Pet Attachment and Dissociation

Sue-Ellen Brown and Aaron H. Katcher 1

This study replicated the co-existence of dissociation and pet attachment in 113 female veterinary technician students based on a bivariate correlation analysis and chi-square analysis of their responses to the 28-question Dissociative Experiences Scale and an eight-question “pet” attachment questionnaire. The study replicated the positive correlation between pet attachment and dissociation first reported by Brown & Katcher (1997). Also replicated was the finding that significantly more with the highest pet attachment had clinical levels of dissociation than did those with lower attachment.Results compared to a meta-analytic study found their level of dissociation to be higher than participants in non-animal-related categories. This study suggests that dissociation may characterize one subset of people highly attached to pets and discusses implications for companion animal research and individuals in animal-related careers.

One purpose of this study was to replicate previous findings by Brown and Katcher (1997) that showed a positive correlation between companion animal or “pet” attachment and dissociation in a sample of participants that included 73 veterinary technician students and 232 college students. The current sample of participants consisted of 113 veterinary technician students. The second purpose of this study was to replicate the Brown and Katcher finding that people with high levels of pet attachment have a three times greater chance of having clinical levels of dissociation than those with low pet attachment. The third purpose of this study was to explore how participants in an animal-related profession, 113 veterinary technician students, would compare to other samples of participants on both pet attachment and dissociation. Finally, the study explored what implications these findings might have both for future companion animal research and people in animal-related professions.

Reviews of the literature (Carlson, Armstrong, Loewenstein & Roth, 1998; Putnam & Carlson, 1998) reveal that high levels of dissociation are strongly correlated with previous traumatic experiences such as childhood sexual or physical abuse or exposure to combat. Because dissociation also correlates with pet attachment (Brown & Katcher, 1997), it is possible that a subset of people highly attached to companion animals have histories of abuse or trauma.

Dissociation is defined as the lack of integration of various parts of an experience such as thoughts, feelings, or images into the stream of consciousness (Carlson, Putnam, Ross, Torem, Coons, & Dill, 1993). In the case of an overwhelming traumatic event such as abuse, rape, combat, or natural disaster, people may separate different aspects of the experience. They may not remember some or all components of the event. This separation protects the individual from being overwhelmed. For example, victims of sexual assault may be able to verbalize in a factual way what happened to them, while feeling nothing at all. However, functioning while being unaware of traumatic memories has been shown to cause many different symptoms of distress. The specific symptoms associated with dissociation are clustered into three main areas. These are (a) amnesia or memory problems, (b) feelings that either oneself or the environment is somehow unreal, and (c) increased imaginative involvement or an ability to become absorbed in either one’s inner world or the environment (Ross, Ellason & Anderson, 1995). Dissociation generally occurs when a person’s usual ways of coping with a traumatizing event are overwhelmed, thereby allowing a psychological escape when no physical escape is possible.

Dissociation generally is believed to occur on a continuum ranging from a common, normal occurrence such as daydreaming or forgetting a trip while driving to being pathological, such as forgetting major events or large periods of time (Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). Dissociation should not be considered inherently pathological, because it often does not lead to impairment, distress, or the need to seek out help. Ludwig (1983) argues that dissociation has great individual and species survival value by allowing functioning in the face of overwhelming threats. Dissociation is both a defense and a diagnosis. As a defense, it may work well at the time of the trauma. If it persists too long, however, it interferes with the work necessary to process the trauma and put it into perspective (Spiegel, 1994). Dissociation is considered a diagnosis when it causes impairment or distress, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).

The most extreme of the five dissociative disorders outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), known before 1994 as Multiple Personality Disorder. In DID, a person has separate, isolated identities that contain and isolate traumatic memories, feelings, or thoughts that are too overwhelming for the individual to remember and live with.

Much research has been conducted to find correlates of dissociation. According to Putnam and Carlson (1998), every study investigating the relationship between a history of trauma and clinical dissociation found a significant relationship. Other studies (Saunders, McRoberts & Tollefson, 1989; Saunders & Giola, 1991) show that dissociation levels go up as the frequency and severity of the subject’s past stressful experiences go up. For example, the earlier the age of onset of the abuse, the higher is the level of dissociation (Chu 1998). Dissociation also tends to decrease with age. Adolescents and young adults generally score higher than older adults. Also, Putnam and Carlson’s (1998) review of the literature describe other variables that correlate with dissociation such as absorption (with a moderate correlation of + .35 to .45); fantasy proneness (with a moderate to strong correlation of +.42 to .63); and, to a lesser degree, hypnotizability (with a low correlation of + .12).

