scholarly journals Companion-animal-inclusive domestic violence practice: Implications for service delivery and social work

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-39
Author(s):  
Nik Taylor ◽  
Heather Fraser ◽  
Damien W. Riggs
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Service Design ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Animal Violence

INTRODUCTION: Based on an understanding of links between human- and animal-directed domestic violence, this article: 1) argues for companion-animal inclusive domestic violence service delivery; and 2) reflects on the challenges this offers to social work and the human services.APPROACH: We start by considering the importance of companion animals in many people’s lives and then offer an overview of material on “the link” between human- and animal-directed violence, specifically as it pertains to domestic violence.CONCLUSIONS: Implications for service design and provision are discussed. We conclude with brief comments about the importance of centring animals in future considerations of human– animal violence links and outline how this offers an opportunity to challenge and re-think the humanist foundations on which traditional social work is built.

scholarly journals The Perceived Impact of The First UK Covid-19 Lockdown on Companion Animal Welfare and Behaviour: A Mixed-Method Study of Associations with Owner Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6171
Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Luciana Santos de Assis ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Elena Ratschen ◽  
Paul Toner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Human Animal

Background: Companion animals may be a positive presence for their owners during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the welfare of a companion animal is strongly influenced by the behaviour of their owners, as well as their physical and social environment. We aimed to investigate the reported changes in companion animal welfare and behaviour and to examine the association between these changes and companion animal owners’ mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020 (n = 5926). The questionnaire included validated, bespoke items measuring outcomes related to mental health, human-animal bonds and reported changes in animal welfare and behaviour. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe experiences associated with human-animal relationships during the first UK lockdown phase. Results: Animal owners made up 89.8% of the sample (n = 5323), of whom 67.3% reported changes in their animal’s welfare and behaviour during the first lockdown phase (n = 3583). These reported changes were reduced to a positive (0–7) and negative (0–5) welfare scale, following principal component analysis (PCA) of 17 items. Participants reported more positive changes for cats, whereas more negative changes were reported for dogs. Thematic analysis identified three main themes relating to the positive and negative impact on companion animals of the Covid-19 pandemic. Generalised linear models indicated that companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores pre-lockdown reported fewer negative changes in animal welfare and behaviour. However, companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores since lockdown reported more changes, both positive and negative, in animal welfare and behaviour. Conclusion: Our findings extend previous insights into perceived welfare and behaviour changes on a very limited range of species to a wider a range of companion animals. Owner mental health status has a clear, albeit small, effect on companion animal welfare and behaviour.

In Good Company

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Fraser ◽  
Nik Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Human Animal

Companion animals play an important role in many human’s lives, including many Australian social workers and clients. Yet Australian social work has been slow to address the burgeoning area of human-animal studies. In this embryonic research, we focus on women’s close relationships with companion animals and some of the broad implications this has for social work practice. We analyze some of the themes expressed by women who participated in three focus groups we conducted: two on a university campus and another in a community welfare agency setting. We also examine how the women interacted with each other as they spoke of “their pets,” as these dynamics point to a potentially important source of inspiration and energy that social workers may wish to harness in their day-to-day work with women.

scholarly journals Human-Animal Interactions, Relationships and Bonds: A Review and Analysis of the Literature

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Hosey ◽  
Vicky Melfi
Keyword(s):  
Companion Animals ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Unified Field ◽  
Agricultural Animal ◽  
Standard Terminology ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Sociological Approaches

The study of human-animal interactions (HAI), and the resulting human-animal relationships (HARs) and bonds (HABs) which are set up as a consequence, is currently a topical issue in comparative psychology. Here we review the HAI/HAR/HAB literature to detect the main publication trends, and to identify the predominant research themes in this area. Research in HAI/HAR/HAB only really started in the 1980s, but since then there has been a growth in studies which is still continuing. Most of these studies have been in the contexts of companion animal or agricultural animal research, but there is now a growing literature on laboratory, zoo and wild animals too. In the companion animal HAI/HAB literature the greatest emphasis has been on Animal-assisted Interventions (AAI), and the benefits to people of pet ownership and interaction with pets. Agricultural HAI/HAR research, on the contrary, has been more concerned with the welfare consequences of HAI/HARs to the animals. This disjunction is reflected in the preference of companion animal researchers to use the term ‘bond’, but agricultural researchers to use ‘relationship’. Other themes prominent in the literature include methodological issues, the characteristics of caretakers, the role of veterinarians, sociological approaches, and theoretical aspects. It is concluded that currently HAI/HAR/HAB research does not constitute a unified field, and there is a need to: i) agree and define a standard terminology; ii) undertake more research on the effects of HAI on companion animals; iii) undertake more research on the form and frequency of interactions; and iv) increase research on HAI/HAR/HABs in laboratory, zoo and wild-living animals. This research is important to understand whether HAI has positive, neutral or negative consequences, both for humans and for animals.

