self-regulation. Results from studies of competence in the domains of peer relations, conduct, school, work, and activities are highlighted. Lessons are drawn from studies of naturally occurring resilience among children at risk because of disadvantage or trauma and also from efforts to deliberately alter the course of competence through early childhood education and preventive interventions. Converging evidence suggests that the same powerful adaptive systems protect development in both favorable and unfavorable environments.
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.
Article
Full-text available
INGE BRETHERTON When John Bowlby chose a terminology" for attachment theory he did so with great care, considering both a word's denotations and connotations (Ainsworth, personal communication; U. Bowlby, personal communication). The label 'internal working model' which Bowlby adopted for his own version of what other psychoanalysts called the representational or inner world (Fonagy, 1999) was therefore not merely meant to be taken as a catchy metaphor. Admittedly, Bowlby did not read Kenneth Craik's (1943) book on the 'Nature of Explanations' from which the term internal working model derives, discovering it instead in a work by the eminent biologist J. Z. Young (1964). Though acquired via a circuitous route, the notion of representational processes as model-building and model-testing immediately made sense. As Bowlby put it: 'The position taken here is not only that it is reasonable to postulate that the brain builds working models of its environment, but that, in order to understand human behavior, it is difficult to do without such a hypothesis - which squares, of course, with such introspective knowledge of our own mental processes we have' (1969, p. 81). Proposing that representation should be understood as working model- building and mental activity as 'working' or manipulating such models was a bold move in the late 1960s, before the 'cognitive revolution' and 'social constructivism' had taken hold in social psychology. This special approach to representation requires some degree of isomorphism between the working models and what they represent, or as Craik put it, for working models to be workable they must have a 'relation structure'. Maps also have a relation-structure that reflects the configuration of the landscapes for which they stand, though workable maps need not look like copies of those landscapes (rivers and roads are represented in relation to other features such as towns, but rivers are not blue, roads red and towns round). Moreover, maps can be more or less detailed, and can be useful even if not accurate in all respects. In this they resemble the working model construct. Bowlby rejected the term mental map, however, because 'map' has static conno- tations whereas working models are representations that can be internally 'run off' in order to facilitate the interpretation of ongoing events, to guide
Article
Full-text available
The first objective of this study was to determine if children exposed to domestic violence were significantly more likely to be cruel to animals than children not exposed to violence. The second was to determine if there were significant age and gender differences between children who were and were not cruel to animals. A community sample of 47 mothers with two children and a history of domestic violence were compared to a matched sample of 45 mothers with two children who did not have such a history. Children exposed to domestic violence were significantly more likely to have been cruel to animals than children not exposed to violence. The age and gender of children who were cruel to animals did not differ from children who were not cruel to animals. However, exposed children cruel to animals were significantly older than non-exposed children cruel to animals. Animal cruelty by children is correlated with exposure to domestic violence.
Chapter
In these notes, distributed prior to the first presentation of this paper, Winnicott introduces his concepts of the transitional object and transitional phenomena. Winnicott starts by examining the first ‘not-me’ possession of the infant, and the wide variations in the infant’s relationship to this possession. Winnicott defines a transitional object as hallucination taken for granted because of the immaturity of the infant, and ‘transition’ to be a transition from one kind of experience to another. The phenomena occur at times of anxiety, at which time an object becomes vitally important for the infant for use in its defence. Sometimes there is no transitional object except the mother herself. Winnicott summarizes the qualities of the object: among other things, that the infant assumes rights over it, that it is cuddled and mutilated, that it must never change, and that its fate is to be gradually decathected. Winnicott discusses these phenomena in relation to tension around the gratification of instincts, the pleasure-pain principle, introjection and projection, symbol formation, and the depressive position. He states that only if there are good internal objects can the infant use transitional objects, which are intermediate between internal and external. He provides several clinical examples and a list of his references, including quotations.
