Dataset Information

Owners' Attitudes toward Their Companion Dogs Are Associated with the Owners' Depression Symptoms-An Exploratory Study in South Korea.

ABSTRACT: 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.

SUBMITTER: Min KD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6801548 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Owners' Attitudes toward Their Companion Dogs Are Associated with the Owners' Depression Symptoms-An Exploratory Study in South Korea.

Min Kyung-Duk KD Kim Woo-Hyun WH Cho Seongbeom S Cho Sung-Il SI

International journal of environmental research and public health 20190924 19

<i>Background:</i> 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 ...[more]

PMID: 31554230

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Project description:In Korea, there is a need for research on human-animal relationships because of an increase in the number of companion animals and the positive changes in public perception toward them. Few studies have examined these changes. This epidemiological study investigates the characteristics of Korean dog owners and their pet dogs and identifies the owner- and dog-dependent factors that influence the owners' attitudes toward pets. We conducted a cross-sectional study of dog owners by asking them to complete a Pet Attitude Scale-based questionnaire about their dogs and themselves. The participants included 654 young adults between 19 and 39 years of age who lived in Seoul and owned dogs. We found that most dogs were owned by single, educated, high-income men who preferred small purebred dogs. Most were also likely to underestimate their dog's body condition score (BCS). The multivariable logistic regression (odds ratio, OR) and the multiple linear regression (unstandardized coefficients, B) models suggested that positive pet attitudes were associated with nine factors: overweight (OR = 2.68, B = 5.28) or a normal BCS (OR = 2.09, B = 5.58), having a medical history of related diseases (OR = 2.36, B = 6.38) and vaccination (OR = 2.10, B = 6.22), buying the pet dog (OR = 0.60, B = -3.85), having a small dog (≤10 kg) (OR = 1.66), visiting the veterinarian frequently (OR = 1.08, B = 0.39), spending more time with the dog (OR = 1.23, B =1.32), and keeping other species in the house (B = -4.27). This study is the first to identify the relationships between owner- and dog-dependent factors and pet owner attitude toward pets, all within a Korean cultural context. This study highlights the factors associated with the development of relationships between pet dogs and their owners. The exploratory study is novel because it examines pet ownership in the context of the Korean culture; previous pet ownership studies were set in the West and are analyzed with Western cultural values in mind.

Project description:Introduction. The paper reports on an exploratory study of the usefulness of Twitter for unobtrusive assessment of stigmatizing attitudes in the community. Materials and Methods. Tweets with the hashtags #depression or #schizophrenia posted on Twitter during a 7-day period were collected. Tweets were categorised based on their content and user information and also on the extent to which they indicated a stigmatising attitude towards depression or schizophrenia (stigmatising, personal experience of stigma, supportive, neutral, or anti-stigma). Tweets that indicated stigmatising attitudes or personal experiences of stigma were further grouped into the following subthemes: social distance, dangerousness, snap out of it, personal weakness, inaccurate beliefs, mocking or trivializing, and self-stigma. Results and Discussion. Tweets on depression mostly related to resources for consumers (34%), or advertised services or products for individuals with depression (20%). The majority of schizophrenia tweets aimed to increase awareness of schizophrenia (29%) or reported on research findings (22%). Tweets on depression were largely supportive (65%) or neutral (27%). A number of tweets were specifically anti-stigma (7%). Less than 1% of tweets reflected stigmatising attitudes (0.7%) or personal experience of stigma (0.1%). More than one third of the tweets which reflected stigmatising attitudes were mocking or trivialising towards individuals with depression (37%). The attitude that individuals with depression should "snap out of it" was evident in 30% of the stigmatising tweets. The majority of tweets relating to schizophrenia were categorised as supportive (42%) or neutral (43%). Almost 10% of tweets were explicitly anti-stigma. The percentage of tweets showing stigmatising attitudes was 5%, while less than 1% of tweets described personal experiences of stigmatising attitudes towards individuals with schizophrenia. Of the tweets that indicated stigmatising attitudes, most reflected inaccurate beliefs about schizophrenia being multiple personality disorder (52%) or mocked or trivialised individuals with schizophrenia (33%). Conclusions. The study supports the use of analysis of Twitter content to unobtrusively measure attitudes towards mental illness, both supportive and stigmatising. The results of the study may be useful in assisting mental health promotion and advocacy organisations to provide information about resources and support, raise awareness and counter common stigmatising attitudes.

Dataset Information

Owners' Attitudes toward Their Companion Dogs Are Associated with the Owners' Depression Symptoms-An Exploratory Study in South Korea.

Publications

Owners' Attitudes toward Their Companion Dogs Are Associated with the Owners' Depression Symptoms-An Exploratory Study in South Korea.

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