“A ray of light in the chaos”: Relationships between companion animals and LGBTQ+ emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract
There is evidence that pet owners experienced benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and also struggled with pet-related stressors. Notably, almost all of these studies were conducted with predominantly cisgender and heterosexual samples. This is problematic, as evidence suggests that individuals who belong to marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ emerging adults, have been disproportionately affected by stressors associated with the pandemic. This qualitative study explores the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ emerging adults who lived with a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, we sought to identify resources needed to assist LGBTQ+ emerging adult pet owners during the pandemic. The sample included 65 participants aged 18–21 years who had lived with one or more pets within the past year (Mean age = 19.5 years; 36.9% transgender/gender diverse; 40% minoritized racial/ethnic identity). We conducted semi-structured interviews consisting of 18 questions (including five COVID-specific questions). Two authors coded and analyzed the interviews using template analysis. Then, the authors used a thematic analysis approach to organize codes into themes, identify patterns of meaning, and examine relations between themes. Four themes emerged related to the experience of living with a pet during the pandemic. Almost all participants said that their pets provided various types of support to them. Many participants stated that their pets also added stress to their lives during the pandemic. Some participants attributed the changes in their pet’s behavior and/or attitude to pandemic-related quarantines. More than half of the participants discussed changes in their relationship with their pet, with the majority claiming their relationship became stronger. Two themes emerged that related to necessary resources: greater community-based resources (e.g., low-cost veterinary care, pet-friendly outdoor spaces) and more government resources (e.g., better access to information, more material and financial support). Participants offered suggestions for ways to alleviate pet-related stressors, such as developing community-based programs (e.g., pet food pantries, mutual aid programs). There is the opportunity for collaboration between researchers and practitioners in piloting these community programs, as well as implications for policy makers to advocate for policies supportive of LGBTQ+ emerging adult pet owners (e.g., university pet policies, housing policies).
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on the health and well-being of individuals, contributing to more than one million deaths in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023) and an uprise in mental health problems (Czeisler et al., 2020; Ettman et al., 2020; Holman et al., 2020; McGinty et al., 2020; Shanahan et al., 2022). Additionally, many economic stressors have been exacerbated during the pandemic, including increased unemployment, eviction, and food insecurity (Couch et al., 2020; Leddy et al., 2020; Benfer et al., 2021). Individuals belonging to marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, have been disproportionately affected by the stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of experiencing health conditions that may contribute to worse COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., diabetes, HIV/AIDS; Gonzales and Henning-Smith, 2017; Beach et al., 2018; Caceres et al., 2019) and are less likely to have health insurance that could support them if infected (Bosworth et al., 2021).
COVID-19 AND EMERGING ADULTS
Although living through the COVID-19 pandemic has been a stressful experience for all, emerging adults have experienced unique disruptions in their transition to adulthood, leaving them especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of the pandemic compared to other age groups (Halliburton et al., 2021; Ohannessian, 2021). Emerging adulthood is a developmental period marked by instability, independence, and personal growth (Arnett et al., 2014); for emerging adults, social distancing policies and changes in work and school environments have been particularly stressful to navigate (Halliburton et al., 2021; Larson et al., 2021). International studies find that emerging adults experienced higher rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidality during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to older adults (Varma et al., 2021; World Health Organization, 2022). Emerging adults continue to experience the highest rates of mental health problems compared to other age groups (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2022); researchers have referred to these alarming rates of mental health problems within this population as a mental health “crisis” (Gruber et al., 2023).
There is evidence to suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly difficult for emerging adults who belong to marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ emerging adults (Hawke et al., 2021; O’Handley and Courtice, 2022). Social distancing and quarantine policies left some LGBTQ+ emerging adults confined in homes with non-affirming family members and disconnected from peers or other affirming relationships, which contributed to feelings of stress, frustration, anxiety, depression, and other general mental health struggles (Fish et al., 2020; Salerno et al., 2020; Mitchell et al., 2022). In a longitudinal study that collected data throughout the implementation of social distancing guidelines, LGBTQ+ emerging adult participants who completed the survey after the start of social distancing reported significantly lower levels of hope and pride, less identification with the LGBTQ+ community, and higher levels of alcohol use when compared to their peers who completed the survey prior to social distancing (Scroggs et al., 2021). It is possible that the pandemic’s impact on mental health may have been greatest for individuals who identify with multiple marginalized identities, such as LGBTQ+ individuals who identify with a minoritized racial/ethnic identity or are disabled (Parenteau et al., 2022; Roulston et al., 2022); intersectionality theory posits that individuals who hold multiple marginalized identities experience distinct forms of oppression based on the specific intersection of identities (Crenshaw, 1989, 1991). These studies highlight the importance of investigating the experience of members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the need to attend to factors that may have been supportive or detrimental to well-being during the pandemic.
