IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i7p2562-d343016.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Dog Ownership, Psychopathological Symptoms and Health-Benefitting Factors in Occupations at Risk for Traumatization

Author

Listed:
  • Johanna Lass-Hennemann

    (Department of Psychology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
    Shared first authorship.)

  • Sarah K. Schäfer

    (Department of Psychology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
    Shared first authorship.)

  • M. Roxanne Sopp

    (Department of Psychology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany)

  • Tanja Michael

    (Department of Psychology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany)

Abstract

Individuals working in high-risk occupations (e.g., emergency staff) are exposed to high levels of occupational stress including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health problems among these occupations. Pet ownership has been associated with better mental health. However, to date a study on the association between pet ownership and indicators of mental health in these occupations is missing. The present cross-sectional survey ( N = 580) investigated pet ownership, attachment to pets, health-benefitting factors (i.e., sense of coherence, trait-resilience, locus of control) and psychopathological symptoms (i.e., general mental health problems, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff, police officers, and firefighters. Dog owners and non-dog owners showed comparable levels of psychopathological distress and health-benefitting factors. Compared to cat owners, dog owners demonstrated stronger emotional attachment to their pet. Moreover, a stronger attachment was also linked to higher levels of psychopathological symptoms and lower levels of health-benefitting factors. However, the relationship between attachment to pets and health-benefitting factors could be explained by their overlap with psychopathological symptom levels. Overall, our findings are not in line with the notion that pet ownership generally has a health-benefitting effect. Future studies need to investigate circumstances that modulate positive effects of pet ownership.

