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Pet Attachment in the Context of Family Conflict

Poster · July 2019

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28376.44804

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2 authors:

Jennifer W Applebaum Barbara Zsembik

University of Florida University of Florida
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 Pet Attachment in the Context of Family Conflict
Jennifer W. Applebaum*, MS & Barbara A. Zsembik, PhD
University of Florida, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Dept. of Sociology and Criminology & Law

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND RESULTS RESULTS (Continued)

This study aims to investigate the hypothesized
association between level of family conflict and strength of
attachment to companion animals.
We expect pets to act as a buffer or therapeutic outlet for
family members in distress because:
• Pet ownership is associated with better mental &
physical health
• Pets can act as a buffer to stress
• Individuals who have a history of adverse events find
pets to be comforting
• Therapy animals are ubiquitous in the US
Figure 1: Relative Frequencies of Pet Attachment Scale Components o The association of family conflict with strength of pet
attachment remained significant when controlling for
sociodemographic characteristics (b = 0.095, p < .01).
Figure 3: Regression Prediction of Effect of Family
Conflict on Strength of Pet Attachment with 95%
Confidence Intervals
Effect of Family Conflict on Strength
of Pet Attachment
Figure 2: Relative Frequencies of Family Conflict Scale Components 7.5

Strength of Pet Attachment

7

6.5

6
Source: hillspet.com

MAIN FINDING: As level of family conflict

HYPOTHESIS 5.5
increased, the primary caregiver’s strength of 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Family Conflict Scale Score
Level of family conflict is expected to have a positive attachment to their pet also increased. Regression prediction 95% CI upper 95% CI lower
effect on primary caregiver’s (PCGs) attachment to
their pet because PCGs will turn to their pets for Table 1: OLS Regression Models for the Effects of Family Conflict on DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION
comfort and support during difficult times. Further, Strength of Attachment to Pet(s)
this effect is expected to persist when controlling for Independent Variables Model 1 Model 2 PCGs reporting high levels of family conflict
sociodemographic characteristics. Family Conflict Scale (2-10) 0.120** (0.035) 0.095** (0.034) reported significantly stronger attachment to
Age (years) -0.015* (0.007) their pets.
DATA & METHODS Education (years) 0.102** (0.031)
Income, quartiles (Q1=ref)
Q2 0.503** (0.177)
The association remained significant when
Sample
• 2014 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Child Development Q3 0.294 (0.195) controlling for sociodemographic correlates
Supplement Q4 0.212 (0.219) of both pet attachment and family conflict.
• Subset of pet-owning primary caregivers (PCGs) to minor Married/Cohab. (unmarried=ref) 0.029 (0.150)
children # of Children 0.172** (0.056) Our findings indicate that pets play an
Woman (man=ref) -0.599*** (0.162) important role in the lives of
Variables Race (white=ref)
• Dependent Variable: Strength of PCG’s attachment to pet(s): individuals, particularly when they are
Black 0.958*** (0.150)
additive scale, scores 3-12 from 3 Likert questions (see Fig Other Race 0.680* (0.289) experiencing adversity.
1) Latino (Non-Latino=ref) 0.679** (0.214)
• Key Independent Variable: Level of family conflict: additive Constant 5.93*** (0.194) 4.73*** (0.555) Future research should expand upon
scale, scores 2-10 from 2 Likert questions (see Fig 2) F 12.14*** 9.77*** these findings to further explore the
• Sociodemographic Characteristics: age, education, income, Adj. R2 0.008 0.07 role of the pet in the family.
marital status, number of children, gender, race, ethnicity N 1,421 1,421
*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001
Values shown in each cell are unstandardized coefficients (standard error).
Source: Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 2014
*jennyapplebaum@ufl.edu
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