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Titel: The relationship between attachment to pets and mental health: the shared link via attachment to humans
VerfasserIn: Lass-Hennemann, Johanna
Schäfer, Sarah K.
Sopp, M. Roxanne
Michael, Tanja
Sprache: Englisch
Titel: BMC Psychiatry
Bandnummer: 22
Heft: 1
Verlag/Plattform: BMC
Erscheinungsjahr: 2022
Freie Schlagwörter: Pet
Dog
Animal
Mental health
Distress
Attachment
DDC-Sachgruppe: 150 Psychologie
Dokumenttyp: Journalartikel / Zeitschriftenartikel
Abstract: Background: Several studies have investigated the relationship between emotional attachment to pets and mental health with the majority of studies fnding a negative relationship between emotional attachment to pets and mental health. Interestingly, attachment to pets difers from attachment to humans with studies showing that humans with an insecure attachment style form a particularly strong emotional attachment to their companion animals. Human attachment style is also related to mental health with secure attachment being associated with superior mental health. Building on those fndings, the current study aimed at exploring the role of attachment to humans in the relationship between emotional attachment to pets and mental health. Methods: In this cross-sectional online survey (N=610) we assessed the strength of emotional attachment to pets and attachment to humans. We further collected pet specifc data as well as mental health burden in a sample of German dog owners (Mage=33.12; 92.79% women). We used a mediation model estimating the indirect link between emotional attachment to pets and mental health burden via human attachment and the direct link between emo‑ tional attachment to pets and mental health burden simultaneously. Results: We found that attachment to humans fully mediated the positive association between emotional attach‑ ment to pets and mental health burden. A stronger emotional attachment to one’s dog was associated with lower comfort with depending on or trusting in others, whereby lower comfort with depending on or trusting in others was related to higher mental health burden. Moreover, a stronger attachment to one’s dog was also related to a greater fear of being rejected and unloved (Anxiety), which was, in turn, associated with a higher mental health burden. Conclusion: Our fndings suggest that the positive link between emotional attachment to pets and mental health burden is fully accounted for by its shared variance with insecure attachment to humans in a sample mostly compris‑ ing self-identifed women. Future studies need to examine whether strong emotional bonds with pets may evolve as a compensatory strategy to bufer difcult childhood bonding experiences.
DOI der Erstveröffentlichung: 10.1186/s12888-022-04199-1
URL der Erstveröffentlichung: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-04199-1
Link zu diesem Datensatz: urn:nbn:de:bsz:291--ds-375771
hdl:20.500.11880/34002
http://dx.doi.org/10.22028/D291-37577
ISSN: 1471-244X
Datum des Eintrags: 13-Okt-2022
Fakultät: HW - Fakultät für Empirische Humanwissenschaften und Wirtschaftswissenschaft
Fachrichtung: HW - Psychologie
Professur: HW - Prof. Dr. Tanja Michael
Sammlung:SciDok - Der Wissenschaftsserver der Universität des Saarlandes

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