Associations between Stress and Quality of Life: Differences between Owners Keeping a Living Dog or Losing a Dog by Euthanasia
March
Associations between Stress and Quality of Life: Differences between Owners Keeping a Living Dog or Losing a Dog by Euthanasia
Lilian Tzivian 0 1
Michael Friger 0 1
Talma Kushnir 0 1
0 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of Negev , Beer Sheba , Israel
1 Academic Editor: Craig Gordon Ruaux, Oregon State University , UNITED STATES
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
The loss of a pet may be stressful to the owner. The main objectives of this study were to
compare the levels of stress and to explore the correlates of QOL of healthy adults who
currently own or who have just lost their dog.
The study sample contained 110 current, and 103 bereaved dog owners, all females, who
lost their dogs due to euthanasia. QOL was assessed with the WHOQOL-BREF
questionnaire and divided into four major domainsPhysical, Psychological, Relationship, and
Environmental. Demographic variables, stress, health behaviors, and social support from family,
friends, and significant other were included in multivariate analysis.
Stress levels were significantly higher in bereaved owners. QOL in three of the four domains
(Physical, Psychological, and Relationship) of current owners were significantly better than
among bereaved owners. Stress was significantly associated with these three domains of
QOL. Quality of life was found to be positively associated with social support. Age was
related directly only to current owners QOL.
The results suggest that a loss of a dog is associated with stress for the bereaved owner
and reduced physical, psychological, and relationship QOL. Lack of social support in the
case of death of a companion animal has a strong effect on owners grief reactions.
The self-reported physical and psychological benefits of owning a dog have been documented
in social science research [1]. The research suggests that pets can provide a range of benefits to
humans, including health benefits [24]. Since the 1980s, numerous publications have
demonstrated an improvement in peoples quality of life (QOL) due to their contact with pets. The
psychological benefits of pet-human interaction have been investigated mainly among sick
individuals [5]. For example, a significant difference on the well-being scale was found between
sick pet owners and sick non-owners [6]. While there are several hypotheses that attempt to
explain the health benefits of dog ownership by focusing mainly on the nature of the relationship
between owners and their dogs [7], there seems to be no agreement as to the underlying
mechanisms responsible for these effects [1].
Because cats and dogs have average lifespans of about 1015 years, much shorter than that
of their owners, pet owners frequently face pet loss. The loss of a pet may be very stressful to
the owner [811], whether these deaths were caused by euthanasia, accident, or by the progress
of illness [12]. The longer one has a pet, the greater the attachment can become [1314], and
this strong attachment may provoke a distress reaction upon a pets death. Many people grieve
for their pets in much the same way as they do for the deaths of their friends [15]. Families are
known to experience a range of emotions in response on the loss of animal, such as a deep
sense of sadness, grieving, crying, and even depression [1617]. In extreme cases, the mourning
resulted in hospitalization for psychiatric treatment [18], although the percentage of people
expressing major pathological reactions is relatively low at 512% [16].
One of the most important factors contributing to the intensity of stress reactions following
the loss of a pet is the owners age [19]. Many studies have shown that the loss of a pet resulted
in a very difficult and painful time for children who felt guilty about the death and could not
accept it [20]. Planchon and Templer (1996) found a more intense grief reaction among
younger rather than older pet owners [21]. The relationships of adolescents with pets tend to be
more intense, which may explain why it takes them longer to get over the grief [20].
Another important factor that can affect or moderate the levels of stress and well-being at
the time of stressful events is social support that a person receives. Although the significant
role of social support in the case of the death of a close relative has been demonstrated [22], the
death of a family pet is not fully recognized as a significant loss, especially among those who do
not own pets, and grieving owners are often left without strong social support [23]. Even
veterinarians can underestimate the impact of the loss of a pet on their clients [24]. Such lack of
social support may increase the likelihood that the bereaved person will avoid the processing of
loss [25].
The main objectives of this study were to explore the correlates of quality of life of healthy
adults who currently own a live dog in comparison to owners who have just lost thei (...truncated)