Effects of human-animal interaction on positive youth development: A replication study

• Created on 2024-11-07 by Jeffrey R. Stevens ([email protected])
• Finalized on 2024-11-12

This repository provides the reproducible research materials for our project that investigates how human-animal interaction, animal attitudes, and positive are related. Materials are available at Open Science Framework:

• Data
• R script for data analysis
• Quarto file for the manuscript

Citation

If you use any of these materials, please cite:

Pachunka, A., Jeffries, J., Karr, L., Luck, L., Reiling, B.A., Schultz, D.H., & Stevens, J.R. (2024). Effects of human-animal interaction on positive youth development: A replication study. PsyArXiv. doi:10.31234/osf.io/ge7bf

Summary

This study conducted two survey-based studies replicating Mueller (2014). Undergraduate students from University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources and Department of Psychology participated from March-May 2022 (Study 1) and June 2023 and January-March 2024 (Study 2). Participants answered questions about their animal experience and interactions, animal attitudes, positive youth development, and well-being.

License

All materials presented here are released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC BY 4.0). You are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. Under the following terms:
• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Files

Data files

pachunka_etal_2024_data.csv

Variable	Description
source	Sample source (CASNR = College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, SONA = SONA study pool, REP = Study 2)
id	Participant ID
date	Date of survey completion
ownership	Whether participant currently owned animal
chosen_animal	Animal species chosen to answer questions about
companion_livestock	Whether chosen animal was considered pet/companion animal or livestock
animal_experience - Dog	Amount of experience with dogs (Study 1) or presence/absence of experience with dogs (Study 2)
animal_experience - Cat	Amount of experience with cats (Study 1) or presence/absence of experience with cats (Study 2)
animal_experience - Fish	Amount of experience with fish (Study 1)
animal_experience - Bird	Amount of experience with birds (Study 1)
animal_experience - Rabbit	Amount of experience with rabbits (Study 1)
animal_experience - Ferret	Amount of experience with ferrets (Study 1)
animal_experience - Small rodent (e.g., hamster, gerbil, chinchilla)	Amount of experience with small rodents (Study 1)
animal_experience - Reptile	Amount of experience with reptiles (Study 1)
animal_experience - Horse	Amount of experience with horses (Study 1) or presence/absence of experience with horses (Study 2)
animal_experience - Cow	Amount of experience with cows (Study 1)
animal_experience - Pig	Amount of experience with pigs (Study 1)
animal_experience - Goat	Amount of experience with goats (Study 1)
animal_experience - Sheep	Amount of experience with sheep (Study 1)
animal_experience - Llama	Amount of experience with llamas (Study 1)
animal_experience - Poultry	Amount of experience with poultry (Study 1)
animal_experience - Small animal	Presence/absence of experience with small animals (Study 2)
animal_experience - Large animal	Presence/absence of experience with large animals (Study 2)
animal_experience - Other	Presence/absence of experience with other animals (Study 2)
animal_activities - Feeding	Time spent feeding the chosen animal
animal_activities - Cleaning	Time spent cleaning the chosen animal
animal_activities - Grooming	Time spent grooming the chosen animal
animal_activities - Training	Time spent training the chosen animal
animal_activities - Petting/playing	Time spent petting/playing with the chosen animal
animal_activities - Engaging in therapy sessions	Time spent engaging in therapy sessions with the chosen animal
animal_activities - Riding/handling	Time spent riding/handling the chosen animal
animal_activities - Horseback riding	Time spent horseback riding
animal_activities - Dog showing or livestock competitions	Time spent showing dogs or in livestock competitions
animal_activities - Animal-related club or extracurricular activity	Time spent in animal-related club or extracurricular activities
animal_activities - Volunteering in an animal shelter or animal therapy program	Time spent volunteering in an animal shelter or animal therapy program
activities_score	Combined score for animal activities
care_score	Combined score for animal care
ccas1	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 1 - My animal provides me with companionship
ccas2	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 2 - My animal makes me feel needed
ccas3	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 3 - My animal makes me feel loved
ccas4	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 4 - Having an animal gives me something to care for
ccas5	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 5 - My animal provides me with pleasurable activity
ccas6	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 6 - My animal is a source of constancy in my life
ccas7	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 7 - My animal makes me play and laugh
ccas8	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 8 - Having an animal gives me something to love
ccas9	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 9 - I get comfort from touching my animal
ccas10	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 10 - I enjoy watching my animal
ccas11	Comfort from Companion Animals Scale question 11 - My animal makes me feel trusted
laps1	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 1 - My animal means more to me than any of my friends
laps2	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 2 - I believe my animal is my best friend
laps3	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 3 - I enjoy showing other people pictures of my animal
laps4	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 4 - I love my animal because s/he never judges me
laps5	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 5 - I often talk to other people about my animal
laps6	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 6 - My animal and I have a very close relationship
laps7	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 7 - I would do almost anything to take care of my animal
laps8	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 8 - I play with my animal quite often
laps9	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 9 - I consider my animal to be a great companion
laps10	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 10 - My animal makes me feel happy
laps11	Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale question 11 - I feel that my animal is a part of my family
attach1	Additional attachment question 1 - I confide in my animal
attach2	Additional attachment question 2 - My animal understands me
attach3	Additional attachment question 3 - My animal knows when I’m feeling bad
mrcps1	Miller-Rada Commitment to Pets Scale question 1 - If an animal destroyed a $4000 worth of furniture or personal items, I would get rid of the animal
