Oliva Jessica Lee, Johnston Kim Louise
Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021 May;67(3):232-242. doi: 10.1177/0020764020944195. Epub 2020 Jul 23.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many countries enforcing a 'lockdown', whereby people are instructed to stay at home.
The aim of this study was to capture the experience of such a lockdown in Australians living alone, with and without a dog or a cat.
Three hundred and eighty-four participants completed an online survey evaluating their levels of loneliness, mindfulness and mood. For participants who owned a dog or a cat, a measure of dog/cat interactions was also administered as well as two open-ended questions about how being a pet owner affected their experience of COVID-19 and how COVID-19 affected their pet.
Contrary to expectations, cat owners were found to be less mindful than non-owners and pet interactions did not account for levels of loneliness or levels of mindfulness. In line with our expectations, however, stress and depression positively predicted loneliness, while mindfulness and being a dog owner were protective against it. Insights from qualitative responses suggest that this might be due to the fact that dogs encourage a routine which involves getting out of the house and walking, which itself offers opportunities to socialise with other people doing the same thing.
These findings add to the emerging literature on mental well-being during a lockdown and the unique role that pets play in their owners' experiences.
新冠疫情导致许多国家实施“封锁”，即人们被要求待在家中。
本研究旨在了解独自生活的澳大利亚人在有或没有猫狗陪伴的情况下经历封锁的感受。
384名参与者完成了一项在线调查，评估他们的孤独程度、正念水平和情绪状态。对于养狗或养猫的参与者，还进行了一项关于人与猫狗互动的测量，并提出了两个开放式问题，分别是作为宠物主人，新冠疫情对他们的体验有何影响，以及新冠疫情对他们的宠物有何影响。
与预期相反，养猫者的正念水平低于非养猫者，且与宠物的互动并不能解释孤独程度或正念水平。然而，与我们的预期相符的是，压力和抑郁正向预测孤独感，而正念和养狗则对孤独感有预防作用。定性回答的见解表明，这可能是因为狗促使人们养成出门散步的日常习惯，而这本身就提供了与其他做同样事情的人社交的机会。
这些发现为有关封锁期间心理健康以及宠物在主人经历中所起独特作用的新文献增添了内容。
