Poster 8

ISAZ members are familiar with the health benefits of interactions with animals. Interestingly, the "pet effect" is often more immediate, consistent, and persistent than the effect of human interaction (Allen, 2003). Research on social correlates of human health usually focuses on the role of social support in stress reduction. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate that social status has an equally important influence on physical functioning (Beck, 2008), and to describe the implications of status and support for exploring human-animal relationships.

The theoretical importance of both social status and social support, and their relevance to health, comes from research with humans and animals, in diverse areas: social psychology (Brown, 1965) animal behavior and neuroendocrinology (Sapolsky, 2005), health psychology (Kemeny, 2007), social cognition (Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2007), and epidemiology (Marmot, Shipley, & Rose, 1984). Status and support are fundamental relationship dimensions with immediate survival value in many species, and are also associated with a wide range of stress-related diseases.

Some human relationships provide opportunities for an individual to experience high status, and others provide social support, but few provide high levels of both at the same time. In contrast, a pet allows the owner to enjoy high status within the relationship, as well as a high degree of affectionate support. The unusual combination of status and support in the owner-pet relationship may account for the remarkable health benefits of pet ownership.

Recognition of the importance of both social status and social support provides a framework for further research on animal-human relationships, including prediction of how these relationships can fail, and how relationship styles correlate with health and behavior outcomes for both owner and pet.