On being posthuman in human spaces: critical posthumanist social work with interspecies families

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Laing
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inclusive Practice ◽  
Work Education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes a critical posthumanist orientation to social work as an approach to address the impediments to care experienced by interspecies families. Secondly, it challenges the anthropocentric assumptions that underpin this exclusion of nonhuman family members in human services disciplines such as social work.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents primary data from a qualitative study into social work and other human services practice in the family violence and homelessness sectors in the state of Victoria, Australia.FindingsSocial workers undertook companion animal-inclusive practice to counter vulnerability to interspecies families caused by gender- and species-based violence, and by homelessness. Gender- and species-based violence was exacerbated by a lack of refuge options, and contributed to women considering their companion animals to be their children. The vulnerability that homelessness brought upon interspecies families was amplified by stigma within and external to social work and related professions, and the impediment that experiences of homelessness had on being able to provide care for their nonhuman family members. These factors shaped practice with interspecies families. Scope for future practice was also identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings can be used to inform policy change that includes consideration of nonhuman family members, as well as critical posthuman program design in social work education.Originality/valueCompanion animal-inclusive practice with interspecies families in social work is an under researched area, and there is little empirical data available on the nature of this work in Australia. This paper addresses this gap by centring social workers' own accounts of practice. This paper has scope to contribute to education in social work and other welfare fields, with the potential to empower students to challenge assumptions about social work being solely focused on human-centred concerns.

A Companion Animal in a Work Simulation: The Roles of Task Difficulty and Prior Companion-Animal Guardianship in State Anxiety

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Stewart ◽  
Oriel Strickland
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
High Stress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Lower State ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Human Animal

Abstract Human-animal interactions often have positive physiological and psychological outcomes for humans. The current study extended research in this area by studying three variables that have never directly been examined together within a laboratory setting: task difficulty level (moderate versus extreme), the human-animal interaction (present or absent), and participants’ companion-animal guardianship status (yes or no) to determine whether a companion dog would reduce self-reported state anxiety. The participants were undergraduate students from a large western university in the United States who performed timed paper-and-pencil tasks either with or without the presence of a companion dog under varying degrees of task difficulty. Spielberger’s State/Trait anxiety measures were used to assess reactions to the work setting. Results indicated that although the mere presence of a dog is not enough to lower state anxiety for all participants, the interaction of companion-animal guardianship status and task difficulty was significant. Companion animals may assist in stress relief for people in average-stress jobs who already have positive feelings toward companion animals but may have no effect for people in high-stress jobs or who do not already enjoy the company of animals.

Companion Animal Death

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison M. J. Reisbig ◽  
McArthur Hafen ◽  
Adryanna A. Siqueira Drake ◽  
Destiny Girard ◽  
Zachary B. Breunig
Keyword(s):  
Companion Animals ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Helping Professionals ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Loss And Grief ◽  
Subsequent Loss ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Relationship

Human–animal relationships are increasingly incorporated into families as a normal part of family life. Despite this, relationships with animals are often viewed as inferior to human relationships. This becomes problematic during times of loss and grief when members of a grieving companion animal owner's support system do not understand the salience of the relationship with the animal. Veterinary and other helping professionals need basic information about the experience of companion animal loss in order to help support and normalize the experiences of grieving companion animal owners. The present study qualitatively describes human–animal relationships and the subsequent loss and coping experienced by owners of beloved companion animals. Comparison with human and other types of loss and factors unique to companion animal loss are discussed, and practical applications for veterinary and other helping professionals are provided.

