Campbell, Kathleen Isobel, and Oliva, Jessica Lee (2024) Four’s a Crowd? Attachment Styles in Childless Women and First-Time Mothers Toward Their Pet Dog. Anthrozoos, 37 (4). pp. 727-743.

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Abstract

The transition to parenthood is a time of change and challenge, where new attachments are developed and old ones are re-appraised to fit the needs of the new family. Research on how this transition affects parental attachment to the family pet dog is scarce. This study explored attachment orientation differences among female dog owners without children and female dog owners who had recently become new mothers. Factors that may underpin these differences were also explored. New mothers (n = 98) and childless women (n = 93) completed an online survey that measured the degree to which they were anxiously and avoidantly attached to their pet dog. Significant differences in attachment orientations were found: the parent group had more avoidant, and less anxious, attachment styles toward their pet dogs, compared with the childless group. Qualitative insights revealed new mothers suffer from a lack of time, energy, and attention to afford their dog and that the role of the dog in the family may be re-appraised to accommodate the new family member. These outcomes provide insight into how Australian women experience their attachment relationships to their pet dogs. This study has implications for both pet and maternal welfare.

Item ID:	86637
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1753-0377
Copyright Information:	© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on whichthis article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2025 22:14
FoR Codes:	52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520303 Counselling psychology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200207 Social structure and health @ 50% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 50%
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