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AbstractResearch has shown that certain populations such as nursing home patients and physically ill patients have benefited psychologically from pet ownership. Recent studies have indicated that the relationship between pet ownership and well-being may be complex. We examined the relationship between pet ownership and emotional distress among working women. We also studied the relationship between pet attachment and emotional distress. Participants were 42 cat and/or dog owners and 42 nonowners who were women employees of the American Medical Association. Each completed an inventory on depression, anxiety, and anger. Pet owners also completed a scale to assess degree of attachment to the pet. Results revealed that there were no significant differences between owners and nonowners on any of the measures and that pet attachment was not associated with any of the measures. When compared with national norms, results indicated that pet owners from the present study were significantly more attached to their pets. We concluded that pet ownership may be less therapeutic for working women because they may have insufficient time to spend with their pets that would result in therapeutic effects.
Watson et al. (Tue,) studied this question.