Background

The Covid-19 pandemic raises questions about the role that relationships and interactions between humans and animals play in the context of widespread social distancing and isolation measures. We aimed to investigate links between mental health and loneliness, companion animal ownership, the human-animal bond, and human-animal interactions; and to explore animal owners’ perceptions related to the role of their animals during lockdown.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020. The questionnaire included validated and bespoke items measuring demographics; exposures and outcomes related to mental health, wellbeing and loneliness; the human-animal bond and human-animal interactions.

Results

Of 5,926 participants, 5,323 (89.8%) had at least one companion animal. Most perceived their animals to be a source of considerable support, but concerns were reported related to various practical aspects of providing care during lockdown. Strength of the human-animal bond did not differ significantly between species. Poorer mental health pre-lockdown was associated with a stronger reported human-animal bond (b = -.014, 95% CI [-.023 - -.005], p = .002). Animal ownership compared with non-ownership was associated with smaller decreases in mental health (b = .267, 95% CI [.079 - .455], p = .005) and smaller increases in loneliness (b = -.302, 95% CI [-.461 - -.144], p = .001) since lockdown.

Conclusion

The human-animal bond is a construct that may be linked to mental health vulnerability in animal owners. Strength of the human-animal bond in terms of emotional closeness or intimacy dimensions appears to be independent of animal species. Animal ownership seemed to mitigate some of the detrimental psychological effects of Covid-19 lockdown. Further targeted investigation of the role of human-animal relationships and interactions for human health, including testing of the social buffering hypothesis and the development of instruments suited for use across animal species, is required.

中文翻译：

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英国Covid-19封锁阶段的人与动物关系和互动：调查与心理健康和孤独感的联系

背景

Covid-19 大流行引发了人们对在广泛的社会距离和隔离措施背景下人与动物之间的关系和互动所发挥的作用的质疑。我们的目的是调查心理健康与孤独感、伴侣动物所有权、人与动物的纽带以及人与动物的互动之间的联系；并探讨动物主人对其动物在封锁期间所扮演的角色的看法。

方法

2020 年 4 月至 6 月期间，对 18 岁以上英国居民进行了一项横断面在线调查。调查问卷包括衡量人口统计数据的经过验证和定制的项目；与心理健康、福祉和孤独相关的暴露和结果；人与动物的纽带以及人与动物的相互作用。

结果

在 5,926 名参与者中，5,323 名（89.8%）至少拥有一只伴侣动物。大多数人认为他们的动物是相当大的支持来源，但据报道，他们对封锁期间提供护理的各个实际方面感到担忧。人与动物之间的联系强度在物种之间没有显着差异。封锁前较差的心理健康状况与据报道的人与动物关系较强相关（b = -.014，95% CI [-.023 - -.005]，p = .002）。与不拥有动物相比，拥有动物与心理健康状况下降幅度较小 (b = .267, 95% CI [.079 - .455], p = .005) 和孤独感上升幅度较小 ( b = -.302, 95自锁定以来% CI [-.461 - -.144]，p = .001）。

结论

人与动物之间的联系可能与动物主人的心理健康脆弱性有关。人与动物在情感亲密程度或亲密维度方面的联系强度似乎与动物物种无关。饲养动物似乎减轻了 Covid-19 封锁带来的一些有害心理影响。需要进一步有针对性地研究人与动物关系和相互作用对人类健康的作用，包括测试社会缓冲假说和开发适合跨动物物种使用的仪器。