Although dissociation may succeed in buffering persons from an external trauma, it often leaves individuals impaired in their ability to maintain intimacy with other people. The protective detachment can allow a person to view events as a spectator, who feels limited pain and distress. However, this protective detachment leaves a person with a sense of disconnection from others and a sense of numbness. Many relationship issues such as difficulties with trust and attachment to other people surround early trauma or abuse and last well into adulthood (Herman, 1992). This has led some to label dissociation as a disorder of attachment (Saakvitne, 2000).

Brown and Katcher (1997) speculate that some people with high pet attachment and high dissociation may seek reparative relationships with companion animals as a safe substitute for people. Companion animals may offer a more stable and trusting relationship for people with histories of trauma. Relationships with companion animals may provide a safe way to learn to trust another living being, thereby providing a bridge toward human contact. This would be consistent with attachment theory as proposed by Bowlby (1982). Although Bowlby is discussing children’s propensity to attach to stuffed animals, the following quotation could be applied to companion animals.

Thus, it seems clear that, whether in human infants or monkey infants, whenever the “natural” object of attachment behavior is unavailable, the behavior can become directed towards some substitute object. Even though it is inanimate, such an object frequently appears capable of filling the role of an important, though subsidiary, attachment “figure.” (p. 313)
Dissociation may help define one important pathway to “pet” attachment that previously has been overlooked in the companion animal literature. Research in the companion animal literature has attempted to isolate characteristics of pet owners versus non-owners, such as personality traits or sociability (Johnson & Rule, 1991; Perrine & Osbourne, 1998). Other research has shown that pet attachment is more important than mere ownership when assessing the health benefits that people may derive from companion animals (Staats, Pierfelice, Kim, & Crandell, 1999). However, whether assessing pet ownership or pet attachment, no personality type or trait has emerged as consistently related to pet attachment. One reason may be that no one has looked at trauma-related phenomena such as dissociation. Dissociation may be an important personality factor influencing the degree of pet attachment for a subset of people.

This study had three hypotheses, all derived from the Brown and Katcher (1997) study. First, pet attachment and dissociation would have a significant, positive relationship. This was expected because Brown and Katcher found a correlation of .24 (p<.01) between pet attachment and dissociation. Second, within the group of veterinary technician students, the subjects most highly attached to their pets would include more individuals with clinical levels (or levels frequently meeting clinical criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis) of dissociation than the group of subjects who were less attached to their pets. Brown and Katcher showed that participants more highly attached to their pets had a three times greater chance of having clinical levels of dissociation than the participants who were the least attached to their pets. Finally, because the previous study also showed that participants with the highest pet attachment had the most dissociation, it was anticipated that this sample of veterinary technician students would have higher levels of pet attachment and therefore more dissociation than groups of participants from other studies. This study will compare the veterinary technician students’ level of dissociation to other samples of participants taken from non-animal related fields.


Method

Participants

Participants were 120 students enrolled in a two-year veterinary technician program at a small, liberal arts college for women. Data from 73 participants were taken from the previous sample by Brown and Katcher (1997), while 47 additional participants were recruited from the following class of veterinary technicians. Both samples were first year students who had not yet engaged in their clinical training. The two groups of participants were analyzed together as the differences on the independent and dependent variables did not differ significantly. Because 95.8% of the subjects were female, the five male subjects were excluded. Also, because culture may influence attitudes toward companion animals, the two subjects not born in the United States were excluded. This left 113 participants for the final analysis. All subjects were over 18 years old, mean age was 23.29 years, and 95% were Caucasian. Only 1.7% of participants did not currently have a pet. Most (79.2%) participants had pets at home only, some (15.1%) had pets at school only, and a few (3.3%) had pets at both home and school.