Article
The relationship between adolescents’ communication with their significant others (mother, father, and best friend) and quality of life (KIDSCREEN) was investigated in 2262 Scottish adolescent pet owners. The variable attachment to pets was also tested and assessed as a mediator of this relationship. A positive relationship between adolescents’ communication with their significant other (mother, father, and best friend) and quality of life decreased when controlling for attachment to dogs. In cat owners, a positive relationship between communication with a best friend and quality of life decreased when controlling for attachment to cats. In cat and dog owners, attachment to these pets predicted higher levels of quality of life. Higher attachment to dogs and cats was explained by good best friend (IV) and attachment to pets (DV) and best friends. Mediation effects of attachment to dogs and cats might be explained in terms of the caring activities associated with these types of pets.
Article
A proper preparation for foster parents to care for abused and neglected children includes effective training and initial diagnostics in order to plan individual treatment. Hence, a basic knowledge about the main psychosocial and developmental problems associated with abuse and neglect and their prevalence in foster children is needed. For this purpose, a systematical literature review and a series of meta-analyses were conducted. A total of 25 studies reporting data on development (N = 4 033), mental health (N = 726), and attachment (N = 255) of foster children in preschool age met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analyses indicated prevalence rates of approximately 40% for developmental, mental health problems, and insecure attachment. Rates of disorganized attachment were estimated to 22%. These findings outline the necessity of an initial trauma-oriented diagnostics and trainings for foster parents that address foster children's development, mental health, and disorganized attachment.
Article
This book traces the evolution of the dog, from its origins about 15,000 years ago up to recent times. The timing of dog domestication receives attention, with comparisons between different genetics-based models and archaeological evidence. Allometric patterns between dogs and their ancestors, wolves, shed light on the nature of the morphological changes that dogs underwent. Dog burials highlight a unifying theme of the whole book: the development of a distinctive social bond between dogs and people; the book also explores why dogs and people relate so well to each other. Though cosmopolitan in overall scope, greatest emphasis is on the New World, with entire chapter devoted to dogs of the arctic regions, mostly in the New World. Discussion of several distinctive modern roles of dogs underscores the social bond between dogs and people.
Article
The study of nonhuman animals in the context of attachment theory is steadily growing. This paper sought to pull together recent literature in order to review, summarize, and discuss (a) animals as attachment figures, (b) the conceptualization of attachment quality in human-animal bonds, and (c) the role of animals in assisting the development of human-human attachment.
Article
Human/Companion Animal Therapy is a single process in that it introduces a companion animal into the life of a person to enhance his emotional well being. There are, however, various ways in which the companion animal may be used. These are: a) as a psychotherapeutic adjunct, b) as the sole therapist, c) as a catalytic agent for change, d) as a means of contact with nature, one's unconscious and the universe. These uses are all interrelated, and it is understood that in all of them, contact comfort is either present or is easily available.
Article
This article reports on the development of new relationships and the presence of behavioural and emotional problems in a study of 61 five- to nine-year-old children placed from care with the intention of permanence in new, unrelated families during middle childhood. When interviewed, new parents reported that 73% of the children had formed an attached relationship with one or both parents by the end of their first year in placement. The children who were not regarded as attached showed more behavioural and emotional problems and overactive/restless behaviour, and were also more likely to have been actively rejected by their birth parents. More detailed aspects of possible difficulties in the new parent/child relationships were investigated by means of a parent-completed questionnaire which explored the children’s expression of feelings. The non-attached children had many more difficulties in communicating their feelings and in specific interactions with their new parents by the end of the first year of placement. The new parents of these children tended to find it difficult to relate to them in a warm, responsive manner early in the placement and this worsened by the end of the year. There was considerable overlap between behavioural and relationship problems, suggesting the need to promote the quality of the relationship between children and their new parents as well as to reduce the level of behavioural problems in the children. Implications for post-placement support and intervention are discussed.