LGBTQ+ POPULATIONS AND COMPANION ANIMALS
Between 65–71% of LGBTQ+ adults live with at least one companion animal in their household (Harris Interactive, 2010; Community Marketing and Insights, 2019). Although research on human-animal interactions among LGBTQ+ populations is limited, many studies suggest that LGBTQ+ people have strong bonds with their companion animals (Hull and Ortyl, 2019; McDonald et al., 2022b; Schmitz et al., 2022); in fact, a study conducted by Hull and Ortyl (2019) found that many LGBTQ+ participants indicated they considered their companion animal to be a member of their “chosen family”. Chosen families are an important construct within the LGBTQ+ community that reflect social networks created by choice that provide support in the face of stigma and discrimination (Weston, 1997; Moore and Stambolis-Ruhstorfer, 2013). Several qualitative studies conducted with LGBTQ+ older adults suggest that positive relationships with companion animals contribute to a sense of community and belongingness (Putney, 2014; Muraco et al., 2018; MacNamara, 2019). Further, some studies suggest that emotionally supportive relationships with companion animals may be particularly important for LGBTQ+ people experiencing adversity and exposure to minority stressors (Riggs et al., 2018; McDonald et al., 2021, 2022b, c). For example, relationships with companion animals may provide a sense of emotional support, safety, and stability for LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing homelessness or domestic violence (Taylor et al., 2019; Schmitz et al., 2021, 2022). The benefits associated with living with a pet may also be related to greater resilience among LGBTQ+ emerging adults; one study found that greater exposure to LGBQ-specific microaggressions was associated with higher levels of human-animal interaction which, in turn, was associated with higher levels of personal hardiness (McDonald et al., 2022c).
Despite the benefits of relationships with pets, caring for companion animals may also be a source of stress for LGBTQ+ individuals. In a qualitative study with LGBTQ+ emerging adults, most participants noted experiencing some form of stress associated with living with a pet, such as experiencing a caretaker burden or having difficulty finding pet-friendly housing (McDonald et al., 2022b). Other studies have found that bonds with companion animals may exacerbate the association between interpersonal microaggressions and depressive symptoms (Matijczak et al., 2020) or be a barrier to seeking sheltering services among LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness or domestic violence (Schmitz et al., 2021, 2022). Given the limited, contrasting evidence, more studies are needed to explore how relationships with companion animals may contribute to the health of LGBTQ+ individuals across different contexts.
ROLE OF COMPANION ANIMALS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Although no studies to our knowledge have explicitly studied the experience of living with companion animals during the COVID-19 pandemic among LGBTQ+ populations, several studies of the general US population suggest that relationships with companion animals were important during the pandemic. Across multiple studies, pet ownership was associated with less loneliness, greater physical activity, and better overall mood during the pandemic (Bowen et al., 2020; Ratschen et al., 2020; Bussolari et al., 2021; Currin-McCulloch et al., 2021; Shoesmith et al., 2021). However, findings also indicated that pet owners struggled with pet-related stressors, such as changes in their pet’s behavior, disruptions while working from home, and concerns about who would care for their pets if they became sick with COVID-19 (Applebaum et al., 2020a, b; Adams et al., 2021). It is likely that many of these benefits and stressors may be heightened for LGBTQ+ individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, LGBTQ+ emerging adults quarantining within non-affirming familial homes may find the unconditional love and comfort provided by companion animals to be a significant source of support. Or, alternatively, LGBTQ+ individuals who are more likely to have limited social networks may be particularly concerned about having a lack of an alternative care plan for their companion animals. Therefore, it is important to explore the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ emerging adult pet owners who live with a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CURRENT STUDY
This study seeks to address this gap by exploring the experience of living with a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic among LGBTQ+ emerging adults. We employed a qualitative design to answer the following research questions:
1.
How do LGBTQ+ emerging adults describe their experience of living with a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic?
2.
What resources are needed to support LGBTQ+ emerging adults who are living with a pet during the pandemic?
