Expanding human animal interaction research; is human animal interaction associated with psychological functioning?

The purpose of the current study was to expand the current Human Animal interaction research by broadening the range of individuals included in this research area; as well as examining the association between human animal interaction and elements of psychological functioning. An observational between groups design was employed and this study consisted of 93 participants who were gathered through an opportunistic convenience sampling method. Correlational analysis found no statistically significant relationship between human animal interaction and: happiness (r=.127, p=.23), stress (r=.06, p=.54), and loneliness (r=-.049, p=.64); as well as no relationship between social support satisfaction and pet attachment. Regression analysis could not be completed due to the data not meeting the required assumptions. Exploratory analysis found no significant difference in mean scores between pet owners and non-pet owners for happiness, stress, or loneliness. The current research may not have no direct clinical applications; however this research has implications for future research. Future research is required, should this future research find a relationship between human animal interaction and elements of psychological functioning there may be place for human animal interaction based therapy.