scholarly journals Social Work and Human Animal Bonds and Benefits in Health Research

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Hanrahan
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
North Americans ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The U.S

North Americans consider companion-animals as family members and increasingly as attachment figures. Across the health sciences and professions, substantial qualitative and mounting quantitative research provides evidence of health benefits of human animal interactions across the life cycle regarding diverse issues. In replicating a ground-breaking U.S. study designed to measure exposure to information and levels of knowledge and integration of human animal bonds (HAB) into practice, this present study, funded by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, surveyed practitioners in Nova Scotia, Canada. Similar to the U.S. findings, this study revealed the majority of practitioners were uninformed about such benefits and about how they can be operationalized. As a result, the majority of practitioners in Nova Scotia are not including animals in practice, and notably, those who are, are doing so without the necessary education or training. The lack of preparation in human-animal interactions has serious implications for social work in that disparities and inequities between and among humans are related to the disparities between humans and other animals, society, and nature.

scholarly journals Recognizing Animals as an Important Part of Helping

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Chalmers ◽  
Colleen Dell ◽  
James Dixon ◽  
Trisha Dowling ◽  
Cassandra Hanrahan
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Human Animal

The beneficial role of companion animals on human health and wellbeing across the life span is well documented in the rapidly expanding multi disciplinary body of literature known as human animal interactions (HAI). Social workers practice at the interface of people and their diverse environments. The presence of human animal bonds (HAB) within client systems, between people and companion animals in particular, are increasingly acknowledged and valued by social workers. Additionally, some social workers incorporate animals in their practice through animal assisted interventions (AAI). However, there is a paucity of empirical literature on social workers’ knowledge about and experiences with the inclusion of animals. We conducted a survey across three prairie provinces in Canada, replicating a study that was first implemented nationwide in the U.S. and later in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The survey explored social workers’ knowledge of HAI in social work. The results, similar to the Nova Scotia and U.S. findings, suggest that s social workers have general knowledge about HAI and the HAB, and that some do incorporate animals in practice. Social workers seem to have increasing knowledge and skills about HAI. While this is a positive trend, there is nonetheless a need for specialized education and training on the beneficial impact that companion animals can have on social work practice. In this paper, the application of zooeyia within social work is adopted as one approach to understanding HAB. Important implications for human health and wellbeing and social work practice at the practitioner and organizational levels are discussed.

scholarly journals The Abuse of Animals and Domestic Violence: A National Survey of Shelters for Women who are Battered

1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Wood ◽  
Claudia V. Weber ◽  
Frank R. Ascione
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
National Survey ◽  
District Of Columbia ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Animal Abuse ◽  
Intake Interview ◽  
Women And Children

AbstractThe maltreatment of animals, usually companion animals, may occur in homes where there is domestic violence, yet we have limited information about the prevalence of such maltreatment. We surveyed the largest shelters for women who are battered in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Shelters were selected if they provided overnight facilities and programs or services for children. Ninety-six percent of the shelters responded. Analysis revealed that it is common for shelters to serve women and children who talk about companion animal abuse. However, only a minority of respondents indicated that they systematically ask about companion animal maltreatment in their intake interview. We discuss the implications of these results for domestic violence programs, animal welfare organizations, and programs serving children of women who are battered by their partners.

The Companion Animal Bonding Scale: Internal Reliability and Construct Validity

1987 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 743-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Poresky ◽  
Charles Hendrix ◽  
Jacob E. Mosier ◽  
Marvin L. Samuelson
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Weak Effect ◽  
Pet Ownership ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The literature on the relationship of companion animals and children shows only a weak effect of human-animal bonding on child development. The use of “pet ownership” or cohabitation rather than the relationship or interaction between the child and the animal as a measure of bonding appears to be a serious and limiting deficiency, which impaired the empirical evidence concerning the development and effects of human-animal bonding. The Companion Animal Bonding Scale is an 8-item behavioral scale describing the extent of child-animal activities. The scale was administered by questionnaire with a childhood focus and a contemporary focus to 121 high school and college students. The Cronbach alpha estimates of internal reliability were 0.82 and 0.77, respectively. Construct validity was indicated by significant correlations between scores on the Pet Attitude Scale and the childhood and contemporary bonding scale of .39 and .40, respectively.

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