Table 3.
Model output of mental health symptoms (BSI-GSI) as a function of ACEs, BCEs, and child–pet relationships.
| Model 1—Child–Dog Emotional Closeness | Model 2—Child–Pet Positive Interactions |
Model 3—Benevolent Childhood Experiences | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B (SE) | CI | B (SE) | CI | B (SE) | CI | |
| Demographics | ||||||
| Constant | 49.01 (8.11) *** | 33.00–65.03 | 55.09 (7.40) *** | 40.49–69.69 | 55.13 (6.86) *** | 41.60–68.65 |
| Age | 0.43 (0.38) | −0.31–1.18 | 0.09 (0.34) | −0.58–0.76 | 0.16 (0.32) | −0.47–0.78 |
| Female/Non-binary/Other (Male) | 2.51 (2.52) | −2.47–7.49 | 3.16 (2.34) | −1.45–7.78 | 3.17 (2.12) | −1.02–7.35 |
| Hispanic/Latinx (Non-Hispanic/Latinx/Prefer not to say) | 1.24 (2.71) | −4.11–6.60 | 1.08 (2.49) | −3.84–6.00 | 1.17 (2.28) | −3.33–5.66 |
| Main Effects and Interactions—Model 1 (R2 = 0.14) | ||||||
| ACEs | 1.81 (0.42) *** | 0.99–2.64 | ||||
| Child–Dog Emotional Closeness | 0.01 (0.13) | −0.24–0.26 | ||||
| ACEs x Child–Dog Emotional Closeness | −0.05 (0.06) | −0.17–0.06 | ||||
| Main Effects and Interactions—Model 2 (R2 = 0.14) | ||||||
| ACEs | 1.75 (0.36) *** | 1.05–2.46 | ||||
| Child–Pet Positive Interactions | −0.12 (0.21) | −0.52–0.29 | ||||
| ACEs x Child–Dog Positive Interactions | 0.02 (0.08) | −0.14–0.18 | ||||
| Main Effects and Interactions—Model 3 (R2 = 0.21) | ||||||
| ACEs | 1.35 (0.43) ** | 0.50–2.20 | ||||
| BCEs | −3.54 (0.77) *** | −5.06–−2.02 | ||||
| ACEs x BCEs | 0.60 (0.17) *** | 0.26–0.93 | ||||
B, Unstandardized beta; SE, Standard error; CI, 95% confidence interval. Reference category is indicated in parentheses. Model 1 is based on a sample of N = 176 (those with pet dog in childhood), Model 2 is based on a sample of N = 203 (those with any pet in childhood), and Model 3 is based on a sample N = 214 (all participants). ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.