mrcps2	Miller-Rada Commitment to Pets Scale question 2 - If an adult animal was having problems with destructiveness, I would get rid of it
mrcps3	Miller-Rada Commitment to Pets Scale question 3 - If a young animal required extensive veterinary care, I would get rid of it
mrcps4	Miller-Rada Commitment to Pets Scale question 4 - If an adult animal was having problems with house breaking, I would get rid of it
aas1	Animal Attitude Scale question 1 - I think it is perfectly acceptable for cattle and hogs to be raised for human consumption
aas2	Animal Attitude Scale question 2 - The use of animals such as rabbits for testing the safety of cosmetics and household products is unnecessary and should be stopped
aas3	Animal Attitude Scale question 3 - It is morally wrong to hunt wild animals just for sport
aas4	Animal Attitude Scale question 4 - Basically, humans have the right to use animals as we see fit
aas5	Animal Attitude Scale question 5 - I do not think that there is anything wrong with using animals in medical research
aas6	Animal Attitude Scale question 6 - I sometimes get upset when I see wild animals in cages at zoos
aas7	Animal Attitude Scale question 7 - Breeding animals for their skins is a legitimate use of animals
aas8	Animal Attitude Scale question 8 - Some aspects of biology can only be learned through dissecting preserved animals such as cats
aas9	Animal Attitude Scale question 9 - The slaughter of whales and dolphins should be immediately stopped even if it means some people will be put out of work
aas10	Animal Attitude Scale question 10 - It is unethical to breed purebred dogs for pets when millions of dogs are killed in animal shelters each year
animaluse1	Additional animal use question 1 - Much of the scientific research done with animals is unnecessary and cruel
animaluse2	Additional animal use question 2 - I believe that animals should have the same rights and privileges as humans
caring1_1	PYD Caring component 1 question 1
caring1_2	PYD Caring component 1 question 2
caring2_1	PYD Caring component 2 question 1
caring2_2	PYD Caring component 2 question 2
caring3_1	PYD Caring component 3 question 1
caring3_2	PYD Caring component 3 question 2
character_conbeh1	PYD Character Conduct Behavior component question 1
character_conbeh2	PYD Character Conduct Behavior component question 2
character_perval1	PYD Character Personal Values component question 1
character_perval2	PYD Character Personal Values component question 2
character_soccon1	PYD Character Social Conscience component question 1
character_soccon2	PYD Character Social Conscience component question 2
character_valdiv1	PYD Character Values Diversity component question 1
character_valdiv2	PYD Character Values Diversity component question 2
competence_accomp1	PYD Competence Academic component question 1
competence_accomp2	PYD Competence Academic component question 2
competence_physcomp1	PYD Competence Physical component question 1
competence_physcomp2	PYD Competence Physical component question 2
competence_soccomp1	PYD Competence Social component question 1
competence_soccomp2	PYD Competence Social component question 2
confidence_appear1	PYD Confidence Physical Appearance component question 1
confidence_appear2	PYD Confidence Physical Appearance component question 2
confidence_posid1	PYD Confidence Positive Identity component question 1
confidence_posid2	PYD Confidence Positive Identity component question 2
confidence_selfworth1	PYD Confidence Self-worth component question 1
confidence_selfworth2	PYD Confidence Self-worth component question 2
connection_confam1	PYD Connection Family component question 1
connection_confam2	PYD Connection Family component question 2
connection_conneigh1	PYD Connection Neighborhood component question 1
connection_conneigh2	PYD Connection Neighborhood component question 2
connection_conpeer1	PYD Connection Peer connection component question 1
connection_conpeer2	PYD Connection Peer connection component question 2
connection_consch1	PYD Connection School component question 1
connection_consch2	PYD Connection School component question 2
contribution1_1	PYD Contribution component 1 question 1
contribution1_2	PYD Contribution component 1 question 2
contribution1_3	PYD Contribution component 1 question 3
contribution1_4	PYD Contribution component 1 question 4
contribution2_1	PYD Contribution component 2 question 1
contribution2_2	PYD Contribution component 2 question 2
contribution2_3	PYD Contribution component 2 question 3
contribution2_4	PYD Contribution component 2 question 4
contribution3_1	PYD Contribution component 3 question 1
contribution3_2	PYD Contribution component 3 question 2
contribution3_3	PYD Contribution component 3 question 3
contribution3_4	PYD Contribution component 3 question 4
cesd1	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 1 - I was bothered by things that usually don’t bother me
cesd2	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 2 - I did not feel like eating; my appetite was poor
cesd3	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 3 - I felt that I could not shake off the blues even with help from my family or friends
cesd4	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 4 - I felt I was just as good as other people
cesd5	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 5 - I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing
cesd6	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 6 - I felt depressed
cesd7	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 7 - I felt that everything I did was an effort
cesd8	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 8 - I felt hopeful about the future
cesd9	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 9 - I thought my life had been a failure
cesd10	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 10 - I felt fearful
cesd11	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 11 - My sleep was restless
cesd12	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 12 - I was happy
cesd13	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 13 - I talked less than usual
cesd14	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 14 - I felt lonely
cesd15	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 15 - People were unfriendly
cesd16	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 16 - I enjoyed life
cesd17	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 17 - I had crying spells
cesd18	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 18 - I felt sad
cesd19	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 19 - I felt that people disliked me
cesd20	Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale question 20 - I could not get going
stait1	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 1 - I feel pleasant
stait2	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 2 - I feel nervous and restless
stait3	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 3 - I feel satisfied with my life
stait4	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 4 - I wish I could be as happy as other seem to be
stait5	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 5 - I feel like a failure