Article
In Part II, we present two case studies of erotic transference and countertransference in sport psychology service delivery. We interviewed two seasoned practitioners, both with long histories of working with athletes. These sport psychologists represent two extremes of the spectrum when encountering the erotic in service delivery. One participant's story is about denial, suppression, and repression of anything that hints of the erotic in practitioner-client relationships. The other sport psychologist's story is about a nearly unbridled reveling in the erotic with a client. The practitioners are easy to condemn, one for ignorance and lack of awareness of self and others, the other for adolescent fantasies and objectification of his client. But those responses are facile and uncharitable. We present these two cases as examples, albeit extreme ones, of how truly complex the erotic is in service delivery. Their stories illustrate, in sometimes painful and graphic ways, what it is to be human, all-too-human, in our encounters with the people we serve.
Article
[explore] issues concerning the multiple functions of sex within a relationship and its changing nature and importance over the course of a developing relationship [within attachment theory] / present results from 2 recent studies which indicate that, beyond infancy, attachments are formed almost exclusively with sexual partners / draw upon empirical findings from diverse sources and disciplines to derive a conceptualization of the role of sexual interest and sexual behavior in adolescent and adult attachment relationships (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Case studies are a common way to do qualitative inquiry. Case study research is neither new nor essentially qualitative. Case study is not a methodological choice but a choice of what is to be studied. If case study research is more humane or in some ways transcendent, it is because the researchers are so, not because of the methods. By whatever methods, we choose to study the case. We could study it analytically or holistically, entirely by repeated measures or hermeneutically, organically or culturally, and by mixed methods--but we concentrate, at least for the time being, on the case. The focus in this chapter is a qualitative concentration on the case. The name "case study" is emphasized by some of us because it draws attention to the question of what specially can be learned about the single case. That epistemological question is the driving question of this chapter: What can be learned about the single case? I will emphasize designing the study to optimize understanding of the case rather than to generalize beyond it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
We examined the extent to which a pet functions as an attachment figure. In Study 1, 165 pet owners performed a goal exploration task, assessing the number of life goals generated and confidence in goal attainment. In Study 2, 120 pet owners performed a distress-eliciting task while assessing blood pressure. In both studies, participants were divided into three conditions: pet physical presence, pet cognitive presence, and no pet presence. As compared to no pet presence, physical or cognitive pet presence increased the number of life goals generated and self-confidence in goal attainment and reduced blood pressure during the distress-eliciting task. The findings confirm the ability of a pet to provide a safe-haven and a secure-base and the moderating role of attachment insecurities.
Article
Th e current study evaluated the interpersonal circumplex as a theoretical model of companion animal personality and companion animal attachment. To this end, the study surveyed 266 companion animal guardians (owners)—89 reporting their most recent pet a cat and 177 report-ing their most recent pet a dog—to assess the relationships between interpersonal complemen-tarity and companion animal attachment. Th e study used MANOVA to evaluate differences in interpersonal traits for cats, dogs, and people who self-identified that cats or dogs were their ideal pets. Results indicated that cats—and people who identified cats as their ideal pet—were more hostile in their orientation than were dogs or people who preferred dogs. In hierarchical regression-analysis, the study also confirmed the positive relationship between interpersonal complementarity and companion-animal attachment.
Article
The founding principle of attachment theory (Bowlby 1973) is that a secure attachment to a caregiver is one of the first and most basic needs in an infant's life. Through the decades attachment theory has expanded its scope to include central adult relationships, especially between romantic partners, and has provided a useful framework for exploring relationships with friends and family members. We seek to further extend the application of the standard model of adult attachment to another interaction that people value: relationships with pets. We compared participants' reports of their relationships with pets and relationships with romantic partners in a web-based survey of 192 pet owners. Our adaptations of measures originally designed to measure insecurity in human relationships—the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ; Bartholomew and Horowitz 1991) and the Avoidance and Anxiety scales from the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller and Brennan 2000)—produced reliable measures of relationships with pets. The structure of dimensions of insecurity was similar for pet and partner relationships, but ratings of pet relationships correlated little or not at all with ratings of partner relationships. Surprisingly, relationships with pets were more secure on every measure. Our results provide initial evidence that attachment measures are indeed useful tools for investigating people's relationships with their pets. It appears that pets are a consistent source of attachment security; future research with attachment measures may be useful for understanding how the relationship with a pet affects other aspects of the owner's life, perhaps by buffering the experience of negative human social interactions.