Procedure

Participants signed an informed consent form and then completed a questionnaire packet consisting of a brief demographic data questionnaire, the pet attachment questionnaire (Stallones, Marx, Garrity, & Johnson, 1991) and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) (Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). Participants were given class time to complete the voluntary questionnaires.

Materials

The DES (Bernstein & Putnam, 1986) is a widely used, self-administered questionnaire with 28 questions. Questions are answered using a visual analog scale. Participants mark the line from 0 to 100, rating the frequency of time that the particular experience happens to them. The final score is an average of the 28 questions ranging from 0 to 100. The DES also has three sub-scales (Ross, Ellason & Anderson, 1995) called Imaginative Involvement (measuring primarily absorption and imaginative involvement), Activities of Dissociated States (measuring primarily amnesia) and Depersonalization/Derealization (measuring feelings of unreality about oneself or the environment). These sub-scales consist of various combinations of the DES questions that are totaled and averaged. The DES has high test-retest reliability (.84 after 4 to 8 weeks), adequate split-half reliability, and good validity (Carlson & Putnam, 1993; Carlson, et al., 1993). It has been used in more than 250 published studies (Carlson et al., 1998; Waller, 1995).

There has been some debate about the use of a cutoff score on the DES to indicate a distinction between normal and pathological dissociation. Ross et al. (1991) recommend considering any score above 15-20 to be pathological. Other researchers recommend a higher cutoff score of 30 should be used (Carlson et al., 1993). As there is no consensus on this issue, the higher cutoff score of 30 was used for this study.

The pet attachment questionnaire (Stallones et al., 1991) is an eight-question, self- report questionnaire. The final score is a total of the answers to the questions and ranges from 0 to 23. Person who do not currently own a pet or never have owned a pet are instructed to, “…fill this in as you would if you did own a pet.” The content of the questions includes feeling a pet has helped your health, seeing a pet as part of your family, taking your pet with you to visit people, keeping a picture of your pet with you, feeling a pet is more loyal than people, viewing a pet as having the same privileges as a family member, being affected by the way others react to your pet, and feeling a family is not complete without a pet. The various options for answering are given numerical values (Never = 0, Seldom = 1, Occasionally = 2, Often = 3, Always = 4), and the total of the individual values is the total score. Stallones et al. (1991) reported Chronbach’s alpha was .75 for reliability and that, using a principal component analysis, all questions loaded on one single factor, suggesting that the questions were cohesive and depicted a single component of pet attachment.


Results

In the analysis, the total score on the DES was used as the major dependent variable. The three sub-scores or factors on the DES (as used by Ross et al., 1995) were also analyzed separately as dependent variables. The independent variable consisted of the score on the pet attachment questionnaire (PAQ). Table 1 shows mean scores and standard deviations for the 113 participants on the independent and dependent variables.

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In a bivariate correlational analysis (Table 2), the independent variable, pet attachment, was significantly correlated with the dependent variables, dissociation (r = .37**, p < .01) as well as all three sub-scales of the DES. Of the three dissociation sub-scales, pet attachment was most closely associated with the imaginative involvement-absorption sub-scale (r = .38**, p < .01) and activities of dissociated states or amnesia (r = .30**, p < .01) and significantly, but less strongly, with depersonalization-derealization (r = .24*, p < .05). These correlations suggest a moderate, positive relationship between pet attachment and dissociation.
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A chi-square analysis showed the relationship between participants with high scores on the PAQ and the DES. The group of 14 participants with higher levels (one standard deviation above the mean, or greater than 21) of attachment to pets included significantly more individuals with clinical levels of dissociation (above 30) on the DES (chi-square = 7.50, p<.006, df = 1). None of the 15 participants with lower pet attachment scores (one standard deviation below the mean, or less than 15) had DES scores at or above the clinical level. Of the 14 participants with a pet attachment score more than one standard deviation above the mean 43 % (N = 6) had DES scores of 30 or above.

As was anticipated, the PAQ mean for the sample of veterinary technician students was much higher than the PAQ means from other studies (Table 3). Although no established norms exist for the PAQ, scores can be compared to those obtained in other studies. The PAQ mean of 17.91 in this study was much higher than the PAQ mean score of 10.3 for the original study using this questionnaire (Stallones et al, 1991). This also is much higher than the PAQ mean of 10.47 from the original sample of students (enrolled in non-animal related fields of study) used in the Brown and Katcher (1997) study. As would be expected, students in the veterinary technician program had higher scores on pet attachment than students in other fields of study.

