White Naomi, Mills Daniel, Hall Sophie
School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Jun 19;14(6):658. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14060658.
Attachment styles have been shown to affect quality of life. Growing interest in the value of companion animals highlights that owning a dog can also affect quality of life, yet little research has explored the role of the attachment bond in affecting the relationship between dog ownership and quality of life. Given that the impact of dog ownership on quality of life may be greater for assistance dog owners than pet dog owners, we explored how anxious attachment and avoidance attachment styles to an assistance dog affected owner quality of life ( = 73). Regression analysis revealed that higher anxious attachment to the dog predicted enhanced quality of life. It is suggested that the unique, interdependent relationship between an individual and their assistance dog may mean that an anxious attachment style is not necessarily detrimental. Feelings that indicate attachment insecurity in other relationships may reflect more positive aspects of the assistance dog owner relationship, such as the level of support that the dog provides its owner.
依恋风格已被证明会影响生活质量。人们对伴侣动物价值的兴趣日益浓厚，这凸显出养狗也会影响生活质量，但很少有研究探讨依恋关系在影响养狗与生活质量之间关系中所起的作用。鉴于导盲犬主人养狗对生活质量的影响可能比宠物狗主人更大，我们探究了对导盲犬的焦虑依恋和回避依恋风格如何影响主人的生活质量（n = 73）。回归分析表明，对狗的焦虑依恋程度越高，预示着生活质量越高。有人认为，个体与其导盲犬之间独特的相互依存关系可能意味着焦虑依恋风格不一定有害。在其他关系中表明依恋不安全感的感受，可能反映了导盲犬主人关系中更积极的方面，比如狗为其主人提供支持的程度。