Article
It is known that pet dogs can act as catalysts for human social interactions, and it has been suggested that this may enhance feelings of well-being. Two studies were carried out to establish the robustness of this effect. In Study 1, a highly trained dog was used to ensure that the dog itself did not solicit attention from passers-by, and data were collected across a range of normal daily activities in which a dog could be included, not confined to conventional dog walking areas as in previous studies. Being accompanied by a dog increased the frequency of social interactions, especially interactions with strangers. In Study 2, also using a trained dog, a different (male) participant observer was dressed either smartly or scruffily. Although there were significantly more interactions when he was smartly dressed, the greatest effect was between the Dog present and No Dog conditions irrespective of the handler's dress. It is concluded that the social catalysis effect is very robust, which opens the way for investigating possible consequences of the effect for wellbeing and health.
Article
John Bowlby's ( 1973, 1980, 1982) attachment theory is one of the most influential theories in personality and developmental psychology and provides insights into adjustment and psychopathology across the lifespan. The theory is also helpful in defining the target of change in psychotherapy, understanding the processes by which change occurs, and conceptualizing cases and planning treatment (Daniel, 2006; Obegi & Berant, 2008; Sable, 2004 ; Wallin, 2007). Here, we propose a model of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) based on attachment theory and on the unique characteristics of human-pet relationships. The model includes clients' unmet attachment needs, individual differences in attachment insecurity, coping, and responsiveness to therapy. It also suggests ways to foster the development of more adaptive patterns of attachment and healthier modes of relating to others.
Article
We explored individuals' relationships with an assistance dog from an attachment-theory perspective. We used both inductive and deductive thematic methods to analyze semi-structured interviews with 25 participants who had lost an assistance dog to retirement or death. Analyses revealed attachment processes of safe haven, secure base, and separation anxiety. Although attachment dynamics were an important feature of these relationships, caregiving was equally important. When confronted with the loss of their dog, almost all participants experienced intense grief. Most grief responses were consistent with the loss of a caregiving relationship. Findings suggest that grief is a natural response to the loss of a beloved companion who fulfilled fundamental needs for attachment and caregiving.
Article
This study considers whether type of placement (foster care versus institutional care) is related to patterns of attachment representation and the quality of psychological adjustment in a sample of 48 young adults, who grew up either in foster care or in institutions. The subjects were interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main, 199616. George , C. , Kaplan , N. and Main , M. 1996. The Berkley Adult Attachment Interview 3rd Edition. Unpublished protocol. Berkeley: University of California, Department Psychology View all references, [2001]) and their psychological adjustment was assessed by using the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 199313. Derogatis , L. R. 1993. Brief Symptom Inventory: Administration scoring and procedures manual, 3rd ed, Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems. View all references; German version by Franke, 200015. Franke , G. H. 2000. Brief Symptom Inventory von L. R. Derogatis (Kurzform der SCL-90-R), Goettingen: Beltz Test GmbH. View all references). The results show significantly more positive effects of foster care when compared with institutional upbringing. These findings support the possibility of a beneficial effect of an alternative stable (foster) family relationship for children's psychological development. Implications for assessing placement options for children following severe traumatization are discussed.
Article
Full-text of this article is not available in this e-prints service. This article was originally published in Management Research News, published by and copyright Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Draws heavily on previous established research in an attempt to distil the key aspects of case study research in such a way as to encourage new researchers to grapple with and apply these. Explains when case study can be used, research design, data collection and data analysis, offering suggestions for drawing on the evidence in writing a report or dissertation. Briefly reviews alternative perspectives on the subject.
