Owners’ Attitudes toward Their Companion Dogs Are Associated with the Owners’ Depression Symptoms—An Exploratory Study in South Korea

Bibliographic Data

ID15475989
AuthorsKyung‐duk Min (0000-0002-1000-2187, Seoul National University), Woo-Hyun Kim (0000-0003-2683-572X, Seoul National University), Seongbeom Cho (0000-0001-8385-181X, Seoul National University, corresponding author), Sung-Il Cho (0000-0003-4085-1494, Seoul National University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume16
Issue19
Pages3567-3567
Publication date2019-09-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph16193567
PMID31554230
OpenAlexW2975409981
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

Background: Various health benefits from the ownership of companion dogs have been studied from a One Health perspective. However, the preventive effects on depression are unclear, with inconsistent results across studies. We hypothesized that heterogeneity among owners would be related to the mixed results. Specifically, the difference in the strength of the bond between the owners and their companion dogs would modify the effect of dog ownership. As an exploratory study, we compared the depression symptoms of the owners with favorable attitudes toward their dogs, with those of the owners with unfavorable attitudes, to investigate the potential effect modification of owners' attitudes on the association between the ownership and depression symptom. Methods: We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey of 654 19- to 39-year-old adults who had companion dogs in Seoul, South Korea, where a major health burden is depression among young adults. We measured the owners' attitudes toward their dogs using the modified Pet Attitude Scale (PAS-M) and their depression symptoms using the short version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale (CESD-10). Demographic and socioeconomic factors were measured to adjust for the association between attitude and depression symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression models were used in this study. Results: The owners who had less favorable attitudes toward their dogs (lower PAS-M scores) tended to have depression symptoms. The direction and significance were maintained either when the PAS-M variable was used as a continuous variable (odds ratio (OR) for one score increase in PAS-M was 0.95 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.94-0.96)) or as a categorical variable (OR for lower PAS-M was 3.19 (95% CI = 2.28 -4.47)). Conclusion: We found a positive significant association between owners' depression symptoms and unfavorable attitudes toward their dogs, although causal direction could not be determined. Future studies should investigate the potential causal link

Anxiety · Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale · Depression (economics · Depressive symptoms · Environmental health · Exploratory research · Logistic regression · Odds · Odds ratio · Population · Psychiatry · Socioeconomic status · Demography · Human-Animal Interaction Studies · Medicine · Psychology · Veterinary Practice and Education Studies · Zoonotic diseases and public health · Internal Medicine

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access