They’re cute, cuddly and most of us wouldn’t be without them. But can “man’s best friend” also be a mind’s best friend?
Research by a Charles Darwin University Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours) graduate is exploring the relationship between dogs and their owner’s psychological wellbeing.
Cassarndra Hackett has completed her undergraduate studies in psychology and is embarking on a PhD in which she is investigating the relationship between people’s attachment to their companion dogs, their psychological wellbeing and psychological distress. She is using a new measure known as the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale in her study.
“The beneficial effects to the physical health of a canine owner have been well documented,” Cassarndra said.
“Owning and caring for a dog can prevent owners from falling sick, assist them in recovering from illness and can even alert owners that they are suffering from certain types of afflictions before they can really take hold.”
Ms Hackett said the relationship between psychological wellbeing and companion animal ownership had received increasing focus in recent psychological literature but was still an area of relative uncertainty.
“Research findings to date have frequently been mixed and it has been suggested that this relates to many studies failing to take into account the quality of the relationship between the companion animal and their owner,” she said.
A total of 75 dog owners have taken part in a survey which tested a number of variables and their effect on owner’s psychological wellbeing and psychological distress.
“One important aspect that has been identified as a potential contributor to the quality of a companion animal-owner relationship is that of attachment,” Cassarndra said.
“Initial findings indicated that attachment to one’s dog had very little impact on the owner’s psychological wellbeing or psychological distress.
“Another measure, human social support, was found to be a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing and psychological distress although not acting as a moderator between attachment to one’s dog and the psychological variables.”
Cassarndra said that further analyses revealed a positive relationship between perceived emotional closeness to one’s dog and psychological distress, which was the reverse of what was expected.
“These mixed results reinforce the variability of previous findings and indicate the need for a more sensitive tool to be developed and standardised across different populations to measure any potential beneficial effects of dog ownership on the psychological wellbeing of the owner,” she said.
“My thesis is all about breaking down popular perceptions surrounding the owner/canine relationship and investigating the science behind it.”