Suggested Citation

  • Johanna Lass-Hennemann & Sarah K. Schäfer & M. Roxanne Sopp & Tanja Michael, 2020. "The Relationship between Dog Ownership, Psychopathological Symptoms and Health-Benefitting Factors in Occupations at Risk for Traumatization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2562-:d:343016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2562/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/7/2562/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Behzad Imani & Sima Mohamad Khan Kermanshahi & Zohreh Vanaki & Anoshiravan Kazemnejad Lili, 2018. "Hospital nurses’ lived experiences of intelligent resilience: A phenomenological study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(9-10), pages 2031-2040, May.
    2. Michele Tugade & Barbara Fredrickson, 2007. "Regulation of Positive Emotions: Emotion Regulation Strategies that Promote Resilience," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 311-333, September.
    3. Kaori Endo & Syudo Yamasaki & Shuntaro Ando & Takefumi Kikusui & Kazutaka Mogi & Miho Nagasawa & Itsuka Kamimura & Junko Ishihara & Miharu Nakanishi & Satoshi Usami & Mariko Hiraiwa-Hasegawa & Kiyoto , 2020. "Dog and Cat Ownership Predicts Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Weiqing Zhang & Hui Liu & Xiaolian Jiang & Dongmei Wu & Yali Tian, 2014. "A Longitudinal Study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Its Relationship with Coping Skill and Locus of Control in Adolescents after an Earthquake in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-7, February.
    5. Christine Krouzecky & Lisa Emmett & Armin Klaps & Jan Aden & Anastasiya Bunina & Birgit U. Stetina, 2019. "And in the Middle of My Chaos There Was You?—Dog Companionship and Its Impact on the Assessment of Stressful Situations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-12, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matsumura, Kenta & Hamazaki, Kei & Tsuchida, Akiko & Inadera, Hidekuni, 2022. "Pet ownership during pregnancy and mothers' mental health conditions up to 1 year postpartum: A nationwide birth cohort—the Japan Environment and Children's Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    2. Paul A.M. Overgaauw & Claudia M. Vinke & Marjan A.E. van Hagen & Len J.A. Lipman, 2020. "A One Health Perspective on the Human–Companion Animal Relationship with Emphasis on Zoonotic Aspects," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-29, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shuangshuang Xin & Xiujie Ma, 2023. "Mechanisms of Physical Exercise Effects on Anxiety in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience and the Moderating Role of Media Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Aubrey H. Fine, 2020. "The Psycho-Social Impact of Human-Animal Interactions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-4, June.
    3. Urmila Rani Srivastava & Vandana Maurya, 2017. "Organizational and Individual Level Antecedents of Psychological Capital and its Associated Outcomes: Development of a Conceptual Framework," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 42(3), pages 205-236, August.
    4. Janusz Surzykiewicz & Sebastian Binyamin Skalski & Agnieszka Sołbut & Sebastian Rutkowski & Karol Konaszewski, 2022. "Resilience and Regulation of Emotions in Adolescents: Serial Mediation Analysis through Self-Esteem and the Perceived Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-9, June.
    5. Fritz, Charlotte & Taylor, Morgan R., 2022. "Taking in the good: How to facilitate savoring in work organizations," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 139-148.
    6. Zheng Zhang & Yunjiang Yu & Boyi Yang & Wenzhong Huang & Yunting Zhang & Yana Luo & Michael S. Bloom & Zhengmin Qian & Lauren D. Arnold & Rienna Boyd & Qingqing Wu & Ruixia Liu & Guanghui Dong & Cheng, 2022. "Association between Pet Ownership and Threatened Abortion in Pregnant Women: The China Birth Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Imen Krifa & Llewellyn Ellardus van Zyl & Amel Braham & Selma Ben Nasr & Rebecca Shankland, 2022. "Mental Health during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Optimism and Emotional Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Kimberley Seear & Dianne Vella-Brodrick, 2013. "Efficacy of Positive Psychology Interventions to Increase Well-Being: Examining the Role of Dispositional Mindfulness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 1125-1141, December.
    9. Kakkar, Shiva & Vohra, Neharika, 2021. "Self-Regulatory Effects of Performance Management System Consistency on Employee Engagement: A Moderated Mediation Model," American Business Review, Pompea College of Business, University of New Haven, vol. 24(1), pages 225-248, May.
    10. Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok & Minmin Gu, 2017. "The Role of Emotional Competence in the Association Between Optimism and Depression Among Chinese Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(1), pages 171-185, March.
    11. Jingqiang Li & Yanru Zhou & Xining Zhang & Tianchen Fan, 2022. "Fatigue during Long-Haul Flights of Different Crew Compositions under Exemption from Layover and Flight Time during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra & Anita Hargrave & Avriel Diaz & Aileen Kenneson & David Madden & Moory M. Romero & Juan Pablo Molina & David Macias Saltos, 2017. "Psychological Distress and Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya Symptoms Following the 2016 Earthquake in Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, December.
    13. Fanni Balikó & Krisztina Csókási & Melinda Pohárnok & Orsolya Vincze & Gábor Kumánovics & Marcell Deme & Preston Alexander Long & Tanja Stamm, 2024. "Temporal Recall Strategies in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients’ Emotionally Intense Life Events," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(6), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Marina Schall & Thomas Goetz & Sarah E Martiny & Rebecca Maymon, 2015. "Responses to Success: Seeking Pleasant Experiences before a Task Is Complete?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-14, August.
    15. Marie-Lotte Van Beveren & Sofie Kuppens & Benjamin Hankin & Caroline Braet, 2019. "Because you had a bad day: General and daily relations between reactive temperament, emotion regulation, and depressive symptoms in youth," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, October.
    16. Liu Dongling & Chen Hui & Ma Ling & Bie Wenqian & Liu Zailiang & Chen Changying, 2017. "Post‐traumatic stress disorder and its predictors among bereaved Tibetan adolescents four years after the Yushu earthquake: a cross‐sectional survey in China," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(7-8), pages 1095-1105, April.
    17. Chiara Ruini & Francesca Vescovelli, 2013. "The Role of Gratitude in Breast Cancer: Its Relationships with Post-traumatic Growth, Psychological Well-Being and Distress," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 263-274, March.
    18. Jennifer Loh & Nicola Schutte & Einar Thorsteinsson, 2014. "Be Happy: The Role of Resilience Between Characteristic Affect and Symptoms of Depression," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 1125-1138, October.
    19. Aubrey H. Fine & Alan M. Beck & Zenithson Ng, 2019. "The State of Animal-Assisted Interventions: Addressing the Contemporary Issues That Will Shape the Future," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-19, October.
    20. Vicente Prado-Gascó & Virginia Romero-Reignier & Patricia Mesa-Gresa & Ana Belén Górriz, 2020. "Subjective Well-Being in Spanish Adolescents: Psychometric Properties of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:7:p:2562-:d:343016. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.