Methods
The qualitative data for this study were collected as part of a larger study investigating relationships among stressors, supports, mental health, and well-being in LGBTQ+ youth. The overarching study used a concurrent mixed-methods approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data at the same time point (Creswell and Clark, 2017). We used a qualitative multiple case study design to collect the qualitative data (Halkias et al., 2022); this approach was chosen given the scarcity of literature on the relationships between LGBTQ+ emerging adults and their pets, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PARTICIPANTS
Participant recruitment occurred in Richmond, Virginia in the United States (USA). To be eligible to participate in the overarching study, participants must have (a) been between 15 and 21 years of age, (b) self-identified as LGBTQ+, and (c) been able to understand written and spoken English. The sample for the current study (N = 65) reflects a subsample of participants that had participated in the interview following the enforcement of local public health guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (March 16, 2020) and who had lived with at least one companion animal within a year of their interview date. Additionally, because of our focus on the developmental period of emerging adulthood in the current study, we restricted our analyses to participants who were between the ages of 18 and 21 years (M = 19.5 years, SD = 1.1 years). Approximately 37% of the participants in our sample identified with a transgender or gender expansive identity (e.g., nonbinary, transgender woman, genderqueer), 40% identified with a minoritized racial/ethnic identity, and participants’ sexual orientation varied across non-heterosexual identities (e.g., gay, pansexual, bisexual). Although participants lived with a variety of pet species (e.g., fish, lagomorphs, reptiles), all but three participants spoke about either a cat or a dog during the interview. Additional demographic information can be found in Table 1.
| Variable name | Variable categories | n | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race/ethnicity | Arab/Arab American | 1 | 1.5 | |||
| Asian/Asian American | 1 | 1.5 | ||||
| Black/African American | 5 | 7.6 | ||||
| Latina/Latino/Latinx | 4 | 6.1 | ||||
| Multiracial/Mixed Race | 14 | 21.2 | ||||
| White | 39 | 60.0 | ||||
| Missing | 1 | 1.5 | ||||
| Sexual orientationa | Asexual | 6 | 9.1 | |||
| Bisexual | 27 | 41.5 | ||||
| Demisexual | 3 | 4.5 | ||||
| Gay | 15 | 22.7 | ||||
| Lesbian | 13 | 19.7 | ||||
| Pansexual | 10 | 15.2 | ||||
| Queer | 15 | 22.7 | ||||
| Questioning | 7 | 10.6 | ||||
| Prefer to self-describe | 1 | 1.5 | ||||
| Gender identitya | Agender | 1 | 1.5 | |||
| Cisgender man | 10 | 15.2 | ||||
| Cisgender woman | 32 | 48.5 | ||||
| Genderfluid | 3 | 4.5 | ||||
| Genderqueer | 5 | 7.6 | ||||
| Nonbinary | 13 | 20.0 | ||||
| Transgender man | 5 | 7.6 | ||||
| Transgender woman | 1 | 1.5 | ||||
| Questioning | 4 | 6.1 | ||||
| Prefer to self-describe | 1 | 1.5 | ||||
| Pet type | Lived witha | Primary caretakerb | Topic of interview | |||
| n | % | N | % | n | % | |
| Cat | 32 | 49.2 | 17 | 53.1 | 23 | 35.4 |
| Dog | 50 | 75.8 | 17 | 34.0 | 39 | 60.0 |
| Fish | 5 | 7.6 | 4 | 80.0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Lagomorph | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 100 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Reptile | 5 | 7.6 | 4 | 80.0 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Rodent | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
a
These categories are not mutually exclusive. Participants were able to select any categories they identified with and were able to report information on up to three pets.
b
Percentages are based on the total number of participants that lived with the specific pet type.
RECRUITMENT
Data collection for the overarching study began in April 2019 and ended in October 2021. We worked in partnership with five local agencies that served LGBTQ+ individuals within the community to recruit participants and review study materials. Participants were recruited using a variety of methods, such as social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), flyers posted in the community (e.g., at local businesses, street posts), local organizations’ and universities’ listservs, and at local LGBTQ-specific events (e.g., pride events). Individuals who were interested in participating in the study contacted a project coordinator, who assessed whether the person was eligible to participate. If eligible, participants conducted an interview via Zoom with one of 11 research assistants (nine undergraduate students, two graduate students). Of the project staff conducting interviews, 82% identified as LGBTQ+ emerging adults, although identities were not disclosed to participants (excluding the sharing of pronouns). All interviewers were trained in qualitative interview techniques prior to conducting interviews.
