title: The impact of pet loss on the perceived social support and psychological distress of hurricane survivors.
abstract: Associations between pet loss and posthurricane perceived social support and psychological distress were explored. Participants (N = 365) were primarily low-income African American single mothers who were initially part of an educational intervention study. All participants were exposed to Hurricane Katrina, and 47% experienced Hurricane Rita. Three waves of survey data, two from before the hurricanes, were included. Sixty-three participants (17.3%) reported losing a pet due to the hurricanes and their aftermath. Pet loss significantly predicted postdisaster distress, above and beyond demographic variables, pre- and postdisaster perceived social support, predisaster distress, hurricane-related stressors, and human bereavement, an association that was stronger for younger participants. Pet loss was not a significant predictor of postdisaster perceived social support, but the impact of pet loss on perceived social support was significantly greater for participants with low levels of predisaster support.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: Jean E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.forename: Liza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zwiebach
authors.forename: Christian S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D055820:New Orleans; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*