Investigators surveyed 30 U.S. military veterans with PTSD who reported having benefited from living with a dog. The subject population included men and women aged 34 to 67, with a mean of 56.9 years (SD = 8.1), who were being treated at two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics. Participants received a questionnaire packet designed to assess aspects of their mental and physical health and relationship with a canine companion, which they completed at home and returned either in person or by mail. The packet consisted of the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M); Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II); Veterans Short Form Health Survey and Health Behaviors Questionnaire (SF-36); Dog Information Sheet; Dog Relationship Questionnaire; and Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale. Respondents indicated that since adopting their dog they had experienced improvement in several areas, including feeling calmer, less lonely, less depressed, and less worried about their and their family’s safety. These results suggest that living with a companion dog may help relieve some of the psychological distress associated with PTSD in some veterans.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Allen K. Are pets a healthy pleasure? The influence of pets on blood pressure Current Directions in Psychological Science 2003 12 6 236 239
Allen K. , Shykoff B. E. & Izzo J. L. Pet ownership, but not ACE inhibitor therapy, blunts home blood pressure responses to mental stress Hypertension 2001 38 4 815 820
American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 2000 4th ed. Washington, D.C. Author
Beck A. T. , Steer R. A. , Ball R. & Ranieri W. F. Comparisons of Beck Depression Inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients Journal of Personality Assessment 1996 67 3 588 597
Boscarino J. A. Posttraumatic stress disorder and mortality among U.S. Army veterans 30 years after military service Annals of Epidemiology 2006 16 4 248 256
Boscarino J. A. A prospective study of PTSD and early-age heart disease mortality among Vietnam veterans: Implications for surveillance and prevention Psychosomatic Medicine 2008 70 668 676
Coleman K. J. , Rosenberg D. E. , Conway T. L. , Sallis J. F. , Salens B. E. , Frank L. D. & Cain K. Physical activity, weight status, and neighborhood characteristics of dog walkers Preventive Medicine 2008 47 3 309 312
Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense VA/DoD clinical practice guidelines: Management of traumatic stress disorder and acute stress reaction 2010 Retrieved from http://www.healthquality.va.gov/Post_Traumatic_Stress_Disorder_PTSD.asp.
Dohrenwend B. P. , Turner J. B. , Turse N. A. , Adams B. G. , Koenen K. C. & Marshall R. The psychological risks of Vietnam for U.S. veterans: A revisit with new data and methods Science 2006 313 5789 979 982
Foa E. B. , Hembree E. A. , Cahill S. P. , Rauch S. A. M. , Riggs D. S. , Feeny N. C. & Yadin E. Randomized trial of prolonged exposure for posttraumatic stress disorder with and without cognitive restructuring: Outcome at academic and community clinics Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2005 73 5 953 964
Friedmann E. & Son H. The human-companion animal bond: How humans benefit Veterinary Clinics: Small Animal Practice 2009 393 2 293 326
Friedmann E. & Thomas S. A. Pet ownership, social support, and one-year survival after acute myocardial infarction in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial (CAST) American Journal of Cardiology 1995 76 17 1213 1217
Friedmann E. , Thomas S. A. , Cook L. K. , Tsai C. & Picot S. A friendly dog as potential moderator of cardiovascular response to speech in older hypertensives Anthrozoös 2007 20 1 51 63
Goldberg D. P. Manual of the general health questionnaire 1978 London National Foundation for Educational Research
Harpaz-Rotem I. & Rosenheck R. A. Serving those who served: Retention of newly returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan in mental health treatment Psychiatric Services 2011 62 1 22 27
Helsing K. J. & Monk M. Dog and cat ownership among suicides and matched controls American Journal of Public Health 1985 75 10 1223 1224
Horn P. S. , Nunnink S. E. & Baker D. B. The association of posttraumatic stress disorder and metabolic syndrome: A study of increased health risk in veterans BMC Medicine 2009 7 1 1 8
Johnson T. P. , Garrity T. F. & Stallones L. Psychometric evaluation of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale Anthrozoös 1991 5 3 160 176
Jones D. , Kazis L. , Lee A. , Rogers W. , Skinner K. , Cassar L. , Wilson N. & Hendricks A. Health status assessments using the Veterans SF-12 and SF-36: Methods for evaluating outcomes in the Veterans Health Administration Journal of Ambulatory Care Management 2001 24 3 68 86
Keen S. M. , Kutter C. J. , Niles B. L. & Krinsley K. E. Psychometric properties of PTSD Checklist in sample of male veterans Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development 2008 45 3 465 474
Kessler R. C. , Sonnega A. , Bromet E. , Hughes M. & Nelson C. B. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Archives of General Psychiatry 1995 52 12 1048 1060
Lew H. L. , Otis J. D. , Tun C. , Kerns R. D. , Clark M. E. & Cifu D. X. Prevalence of chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, and persistent postconcussive symptoms in OIF/OEF veterans: Polytrauma clinical triad Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development 2009 46 6 697 702
Magruder K. M. , Frueh B. C. , Knapp R. G. , Johnson M. R. , Vaughan J. A. & Carson T. C. PTSD symptoms, demographic characteristics, and functional status among veterans treated in VA primary care clinics Journal of Traumatic Stress 2004 17 4 293 301
Manger T. A. & Motta R. W. The impact of an exercise program on posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression International Journal of Emergency Mental Health 2005 7 1 49 57
Matthews K. A. , Zhu S. , Tucker D. C. & Whooley M. A. Blood pressure reactivity to psychological stress and coronary calcification in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study Hypertension 2006 47 3 391 395
McHorney C. A. , Ware J. E. , Lu J. F. & Sherbourne C. D. The MOS 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groups Medical Care 1994 32 1 40 66
Monson C. M. , Schnurr P. P. , Resick P. A. , Friedman M. J. , Young-Xu Y. & Stevens S. P. Cognitive processing therapy for veterans with military-related posttraumatic stress disorder Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2006 74 5 898 907
National Center for PTSD Clinician’s guide to medications for PTSD 2011 December 20 Retrieved from http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/clinicians-guide-to-medications-for-ptsd.asp.