INTERVIEW PROCEDURE
All participants completed informed consent prior to beginning the interview. During this consent process, interviewers verbally discussed key points on the consent form (e.g., purpose of the study, harms/benefits of participating, confidentiality) and gave participants an opportunity to review the consent form and ask questions. After providing informed consent, participants completed a quantitative survey. Then, participants who had lived with a pet in the past year were invited to complete a structured qualitative interview that was audio-recorded through the Zoom platform. The qualitative interview consisted of a total of 18 questions; 5 of those questions were specific to the COVID-19 pandemic and were added to the study procedures following March 16, 2020. The research team consulted with two LGBTQ-identified social work faculty members with expertise in working with LGBTQ+ youth and used existing literature on relationships between humans and their companion animals to inform the development of the interview questions; questions were intentionally left broad due to the exploratory nature of this study. Our community partners were given the opportunity to review and provide feedback on the questions.
The interviews reported in this manuscript only include those conducted between March 2020 and October 2021 to limit the sample to interviews that included questions specific to the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative interview questions can be found in Table 2. At the start of each interview, research assistants instructed participants to focus on the pet(s) that they felt closest to or had lived with most recently when answering the questions. Eleven participants chose to speak about multiple pets; all other participants focused their interview on one pet, even if they lived with multiple pets. Although the length of each interview varied (ranged from 6 to 45 min), the average length for the qualitative interview was approximately 16 min. Following the completion of the study, participants were compensated via check or electronic gift card to Target. Study procedures were approved by the Virginia Commonwealth University IRB (HM20014415).
| 1. Do you have a pet in mind? Tell me about the pet. |
| 2. Talk about your relationship with the pet or animal you have lived with. |
| 3. How did you come to have your pet or be in the same household? |
| 4. Is the relationship that you have with this pet the same as or different from the relationship that other people in your household have with the pet? |
| 5. What does your relationship with this pet mean to you? |
| 6. Are there any experiences you remember that really affected or shaped what the pet means to you? Tell me about those. |
| 7. What kind of support does this pet provide to you? |
| 8. When you think about the impact that the pet has on you, how would you describe that? |
| 9. When you think about your journey as an LGBTQ+ young person, what role does the pet play, if any, in that journey? |
| 10. When you think about other relationships in your life, what impact does the pet have on those relationships? |
| For the next few questions, I’d like you to think more generally – not just about the specific pet/s you’ve been discussing. |
| 11. Have you faced any barriers or challenges to having pets in your life? If so, talk about those. |
| 12. Have you experienced anything that has helped or supported your ability to have pets in your life? If so, talk about those. |
| The next few questions I’m going to ask are going to be related to the recent COVID-19 pandemic and how this may have impacted you recently or may be currently impacting you. |
| 13. Have you experienced any stressors related to living with a pet during this time? If so, could you talk about that? |
| 14. Have you experienced any benefits from living with a pet during this time? If so, please talk about that. |
| 15. What impact, if any, has this situation had on your relationship with the pet(s) that you live with? |
| 16. If there was another pandemic, what resources or supports do you think would be helpful to people who live with pets? |
| 17. Similarly, what advice would you give to other pet owners if something like this occurred again? |
| 18. Is there anything else that you think would be important to share with us about your experience of having a pet or living in a household with a pet? |
ANALYTIC PROCEDURE
Each interview audio file was transcribed by one of 11 research assistants and this transcript was then checked by a second research assistant to ensure accuracy. Regular spot-checks of the transcripts were performed by the principal investigator to monitor the interview and transcription procedures. The first and third authors used NVivo (Version 12) to code and analyze the transcripts. Although only five interview questions were specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, the full transcript was coded in case participants discussed COVID-19 while answering other questions. First, the coders randomly selected 15 transcripts and coded them using the process of in-vivo coding. In-vivo coding was performed to center the experiences of LGBTQ+ emerging adults and use participants’ own words in developing codes (Saldaña, 2021). The first and third authors developed a template for coding the transcripts by creating codes that combined in-vivo codes with common meanings (King, 2012; Brooks et al., 2015). Then, the two coders coded the transcripts in batches of 20 using the template, meeting regularly to discuss similarities and differences among codes and to add codes to the template when necessary. Additionally, the coders met frequently with the second author, a qualitative methodologist, to discuss the data and emerging codes. The final template consisted of 37 codes. After coding of the transcripts was complete, the first three authors met and used a thematic analysis approach to organize codes into themes, identify patterns of meanings across interviews, and examine relations between these patterns (Braun and Clarke, 2012; Sundler et al., 2019).