Article
There is general agreement that autism has an organic basis but there is less agreement on the frequency with which it is associated with known medical conditions. The evidence in the literature on the latter point is reviewed and it is concluded that the rate of known medical conditions in autism is probably about 10%; however the rate appears to be higher in cases of autism associated with profound mental retardation and in cases of atypical autism.
Article
Internal representations of self and primary attachment figures may be one mechanism by which maltreatment affects children's interpersonal behavior and relationships with others. Research on the continuity and influence of maltreated children's attachment representations, however, has not included youngsters removed from abusive or neglectful home environments. This paper examines the influence of maltreated children's maternal and self-representations on subsequent relationships with foster mothers and behavioral adjustment in foster care. Participants included 32 children, ages 9-13 years, who entered foster placement for the first time after a sustained relationship with a maltreating biological mother. Upon initially entering foster care, children's maternal and self-representations were significantly related to each other and to severity of maltreatment history but not to other factors believed to influence the quality of parent-child relationship (e.g., maternal mental health, partner stability). In addition, these representations significantly predicted children's subsequent views of their relationships with foster mothers. Finally, children's behavior in their foster homes was associated with maltreatment severity, internal representations assessed at entry into foster care, and to concurrent perceptions of their new foster mothers. These findings advance our understanding of foster placement's role in maltreated children's development and provide preliminary insight into the processes associated with the formation of potentially compensatory relationships.
Article
This paper reports on a longitudinal study of children growing up in long-term foster family care. It focuses attention on the challenges for foster carers in providing a secure base for foster children in middle childhood and early adolescence, who have come predominantly from backgrounds of abuse, neglect, and psychosocial adversity. Separation and loss in the children's lives, often through multiple placements, increase the likelihood of difficulties across a range of development. These children tend to be wary, distrustful, and controlling when they enter foster placements, but need from their carers many of the caregiving qualities most commonly described as providing a secure base in infancy. This study describes a model of parenting which uses four caregiving dimensions that are consistent with attachment theory and research: promoting trust in availability, promoting reflective function, promoting self-esteem, and promoting autonomy. A fifth dimension, promoting family membership, is added, as it reflects the need for children in long-term foster family care to experience the security that comes from a sense of identity and belonging. Qualitative data from the study demonstrates the usefulness of this model as a framework for analysis, but also suggests the potential use of such a framework for working with and supporting foster carers.
Companionship with humans. Paper presented at the Health Congress of the Royal Society of Health
  • H Bridger
Bridger, H. (1970, May). Companionship with humans. Paper presented at the Health Congress of the Royal Society of Health, Brighton, UK.
Dogs and pets in fostering and adoption. London: British Association of Adoption and Fostering
  • P Adams
Adams, P. (2015). Dogs and pets in fostering and adoption. London: British Association of Adoption and Fostering.
Advanced childcare: Therapeutic care programme
  • D A Lee
Lee, D.A. (2012). Advanced childcare: Therapeutic care programme. Stockport, UK: Advanced Childcare.
Growing up in foster care: Providing a secure base through adolescence
  • G Schofield
  • M Beek
Schofield, G., & Beek, M. (2009). Growing up in foster care: Providing a secure base through adolescence. Child & Family Social Work, 14, 255-266. doi:10.1111/cfs.2009.14.issue-3
Social facilitation of contact with other people by pet dogs. New perspectives on our lives with companion animals
  • P R Messent
Messent, P.R. (1983). Social facilitation of contact with other people by pet dogs. New perspectives on our lives with companion animals, 37-46. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press.
Preliminary support for the use of a hierarchical mapping technique to examine attachment networks
  • A C Rowe
  • K B Carnelley
Rowe, A.C., & Carnelley, K.B. (2005). Preliminary support for the use of a hierarchical mapping technique to examine attachment networks. Personal Relationships, 12, 499-519. doi:10.1111/ pere.2005.12.issue-4