“He was like, my ride or die”: Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults’ Perspectives on Living With Pets During the Transition to Adulthood

“He was like, my ride or die”: Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging Adults’ Perspectives on Living With Pets During the Transition to Adulthood

This qualitative study explores the benefits and risks associated with living with companion animals during the transition to adulthood among 117 sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults living in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using template analysis. Thematic analysis id...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging adulthood (Thousand Oaks, CA) Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 1008 - 1025
Main Authors: McDonald, Shelby E., Matijczak, Angela, Nicotera, Nicole, Applebaum, Jennifer W., Kremer, Liza, Natoli, Grace, O’Ryan, Ryan, Booth, Laura J., Murphy, Jennifer L., Tomlinson, Camie A., Kattari, Shanna K.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-08-2022
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
Adult development
Adults
Animals
Belonging
Caregiver burden
Caregivers
Caregiving
Coping
Emotional support
Gender
Identity
Identity formation
Life transitions
Mental health
Pets
Psychological distress
Qualitative research
Social capital
Social interaction
Social support
Stress
Stress management
Well being
minority stress
pets
LGBTQ
human-animal interaction
coping
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Summary:This qualitative study explores the benefits and risks associated with living with companion animals during the transition to adulthood among 117 sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults living in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using template analysis. Thematic analysis identified several risks (caregiver burden, pets as barriers to relationships, animal-related psychological stress) and benefits (pets as a buffer to stress, pets as social capital, pets as a coping mechanism for mental health, and pets as identity and purpose) associated with living with pets. Our results suggest that pets may influence SGM emerging adult identity development and related wellbeing by facilitating feelings of belongingness, positive self-regard, and purpose; promoting social interactions; and providing emotional support and comfort to cope with stress. However, pets, and their associated care, were also a source of caregiving burden and psychological stress. We discuss practice and policy implications and directions for future research.
ISSN:2167-6968
2167-6984
DOI:10.1177/21676968211025340