IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i19p10114-d643631.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Human–Animal Interaction and Perinatal Mental Health: A Narrative Review of Selected Literature and Call for Research

Author

Listed:
  • Shelby E. McDonald

    (Children, Families, and Animals Research (CFAR) Group, LLC, Richmond, VA 23223, USA)

  • Camie A. Tomlinson

    (School of Social Work, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA)

  • Jennifer W. Applebaum

    (Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Sara W. Moyer

    (School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA)

  • Samantha M. Brown

    (School of Social Work, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA)

  • Sue Carter

    (The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA)

  • Patricia A. Kinser

    (School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA)

Abstract

There is a paucity of research exploring how relationships with household pets may impact maternal mental health. We are unaware of any study to date that has examined associations between individuals’ relationships with their pets and psychological adjustment in the perinatal period. Using a biobehavioral lens, this paper provides a narrative overview of the literature on perinatal mental health and human–animal interaction (HAI). We focus on the role of social relationships, stress, and stress reduction in relation to perinatal mental health; the role of HAI in perceptions of social support, stressors, and stress reduction; and gaps in empirical knowledge concerning the role of HAI in perinatal mental health. Finally, we integrate contemporary biobehavioral models of perinatal mental health and HAI (i.e., Comprehensive Model of Mental Health during the Perinatal Period and the HAI–HPA Transactional Model) to propose a new conceptual framework that depicts ways in which HAI during the perinatal period may influence maternal and child health and wellbeing. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to consider the role of HAI in biobehavioral responses and mental health during the perinatal period. We conclude with recommendations for future research and improved perinatal care.