stait6	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 6 - I feel rested
stait7	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 7 - I am “calm, cool, and collected”
stait8	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 8 - I feel that difficulties are piling up so that I cannot overcome them
stait9	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 9 - I worry too much over something that really doesn’t matter
stait10	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 10 - I am happy
stait11	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 11 - I have disturbing thoughts
stait12	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 12 - I lack self-confidence
stait13	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 13 - I feel secure
stait14	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 14 - I make decisions easily
stait15	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 15 - I feel inadequate
stait16	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 16 - I am content
stait17	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 17 - Some unimportant thought runs through my mind and bothers me
stait18	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 18 - I take disappointments so keenly that I can’t put them out of my mind
stait19	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 19 - I am a steady person
stait20	State-Train Anxiety Inventory – Trait scale question 20 - I get in a state of tension or turmoil as I think over my recent concerns and interests
isr1	Intentional Self Regulation question 1 - I concentrate all my energy on few things : I divide my energy among many things
isr2	Intentional Self Regulation question 2 - I take things as they come and carry on from there : I consider exactly what is important for me
isr3	Intentional Self Regulation question 3 - When I do not succeed right away at what I want to do, I don’t try other possibilities for very long : I keep trying as many different possibilities as are necessary to succeed at my goal
isr4	Intentional Self Regulation question 4 - When something does not work as well as before, I get advice from experts or read books : When something does not work as well as before, I am the one who knows what is best for me
isr5	Intentional Self Regulation question 5 - Even if something is important to me, it can happen that I don’t invest the necessary time or effort : For important things, I pay attention to whether I need to devote more time or effort
isr6	Intentional Self Regulation question 6 - When I want to achieve something difficult, I wait for the right moment and the best opportunity : When I want to achieve something difficult, I don’t want to wait long for the very best opportunity
isr7	Intentional Self Regulation question 7 - I don’t think long about how to realize my plans, I just try it : I think about exactly how I can best realize my plans
isr8	Intentional Self Regulation question 8 - I make every effort to achieve a given goal : I prefer to wait for a while and see if things will work out by themselves
isr9	Intentional Self Regulation question 9 - Even in difficult situations, I don’t burden others : When things aren’t going so well, I accept help from others
isr10	Intentional Self Regulation question 10 - When I have started something that is important to me, but has little chance at success, I make a particular effort : When I start something that is important to me, but has little chance at success, I usually stop trying
isr11	Intentional Self Regulation question 11 - I am always working on several goals at once : I always focus on the one most important goal at a given time
isr12	Intentional Self Regulation question 12 - Even when I really consider what I want in life, I wait and see what happens instead of committing myself to just one or two particular goals : When I think about what I want in life, I commit myself to one or two important goals
isr13	Intentional Self Regulation question 13 - When I decide upon a goal, I stick to it : I can change a goal again at any time
isr14	Intentional Self Regulation question 14 - When I want to get ahead, I don’t have a tendency to look at how others have done it : When I want to get ahead, I also look at how others have done it
isr15	Intentional Self Regulation question 15 - When things don’t work the way they used to, I look for other ways to achieve them : When things don’t work the way they used to, I accept things the way they are
isr16	Intentional Self Regulation question 16 - When I can’t do something as well as I used to, then I ask someone else to do it for me : When I can’t do something as well as I used to, I accept the change
isr17	Intentional Self Regulation question 17 - When something doesn’t work as well as usual, I look at how others do it : When something doesn’t work as well as usual, I don’t spend much time thinking about it
isr18	Intentional Self Regulation question 18 - I always pursue goals one after the other : I always pursue many goals at once, so that I easily get bogged down
esa	Whether participant has a prescribed emotional support animal
showanimals_yesno	Whether participant has ever shown animals in competitions
showanimals_frequency	Frequency of showing animals in competitions
showanimals_level	Level at which showing animals (local, state, national)
ffa4h_membership	Membership in 4-H and/or FFA
ffa4h_years	Number of years participating in 4-H and/or FFA
ffa4h_animal	Whether participant has participated in animal-based projects in 4-H and/or FFA
ffa4h_responsibility	Degree to which 4-H and/or FFA taught participant responsibility
ffa4h_compassion	Degree to which 4-H and/or FFA taught participant compassion
ffa4h_respect	Degree to which 4-H and/or FFA taught participant respect
gender	Participant gender identity
race - Latina/o/x or Hispanic or heritage from a Latin American country	Participant race/ethnicity - Latina/o/x or Hispanic or heritage from a Latin American country
race - African American/Black	Participant race/ethnicity - African American/Black
race - Native American/American Indian/Indigenous	Participant race/ethnicity - Native American/American Indian/Indigenous
race - Middle Eastern/Arab/Turkish/Iranian	Participant race/ethnicity - Middle Eastern/Arab/Turkish/Iranian
race - Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander	Participant race/ethnicity - Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander
race - White/European American	Participant race/ethnicity - White/European American
race - Biracial/multiracial	Participant race/ethnicity - Biracial/multiracial
race - I would prefer not to answer	Participant race/ethnicity - I would prefer not to answer
rural_urban	Location where participant grew up (rural, suburban, urban: small to medium city, urban: big city
relationship	Participant relationship status (married, partnered without legal recognition, in a long-term relationship, dating someone, single never married, divorced/separated, widowed, I would prefer not to answer)
income	Annual parental income
class_rank	Participant university class rank/year (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student)
major	Participant university major

