School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2008 Mar 27;5:17. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-5-17.
This study examines changes in socio-demographic, environmental and intrapersonal factors associated with dog acquisition in non-dog owners at baseline to 12-months follow-up and the effect of dog acquisition on minutes per week of recreational walking.
RESIDE study participants completed self-administered questionnaires (baseline and 12-months follow-up) measuring physical activity, dog ownership, dog walking behavior as well as environmental, intrapersonal and socio-demographic factors. Analysis was restricted to 'Continuing non-owners' (i.e., non-owners at both baseline and follow-up; n = 681) and 'New dog owners' (i.e., non-owners who acquired a dog by follow-up; n = 92).
Overall, 12% of baseline non-owners had acquired a dog at follow-up. Dog acquisition was associated with working and having children at home. Those who changed from single to couple marital status were also more likely to acquire a dog. The increase in minutes of walking for recreation within the neighborhood from baseline to follow-up was 48 minutes/week for new dog owners compared with 12 minutes/week for continuing non-owners (p < 0.05). After adjusting for baseline variables the effect of dog acquisition on the increase in minutes of recreational walking within the neighborhood was 31 minutes (95% CI: 7.39, 54.22; p < 0.01). However, this reduced to 22 minutes (95% CI: -1.53, 45.42; p > 0.05) after further adjustment for change in baseline to follow-up variables. Increase in intention to walk was the main factor contributing to attenuation of the effect of dog acquisition on recreational walking.
This study used a large representative sample of non-owners to examine the relationship between dog acquisition and recreational walking and provides evidence to suggest that dog acquisition leads to an increase in walking. The most likely mechanism through which dog acquisition facilitates increased physical activity is through behavioral intention via the dog's positive effect on owner's cognitive beliefs about walking, and through the provision of motivation and social support for walking. The results suggest that behavioral intention mediates the relationship between dog acquisition and walking and that dogs may have a significant role in the maintenance of owner walking behavior.
本研究旨在探讨非犬主人群在基线至 12 个月随访期间与犬只获得相关的社会人口学、环境和个体内部因素的变化，以及犬只获得对每周休闲散步时间的影响。
RESIDE 研究参与者完成了自我管理问卷（基线和 12 个月随访），测量了身体活动、犬只拥有、犬只散步行为以及环境、个体内部和社会人口学因素。分析仅限于“持续非犬主人群”（即基线和随访时均为非犬主人群，n=681）和“新犬主人群”（即通过随访获得犬只的非犬主人群，n=92）。
总体而言，12%的基线非犬主人群在随访时获得了一只犬。犬只获得与工作和家中有孩子有关。那些从单身状态转变为夫妻关系的人也更有可能获得一只犬。与持续非犬主人群相比，新犬主人群在社区内的休闲散步时间每周增加了 48 分钟（95%置信区间：7.39，54.22；p<0.05）。在调整基线变量后，犬只获得对社区内休闲散步时间增加的影响为 31 分钟（95%置信区间：7.39，54.22；p<0.01）。然而，在进一步调整从基线到随访变量的变化后，这一影响降低至 22 分钟（95%置信区间：-1.53，45.42；p>0.05）。步行意愿的增加是减弱犬只获得对休闲散步影响的主要因素。
本研究使用了一个大型的非犬主代表性样本，研究了犬只获得与休闲散步之间的关系，并提供了证据表明，犬只获得会导致散步量增加。犬只获得促进身体活动增加的最可能机制是通过犬只对主人对步行的认知信念的积极影响来影响行为意愿，以及通过为步行提供动力和社会支持。结果表明，行为意愿在犬只获得与步行之间起中介作用，犬只可能在维持主人的步行行为方面发挥重要作用。