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The DES mean score from this sample of veterinary technician students can be compared to other means from other studies in Table 4. The veterinary technician student’s DES mean of 20.99 was much higher than would be expected when compared to the mean of 11.05 for normal populations and 14.40 for students and adolescents. The mean score of 20.99 is closer to the score of 20.58 for war veterans or people with histories of abuse (27.06) but not as high as groups of people with DID (45.63).
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Nearly one quarter (22%) of the participants had clinical levels of dissociation, which is 5 times greater than the 4.4% found in a normal population and 2 times greater than a college population (Putnam et al., 1996). The 22% of participants with a clinical DES score (greater than or equal to 30) were compared to the percentage of scores over 30 from other studies in Table 5. Again, this sample of veterinary technician students had a level of dissociation much higher than normals (4.4%) or college students (11.1%), but not as high as people with either posttraumatic stress disorder (46.5%) or a non-MPD dissociative disorder (46.5%).
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Table 6 shows the DES means of female health care providers who primarily were nurses (Ferguson & Dacey, 1997). The female health care providers’ average DES scores are categorized by type of abuse (sexual = 14, physical = 12.5, psychological = 10, or no abuse = 5). Scores for all types of abuse are lower than the veterinary technician student’s average DES score of 20.99.
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Discussion

This study confirmed all three hypotheses about the strong relationship between pet attachment and dissociation. First, the moderately significant correlation between pet attachment and dissociation was confirmed. The previous study (Brown & Katcher, 1997) found a correlation of .24 (p<.01) between pet attachment and dissociation, compared with a stronger correlation of .37 (p<.01) found in this study. Second, the subjects with the higher pet attachment scores were much more likely to have clinical levels of dissociation (43%) than those subjects with the lower pet attachment (0%). Thus, the frequency of serious dissociative symptoms was significantly higher in people who were highly attached to their pets.

Third, participants from an animal-related profession had dissociation scores much higher than did most participants from other fields. The only participants from non-animal fields who had higher dissociation scores were samples of people with a dissociative type disorder. Of the veterinary technician students 22 % had clinical DES scores, or scores over 30. This is five times that found in the normal population and two times that found in a college population (Putnam et al., 1996). According to one study using college students (Murphy, 1994), 89% of the participants with DES scores over 30 met the clinical criteria for one of the five dissociative disorders. This means that a substantial number of the veterinary technician students would probably meet clinical criteria for a dissociative disorder. Future research using interviews or questionnaires that are more extensive are needed to validate this finding.

Because this study is correlational in nature, cause-and-effect relationships cannot be determined. It is possible that an unknown third factor is influencing both pet attachment and dissociation. It appears unlikely that an attachment to pets could cause a trauma-related factor like dissociation. On the other hand, it seems possible that having high levels of dissociation could predispose an individual to becoming strongly attached to pets. This could be true for several reasons. One possible explanation is that high levels of dissociation usually correlate with childhood abuse. A history of abuse by people could predispose a person to mistrust humans. Relationships with companion animals could serve as a safe substitute for relationships with people or as a bridge to begin relating to others. Furthermore, having an attachment to a companion animal could allow an individual to feel more secure and learn to trust. Learning to trust is one of the most important building blocks of human relationships (Erikson, 1985).

A second explanation for how dissociation could predispose an individual to have an affiliation for companion animals involves imaginative involvement. The DES sub-scale called imaginative involvement correlated most strongly with pet attachment (r = .38). Imaginative involvement or fantasy proneness (both correlates of dissociation) may be one element contributing to the ability to relate deeply to animals. Hilgard (1974) documented the positive and satisfying aspects of imaginative involvement. Similar to play, fantasy can be engaged in for the sheer enjoyment of it, which often is seen spontaneously in childhood. Hilgard explains that the form the imaginative involvement takes probably depends on the environment and/or parents who might enjoy imaginative and adventurous activities or stimulate it through providing experiences with books, drama, religion, nature, or adventurous sports. Hilgard (1974) refers to the ability to become intensely absorbed in these activities as a partial dissociation, where the immediate concerns of life fade into the background. For example, an intense degree of involvement in nature (or playing with one’s companion animal) may create a temporary altered or dissociated state of consciousness. This altered state may have health-enhancing effects in the same way as hypnosis or relaxation. This could be one of the underlying mechanisms producing the stress-reducing effects of companion animals (Brown & Katcher, 1997). Future research using scales for imaginative involvement or fantasy proneness and pet attachment would help to define this relationship.

