Exposure to intimate partner violence and internalizing symptoms: The moderating effects of positive relationships with pets and animal cruelty exposure

The Concerns, Difficulties, and Stressors of Caring for Pets during COVID-19: Results from a Large Survey of U.S. Pet Owners

“…Especially important are resources and solutions that will be accessible and feasible to people who may be suffering from job loss, economic uncertainty, and housing insecurity. Considering positive relationships with pets may buffer the deleterious effects of stressful or adverse circumstances [ 22 , 66 ], pets could be a source of comfort and normalcy during the pandemic and any resulting fallout, economic or otherwise. Communities can support families and individuals with pets by forming partnerships between human and animal social services in order to meet the needs of the holistic family unit; hence, pet relinquishment prevention is in service of healthy communities.…”

Attachment to Pets Moderates Transitions in Latent Patterns of Mental Health Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Survey of U.S. Adults

“…We underscore that our data reflect a sample with minimal representation from many socially disadvantaged groups who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic; thus, more representative studies are needed to fully understand how and for whom HAI is beneficial or disadvantageous in the context of this public health crisis. This is particularly important given increasing evidence that the benefits and risk of HAI may be most pronounced among populations that experience adversity [ 68 , 69 ]. Although the LAPS is culturally appropriate for assessing attachment to pets among participants in our sample, future studies should consider its relevance for estimating attachment in culturally diverse populations.…”

“…Most likely, this is a bidirectional and reciprocal relationship that occurs over time, which cannot be examined with retrospective data. This is important given recent findings regarding the role of other domains of HAI (i.e., comfort from pets, positive engagement with pets) in buffering the negative impacts of various forms of stress on adjustment and in promoting personal hardiness and self-esteem [ 25 , 68 , 69 , 70 ]. We recommend that future studies also consider how individuals’ access to pet-related resources (e.g., pet pantry service, low-cost veterinary services [ 71 ]) may have influenced changes in psychological stress during this time, and believe this is an important direction for future research.…”

The Moderating Effect of Comfort from Companion Animals and Social Support on the Relationship between Microaggressions and Mental Health in LGBTQ+ Emerging Adults

“…Additionally, it may be important to investigate how other domains of human-animal interactions may protect against the impact of polyvictimization. For example, Hawkins et al [66] found that positive engagement with companion animals buffered the relationship between concurrent exposure to family violence and animal cruelty and internalizing and post-traumatic stress symptoms among pet-owning youth. Future studies should longitudinally examine how social support and relationships with companion animals impact the relationship between various types of stressors on mental health outcomes.…”