Fantastic Beasts and Why It Is Necessary to Understand Our Relationship—Animal Companionship under Challenging Circumstances Using the Example of Long-Covid

Abstract

Studies in the field of human–animal interaction tend to highlight the positive results of the influence of animals on humans, which supports the popular belief that the human–animal bond positively affects humans’ well-being (“pet-effect”). Nevertheless, contradictory results exist that seem especially visible since the COVID-19 pandemic, a prominent external stressor. Despite critical findings, individuals seem to want to believe in the beneficial effects of the human–animal relationship (“pet-effect paradox”). Based on this background, the present study aims to investigate this phenomenon using a mixed-method design. Therefore, animal caregivers were surveyed online and compared using psychometric measurements and open-ended questions. In this context, a special focus was placed on the additional stressor of Long-Covid and related concerns. The results demonstrate once more the existence of the “pet-effect paradox” due to a contradiction in the quantitative and qualitative results. At a quantitative level, the findings show additional burdens on animal caregivers who are confronted with multiple loads. However, the qualitative results indicate a belief in the beneficial effects of pets at the biopsychosocial level. Additionally, the data demonstrate a shift in focus away from the environment to oneself when affected by Long-Covid, which might affect the ability to care for an animal.

Temporal patterns of owner-pet relationship, stress, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect of pet ownership on mental health: A longitudinal survey

“…In this study, the pet owners reported positive influences of their pets during the pandemic but the quantitative data provided no evidence of a link between pet ownership and loneliness. Our finding that pet owners had a higher degree of stress than non-pet owners may be explained by additional challenges and uncertainties, such as financial burden, veterinary care access, and disease transmission, which pet owners face during a crisis [ 20 , 25 ]. We note that the non-pet group consistently had the lowest degree of stress even before the pandemic, and therefore cannot rule out the fact that in this cohort of individuals non-pet owners might be systematically less stressed than pet owners.…”

“…Although several studies have investigated the association between pet ownership and mental health during the pandemic, most are cross-sectional, have only collected data at one time early in the pandemic, and none have assessed the changes in owner-pet relationships over time [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Furthermore, conflicting results on the association between pet ownership and mental health have been reported [16][17][18][19][20]. A systemic review by Kretzler et al revealed that the most profound discrepancies were between qualitative studies and quantitative studies [19].…”