Suggested Citation

  • Shelby E. McDonald & Camie A. Tomlinson & Jennifer W. Applebaum & Sara W. Moyer & Samantha M. Brown & Sue Carter & Patricia A. Kinser, 2021. "Human–Animal Interaction and Perinatal Mental Health: A Narrative Review of Selected Literature and Call for Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-26, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:19:p:10114-:d:643631
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10114/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/19/10114/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wood, Lisa & Giles-Corti, Billie & Bulsara, Max, 2005. "The pet connection: Pets as a conduit for social capital?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 1159-1173, September.
    2. Rebecca Purewal & Robert Christley & Katarzyna Kordas & Carol Joinson & Kerstin Meints & Nancy Gee & Carri Westgarth, 2017. "Companion Animals and Child/Adolescent Development: A Systematic Review of the Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-25, February.
    3. Cruwys, Tegan & Dingle, Genevieve A. & Haslam, Catherine & Haslam, S. Alexander & Jetten, Jolanda & Morton, Thomas A., 2013. "Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 179-186.
    4. Bauer, Greta R., 2014. "Incorporating intersectionality theory into population health research methodology: Challenges and the potential to advance health equity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 10-17.
    5. Jeannette Milgrom & Yafit Hirshler & John Reece & Charlene Holt & Alan W. Gemmill, 2019. "Social Support—A Protective Factor for Depressed Perinatal Women?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Emma R. Power, 2017. "Renting with pets: a pathway to housing insecurity?," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 336-360, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Huang, Donna & Stone, Wendy & Power, Emma & Tually, Selina & James, Amity & Faulkner, Debbie & Goodall, Zoë & Buckle, Caitlin, 2021. "Housing and housing assistance pathways with companion animals: risks, costs, benefits and opportunities," SocArXiv ymkqj, Center for Open Science.
    2. Daniel Demant & Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios & Julie-Anne Carroll & Jason A. Ferris & Larissa Maier & Monica J. Barratt & Adam R. Winstock, 2018. "Do people with intersecting identities report more high-risk alcohol use and lifetime substance use?," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(5), pages 621-630, June.
    3. Santini, Ziggi Ivan & Jose, Paul E. & Koyanagi, Ai & Meilstrup, Charlotte & Nielsen, Line & Madsen, Katrine R. & Koushede, Vibeke, 2020. "Formal social participation protects physical health through enhanced mental health: A longitudinal mediation analysis using three consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in E," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    4. Alvarez, Camila H. & Evans, Clare Rosenfeld, 2021. "Intersectional environmental justice and population health inequalities: A novel approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    5. Silvia Loi & Peng Li & Mikko Myrskylä, 2022. "At the intersection of adverse life course pathways: the effects on health by nativity," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-018, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Layland, Eric K. & Maggs, Jennifer L. & Kipke, Michele D. & Bray, Bethany C., 2022. "Intersecting racism and homonegativism among sexual minority men of color: Latent class analysis of multidimensional stigma with subgroup differences in health and sociostructural burdens," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    7. Clément Meier & Jürgen Maurer, 2022. "Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1201-1212, December.
    8. Parker, Rhiannon & Larkin, Theresa & Cockburn, Jon, 2017. "A visual analysis of gender bias in contemporary anatomy textbooks," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 106-113.
    9. Emily Shoesmith & Lion Shahab & Dimitra Kale & Daniel S. Mills & Catherine Reeve & Paul Toner & Luciana Santos de Assis & Elena Ratschen, 2021. "The Influence of Human–Animal Interactions on Mental and Physical Health during the First COVID-19 Lockdown Phase in the U.K.: A Qualitative Exploration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Jessica Naidu & Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci & Tanvir C. Turin, 2023. "A Critical Lens on Health: Key Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis and Its Benefits to Anti-Racism in Population Public Health Research," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-10, February.
    11. Maalsen, Sophia & Wolifson, Peta & Rogers, Dallas & Nelson, Jacqueline & Buckle, Caitlin, 2021. "Understanding discrimination effects in private rental housing," SocArXiv jdycg, Center for Open Science.
    12. Sangaramoorthy, Thurka & Benton, Adia, 2022. "Intersectionality and syndemics: A commentary," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    13. Rabia Khalaila, 2016. "Depression statuses and related predictors in later life: A 10-year follow-up study in Israel," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 311-321, December.
    14. Tyler D. Harvey & Ijeoma Opara & Emily A. Wang, 2022. "Role of the Intersections of Gender, Race and Sexual Orientation in the Association between Substance Use Behaviors and Sexually Transmitted Infections in a National Sample of Adults with Recent Crimi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Cassandra Carels & Maria Florence & Sabirah Adams & Deborah Louise Sinclair & Shazly Savahl, 2022. "Youths’ Perceptions Of The Relation Between Alcohol Consumption And Risky Sexual Behaviour in the Western Cape, South Africa: A Qualitative Study," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(4), pages 1269-1293, August.
    16. Evans, Clare R. & Erickson, Natasha, 2019. "Intersectionality and depression in adolescence and early adulthood: A MAIHDA analysis of the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health, 1995–2008," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 1-11.
    17. Satoru Kanamori & Yuko Kai & Jun Aida & Katsunori Kondo & Ichiro Kawachi & Hiroshi Hirai & Kokoro Shirai & Yoshiki Ishikawa & Kayo Suzuki & The JAGES Group, 2014. "Social Participation and the Prevention of Functional Disability in Older Japanese: The JAGES Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-10, June.
    18. Gallagher, H. Colin & Block, Karen & Gibbs, Lisa & Forbes, David & Lusher, Dean & Molyneaux, Robyn & Richardson, John & Pattison, Philippa & MacDougall, Colin & Bryant, Richard A., 2019. "The effect of group involvement on post-disaster mental health: A longitudinal multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 167-175.
    19. Esther M. C. Bouma & Marsha L. Reijgwart & Arie Dijkstra, 2021. "Family Member, Best Friend, Child or ‘Just’ a Pet, Owners’ Relationship Perceptions and Consequences for Their Cats," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-18, December.
    20. Evans, Clare R. & Williams, David R. & Onnela, Jukka-Pekka & Subramanian, S.V., 2018. "A multilevel approach to modeling health inequalities at the intersection of multiple social identities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 64-73.

    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:18:y:2021:i:19:p:10114-:d:643631. 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.