Hough Sarah B E, Graham Chris A, Lee Alfred S Y, Rhodes Ryan E
Behavioural Medicine Laboratory, Faculty of Health, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3010 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3N4, Canada.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 May 1;15(5):607. doi: 10.3390/bs15050607.
Physical inactivity is a major global health risk, yet many fail to meet activity guidelines. Dog guardianship has been linked to increased physical activity, though the dog-guardian walking relationship remains understudied. This study applied the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to examine how guardians' and dogs' dual-process constructs influence walking behaviour. A sample of 127 Canadian dog guardians reported their walking habits, hedonic motivation, and expectations (Time 1) for themselves and their dogs, with follow-up walking behaviour assessed after three weeks (Time 2). Structural equation modelling revealed significant covariation in dog-guardian walking ( = 0.38, = 0.03), supporting APIM. Guardians' hedonic motivation (β = 0.37, = 0.02) and expectations (β = 0.38, = 0.02) predicted both human and dog walking. Findings confirm that guardians are the primary drivers of walking, suggesting interventions targeting guardian motivation and expectations may enhance physical activity in both humans and dogs, benefiting health.
缺乏身体活动是一项重大的全球健康风险，但许多人未能达到活动指南的要求。养狗与身体活动增加有关，不过人与狗的散步关系仍未得到充分研究。本研究应用行为者-伙伴相互依赖模型（APIM）来考察主人和狗的双重过程结构如何影响散步行为。127名加拿大养狗者的样本报告了他们自己和他们的狗的散步习惯、享乐动机和期望（时间1），并在三周后评估后续的散步行为（时间2）。结构方程模型显示，人与狗的散步行为存在显著的协变（ = 0.38， = 0.03），支持了APIM。主人的享乐动机（β = 0.37， = 0.02）和期望（β = 0.38， = 0.02）预测了人类和狗的散步行为。研究结果证实主人是散步的主要驱动力，这表明针对主人动机和期望的干预措施可能会增加人类和狗的身体活动，对健康有益。
