Recent studies show evidence that human-dog companionship has healthy effects on humans. For example, findings demonstrate that owning a dog leads to a reduction in stress levels. Aspects that have not been taken into consideration so far are underlying theoretical principles of stress like the sense of coherence (SOC) by Aaron Antonovsky. The SOC consists of psycho-social, biochemical and physical conditions which indicate whether or not inner and outer stimuli are comprehensive, manageable and meaningful to an individual. In addition, it is still unclear if owning a dog affects the subjective assessment of critical life events (CLE), which is associated with the strength of the SOC (the stronger the SOC, the better the handling and assessment of stressful situations). Based on these aspects, the goal of the study was to examine if dog ownership, as well as values of the SOC, have an impact on the subjective evaluation of CLE (including daily hassles as well as unexpected critical life events). For this purpose, dog owners and non-dog owners were surveyed online and were compared based on their personal estimations regarding these constructs. Statistical analysis including t-tests, correlations and interaction-analyses were performed and a significant difference between dog owners and non-dog owners regarding the assessment of daily hassles was found. Contrary to expectations, results show that dog owners assessed daily stressors to be more stressful than non-dog owners did. Moreover, data show that the higher the number of stated relationships (inner- and cross-species), the more stressful life events were assessed to be. Calculations showed no evidence for the influence of dogs regarding the SOC. Based on the actual findings, it might be assumed, that an overestimation of the dog’s protective role regarding stress has taken place in public media and in research as well.

With the growth of female inmates worldwide, research regarding specific treatment of these has become more important. Although new programs have been started, the lack of scientific results is startling. The goal of the current study was to identify differences between participants from the men’s and women’s section in a specialized prison for criminal offenders suffering from substance dependence syndrome regarding the effects of dog-assisted group therapy. Therefore, 81 incarcerated participants (50 male, 31 female) took part in a dog-assisted group therapy targeting socio-emotional competencies. Self-report questionnaires to measure self-concept (SDQ-III), emotional status (EMI-B) and emotional competencies (SEE) were employed. Statistical analysis included General Linear Model (GLM) procedures and η² as concurrent effect size measure. Results demonstrate that participants from the women’s ward tend to benefit significantly less from the dog-assisted group therapy in most measured areas than men, especially in terms of their emotional status (e.g., aggressiveness) and emotional competencies (e.g., emotion regulation). Treatment programs specific to the needs of women might be a future challenge for practitioners and researchers in AAT.

In the course of the present study 445 users of zoophilia forums were asked to complete an online survey measuring social anxiety, self-esteem and empathy. Comparisons between the recruited sample and existing classifications of zoophilia demonstrated that only about a half of the sample (51.5%) stated engaging in sexual activity with animals by answering detailed questions about the nature of their sexual interaction. A large part of the sample for example reported high self-esteem (85.7%) which is inconsistent with previous findings linking zoosexuality to a deficit in selfesteem. In consideration of the findings a new classification of Zoophilia is proposed.

The purpose of the following review is to evaluate current literature on animal abuse including animal hoarding and zoophilia to identify demographic characteristics of adults who abuse animals. The review was conducted by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) Checklist 2009 (Moher et al., 2010). As the body of this research is still limited there were no restrictions regarding the level of evidence of studies made. A total of 40 studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. The present review’s main findings suggest that animal hoarders are mostly female and between their fifties and sixties. In contrast individuals who engage in nonsexual abuse are more likely to be male and younger (20–35 years). Several comorbid clinical symptoms could be identified in animal abusers such as depression, autism, or substance abuse. Overall, the phenomenon of animal abuse remains an underresearched area of study and studies are characterized by limited levels of evidence. The present review may contribute to a deeper understanding of animal abuse with the objective of prevention and the development of multiprofessional management strategies.