Acceso usuarios
México
La pandemia por COVID-19 ha sido un suceso sin precedentes que ha traído consecuencias y cambios importantes en la dinámica cotidiana de las personas, con impacto a nivel global y personal, tanto en lo económico como en lo social y psicológico. Por ello, el propósito del presente estudio fue comparar el crecimiento postraumático entre personas con y sin animales de compañía (mascotas), así como entre hombres y mujeres. Participaron 351 mujeres y 196 hombres de población general adulta de México, quienes respondieron los cuestionarios de evaluación. Los resultados indicaron que los dueños de mascotas reportaron mayor crecimiento postraumático. Al analizar las diferencias de acuerdo con el tipo de mascota, los puntajes más altos los tuvieron aquellos que tienen perro y gato, seguido de quienes tienen perro. Asimismo, las mujeres fueron quienes reportaron mayor crecimiento postraumático, así como un mayor apoyo percibido por su mascota para sobrellevar la contingencia por COVID-19. Puede concluirse que los animales de compañía son una fuente importante de apoyo en situaciones adversas como el confinamiento por la pandemia, y pueden contribuir a mitigar los efectos psicológicos de eventos altamente estresantes, potenciando el crecimiento postraumático.
crecimiento postraumático, animales de compañía, mascotas, pandemia, COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented event that has brought important consequences and changes in the daily dynamics of people, with a global and personal impact, both economically, socially and psychologically. Because of this, since the beginning of the pandemic, researchers have been interested in studying post-traumatic growth. During the pandemic, some benefits of having companion animals have been reported, such as reduced feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation, as well as increased likelihood of socialization and physical activity. It is also suggested that during the COVID-19 pandemic, those with pets showed higher levels of well-being and better coping strategies than those without pets, possibly due to the need for movement and activity necessary to meet the pets' needs. However, the effect of animals on variables such as posttraumatic growth has not been studied much. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compare posttraumatic growth between people with and without pets, as well as between men and women. Through a non-probabilistic sampling, 547 people between 18 and 78 years of age participated; 351 women and 196 men from the general adult population of Mexico, who answered the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire where the perceived support from the companion animal was inquired. The survey was answered in Spanish through Google Forms and the link was disseminated through social networks. The questionnaire was online from May to September 2021. All data were treated following the ethical principles of the American Psychological Association. Results indicated a mean posttraumatic growth score was 43.5 (SD = 14.3), with a median of 46 for total participants.
Group difference analysis indicated that pet owners reported greater posttraumatic growth with a large effect size. In relation to sex, females scored higher than males, with a large effect size.
When analyzing the differences according to the type of pet, the highest posttraumatic growth scores were reported by those who owned both cats and dogs, followed by those who owned dogs. Similarly, differences were found between those with no pet and those with both dog and cat with higher growth in the latter. In relation to sex and types of pet, men with dog and dog and cat obtained greater than those without a pet. No differences were found in the female group. In conclusion, post-traumatic growth was higher in people with pets. Similarly, women obtained higher scores than men, which coincides with studies conducted with populations where women perceive greater benefits than men as a result of a highly stressful situation.
Regarding the perception of perceived support from pets, higher scores were found in those who have both a dog and a cat, compared to those who have only a dog. These results differ from others where greater perceived support and emotional closeness has been found for dogs than for cats, but a better relationship with cats. These results suggest that the benefits of the human-animal bond for the human are reflected at the emotional level by the companionship of the cats and at the physical level by the interaction with the dogs. It can be concluded that companion animals are an important source of support in adverse situations such as pandemic confinement, which can contribute to mitigate the psychological effects of highly stressful events, enhancing post-traumatic growth.