Parslow R. A. , Jorm A. F. , Christensen H. , Rodgers B. & Jacomb P. Pet ownership and health in older adults: Findings from a survey of 2,551 community-based Australians aged 60-64 Gerontology 2005 51 1 40 47
Raina P. , Waltner-Toews D. , Bonnett B. , Woodward C. & Abernathy T. Influence of companion animals on the physical and psychological health of older people: An analysis of a one-year longitudinal study Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 1999 47 3 323 329
Rauch S. A. , Defever E. , Favorite T. , Duroe A. , Garrity C. , Martis B. & Liberzon I. Prolonged exposure for PTSD in a Veterans Health Administration PTSD Clinic Journal of Traumatic Stress 2009 22 1 60 64
Resick P. A. , Galovski T. E. , Uhlmansiek M. O. , Scher C. D. , Clum G. A. & Young-Xu Y. A randomized clinical trial to dismantle components of cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in female victims of interpersonal violence Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2008 76 2 243 258
Richardson J. D. , Long M. E. , Pedlar D. & Elhai J. D. Posttraumatic stress disorder and health-related quality of life among a sample of treatment- and pension-seeking deployed Canadian Forces peacekeeping veterans Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 2008 53 9 594 600
Rogers C. R. The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1957 21 2 95 103
Sakuragi S. & Sugiyama Y. Effects of daily walking on subjective symptoms, mood and autonomic nervous function Journal of Physiological Anthropology 2006 25 4 281 289
Seal K. H. , Bertenthal D. , Miner C. R. , Sen S. & Marmar C. Bringing the war back home: Mental health disorders among 103,778 US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seen at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities Archives of Internal Medicine 2007 167 5 476 482
Serpell J. Beneficial effects of pet ownership on some aspects of human health and behavior Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 1991 84 12 717 720
Siegel J. M. , Angulo F. J. , Detels R. , Wesch J. & Mullen A. AIDS diagnosis and depression in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study: The ameliorating effect of pet ownership AIDS Care 1999 11 12 157 170
Smyth J. & Helm R. Focused expressive writing as self-help for stress and trauma Journal of Clinical Psychology 2003 59 2 227 235
Solomon Z. & Dekel R. The contribution of loneliness and posttraumatic stress disorder to marital adjustment following war captivity: A longitudinal study Family Process 2008 47 2 261 275
Weathers F. , Litz B. , Herman D. , Huska J. & Keane T. The PTSD Checklist (PCL): Reliability, validity, and diagnostic utility 1993 November Paper presented at the ISTSS 9th Annual Convention San Antonio, TX.
Wisdom J. P. , Saedi G. A. & Green C. A. Another breed of “service” animals: STARS study findings about pet ownership and recovery from serious mental illness American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2009 79 3 430 436
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 8678 | 1625 | 135 |
Full Text Views | 860 | 151 | 5 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 734 | 236 | 9 |
Investigators surveyed 30 U.S. military veterans with PTSD who reported having benefited from living with a dog. The subject population included men and women aged 34 to 67, with a mean of 56.9 years (SD = 8.1), who were being treated at two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics. Participants received a questionnaire packet designed to assess aspects of their mental and physical health and relationship with a canine companion, which they completed at home and returned either in person or by mail. The packet consisted of the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M); Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II); Veterans Short Form Health Survey and Health Behaviors Questionnaire (SF-36); Dog Information Sheet; Dog Relationship Questionnaire; and Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale. Respondents indicated that since adopting their dog they had experienced improvement in several areas, including feeling calmer, less lonely, less depressed, and less worried about their and their family’s safety. These results suggest that living with a companion dog may help relieve some of the psychological distress associated with PTSD in some veterans.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 8678 | 1625 | 135 |
Full Text Views | 860 | 151 | 5 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 734 | 236 | 9 |