Bryan Jennifer L, Quist Michelle C, Young Chelsie M, Steers Mai-Ly N, Foster Dawn W, Lu Qian
Pers Individ Dif. 2014 Oct;68:23-27. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.003.
This study evaluated pet affinity as a buffer between ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE) and social support. AEE occurs when one desires to express emotions but is reluctant to do so and is related to negative psychological outcomes. Individuals high in AEE may have difficulty receiving social support and thus may not gain accompanying benefits. Social support has been associated with positive health outcomes, and pet support is positively associated with human social support. The present study explores the potential protective effect of pet affinity. One hundred ninety-eight undergraduate dog owners completed measures assessing perceived social support, pet affinity, and AEE. AEE was expected to be negatively associated with social support, and pet affinity was expected to buffer the negative effects of AEE on social support. We found that AEE was negatively associated with perceived social support. An interaction between pet affinity and AEE emerged such that the negative association between AEE and social support was weaker among those higher in pet affinity. Thus, at high levels of AEE, those who felt a close connection with their pets reported more perceived social support than those less connected with their pets. Overall, these findings emphasize the potential benefits of pet affinity.
本研究评估了宠物亲密感作为情感表达矛盾（AEE）与社会支持之间的缓冲因素。当一个人渴望表达情感但又不愿这样做时，就会出现情感表达矛盾，这与负面心理结果有关。情感表达矛盾程度高的个体可能难以获得社会支持，因此可能无法获得相应的益处。社会支持与积极的健康结果相关，而宠物支持与人类社会支持呈正相关。本研究探讨了宠物亲密感的潜在保护作用。198名养狗的本科生完成了评估感知到的社会支持、宠物亲密感和情感表达矛盾的测量。预计情感表达矛盾与社会支持呈负相关，而宠物亲密感预计会缓冲情感表达矛盾对社会支持的负面影响。我们发现，情感表达矛盾与感知到的社会支持呈负相关。宠物亲密感和情感表达矛盾之间出现了一种交互作用，即宠物亲密感较高的人，情感表达矛盾与社会支持之间的负相关较弱。因此，在情感表达矛盾程度较高时，那些与宠物关系密切的人比那些与宠物关系不那么密切的人报告的感知到的社会支持更多。总体而言，这些发现强调了宠物亲密感的潜在益处。