R code

pachunka_etal_2024_rcode.R - code for running computations and generating figures

Quarto document

pachunka_etal_2024.qmd - Quarto document with R code embedded for main manuscript and appendix

Installation

To reproduce these results, first clone or unzip the Git repository into a folder. Then, ensure that a subfolder named “figures” is in the folder. Next, open pachunka_etal_2024_rcode.R in RStudio or another R interface and ensure that all packages mentioned at the top of the script are installed. Once all packages are installed, run the script in R using source("pachunka_etal_2024_rcode.R").

Once the script runs without errors, you can compile the Quarto document pachunka_etal_2024.qmd. Open this file in RStudio and ensure that you have {knitr} and Quarto installed. Once installed, render the document (control-shift-K).

Dataset Metadata

The following table is necessary for this dataset to be indexed by search engines such as Google Dataset Search.

property	value
name	Human-animal interaction and positive youth development dataset
description	The dataset from the paper Effects of human-animal interaction on positive youth development: A replication study. This study conducted two survey-based studies replicating [Mueller (2014)](https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2014.864205). Undergraduate students from University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources and Department of Psychology participated from March-May 2022 (Study 1) and June 2023 and January-March 2024 (Study 2). Participants answered questions about their animal experience and interactions, animal attitudes, positive youth development, and well-being.
url	https://github.com/unl-cchil/haipyd
sameAs	https://github.com/unl-cchil/haipyd
citation	https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/ge7bf
license	property value name CC BY-SA 4.0 url https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/