Dissociation may be the only personality variable, to date, that has been shown to correlate consistently with pet attachment. Previous research in the companion animal field has yielded inconclusive and conflicting results that lead researchers to conclude that the relationship is complex (Johnson & Rule, 1991; Perrine & Osbourne, 1998; Staats et al., 1999; Stallones, et al., 1991, Watson & Weinstein, 1993). The conflicting results may have been found because dissociation was not measured. People with high levels of dissociation or trauma tend to be more socially isolated and in more emotional distress (Herman, 1990). Therefore, a dissociative group of people who are highly attached to companion animals might appear differently on many personality or social variables from other non-dissociative groups of people highly attached to companion animals. Future studies might find more clear and consistent results if the researchers control for dissociation.

One limitation of this study is that this group of veterinary technicians students was compared primarily to other non-professional samples. Although the DES has been given to college students and samples of normal subjects, it originally was intended as a screening instrument for dissociative disorders. Therefore, the DES has been administered primarily to samples with various psychiatric diagnoses. It would be useful to have means from other non-clinical samples of people in various professions or specific fields of study. Perhaps professionals of many fields have elevated dissociation, regardless of whether or not they are in an animal-related or a helping profession.

Some evidence supports a relationship between individuals in the helping professions and histories of childhood abuse (Ferguson & Dacey, 1997; Karol et al., 1992). Ferguson and Dacey (1997) surveyed abuse histories in health care providers, (primarily nurses), employed in a hospital. Although their DES mean was still lower than the veterinary technician students (see Table 6), the authors noticed a high rate of abuse among the subjects. A total of 72% of the 211 participants reported having experienced some type of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse in childhood. This is consistent with another study (Karol et. al., 1992) that found a high rate of histories of abuse in health care providers in a pain treatment center (55% reported a history of emotional abuse, 36, a history of physical abuse, and 33%, sexual abuse). Ferguson and Dacey (1997) concluded that perhaps individuals who have suffered some form of abuse are attracted to the helping professions such as nursing, medicine, psychology, or social work. This may be extended to people in animal-related helping professions such as veterinary technicians, veterinarians, and animal shelter workers. Future research that explores this possible relationship between people in the helping professions (both with humans and animals), dissociation and childhood abuse would be helpful.

This relationship between dissociation and pet attachment could open many new areas for research. It would be interesting to measure the level of pet attachment in a clinical group with diagnosed, high levels of dissociation to see if the correlation persists. Similarly, it would be helpful to measure other groups of people with high pet attachment and measure their level of dissociation as well as survey their histories for early trauma, attachment issues with humans, and satisfaction with social networks and/or intimacy. Findings from such studies would help test the hypothesis that some people with high pet attachment, high dissociation, and a history of trauma attach to animals as a substitute for people.

How much the current results can be generalized to the population at large is questionable. It would be incorrect to say that all people who are highly attached to pets have high dissociation. There may be limitless reasons for people to be attached to pets. Although a relatively large percentage of the veterinary technician students had high levels of dissociation, the majority of participants in this study with high levels of pet attachment did not have clinical levels of dissociation. Also, veterinary technician students primarily are female, science oriented, and have chosen an animal-related health care career that often is low-paying. People in other fields of study may or may not be similar in their attachment to companion animals or use of dissociation. There are many pathways to pet attachment, and having dissociation may characterize one distinctive subset of such people.

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Note

1. Correspondence should be sent to Sue Ellen Brown, Tuskegee University, Center for the Study of Human-Animal Interdependent Relationships, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Tuskegee, AL 36088. E-mail:brownse@tusk.edu This study was funded in part by the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions under Tuskegee University's Center of Excellence Grant.

 

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