Results
RESEARCH QUESTION 1: EXPERIENCE OF LIVING WITH A PET DURING COVID
Theme 1: Companion animals provided support
Almost all (92%) participants reported that their companion animal was a significant source of support during the COVID pandemic. In general, discussions about the support and benefit of living with a pet was the main focus of the majority of interviews, with 168 references to benefits across all 60 participants. Many participants spoke generally about the support that their pet provided; for example, speaking generally about companion animals, one 20-year-old participant who identified with multiple sexualities and gender identities said the following about their dog, “They can be really helpful… They can definitely be a ray of light in the chaos.” Additionally, participants spoke about two specific ways that their companion animal provided support during the COVID-19 pandemic: by being a source of socioemotional support and by providing a much-needed distraction amidst the stress of the pandemic.
Subtheme 1: Companion animals were a source of socioemotional support
The majority of participants discussed their companion animal as a vital source of socioemotional support during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, participants discussed the ways in which their pet provided companionship while experiencing isolation from individuals living outside of their households. One 20-year-old bisexual and genderfluid participant described the benefits of living with a dog in their household, “When you can’t see your friends or go out and see anybody for months at a time, you have a presence built into your house. [Dog] just gets to hang out with you and keep you company. It’s very, very helpful.” Additionally, pets were perceived as an important source of social support even among participants that were living with other people. For example, participants discussed how the social support provided by pets was perceived as unique from the social support that was different from the support provided by people in their household. One participant stated, “I think that was a big benefit, the companionship. Even though the house was full and I had other people in the house to talk to. Sometimes it’s nice just to sit in quiet and I could do that with him [dog]” (20-year-old, lesbian, cisgender woman).
Participants also discussed how receiving social support from their companion animal helped them cope with the difficult transitions caused by COVID restrictions. For example, one participant (20-years old, demisexual, cisgender woman) recounted, “I would see my friends like every day in high school, and then over the summer too I’d hang out with someone every week, so not having that really made me feel lonely. And so having my pets [dog and cat] there with me just every day made me feel so much less lonely.” Similarly, several participants talked about the transition of having to move back into their family homes and the additional stress that this caused during the COVID-19 pandemic. For those participants, companion animals were a vital source of support that helped them cope with family-related stressors. One 19-year-old bisexual participant (identified with multiple gender identities) stated, “I wasn’t out with my family, so it was just… living at home was very stressful and I think, overall, having [dogs] around just helped reduce that stress.” Another participant shared a similar sentiment regarding the importance of having a cat present in the household while experiencing tension with their parents during the quarantine, “I have a hard time at home and I don’t really get along with my parents very well, so she kind of became this stronghold when I was in quarantine living at home, and it was nice to just have someone that I know would be there for me… I was going through kind of rough emotional stuff at the time. Having her with me just kind of made it all better” (19-year- old, lesbian, cisgender woman).
For several participants, pets provided socioemotional comfort by showing physical affection and allowing the participant to pet or cuddle them, which helped to elevate their moods. One 20-year old bisexual and genderfluid participant explained how being able to be physically affectionate with their dog, particularly during a time when physical affection with humans was limited, was an important source of emotional comfort for them: “I’m a very physical person… especially in quarantine when you can’t see anybody – to have a cuddle buddy to watch tv with and somebody to always be there to provide that little touch of reassurance is very comforting.”
Subtheme 2: Participants were occupied/distracted by companion animals
More than half of the participants described how their pet provided support by serving as a much-needed distraction from the COVID-19 pandemic and providing them with tasks to do. For example, one participant stated the following about living with their cat, “I guess having a pet during these times is nice because they’re not aware of what’s going on and it’s kind of like all the people around you are really stressed out but the animal is just going around like normal day to day things” (19-year-old, lesbian, cisgender woman). Many participants specifically talked about how their pet provided entertainment and joy that disrupted feelings of boredom among all members of the house. For example, one 19-year-old gay and nonbinary participant spoke about how having their dog present helped break up the monotony of having to stay inside one’s home for an extended period of time due to pandemic restrictions: “... it definitely colors your days… there’s a lot of internet talk of days blending into each other and I get that, to a degree, but I feel like having [dog] or a pet in general helps with that, helps make things eventful within the house. So having that sort of variety, I guess, and energy levels.”
Some participants also talked about how maintaining a routine for caring for their pet(s) was a specific benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, one 19-year-old queer cisgender woman discussed how daily caretaking tasks became an important and even therapeutic task to engage in: “Even when I’m just taking care of the pets’ needs, like filling up food or water bowls [for the dog] or changing my fish’s filter, it’s something to do. It’s therapeutic, caring for something else.” Similarly, another participant talked about the structure that was created through caring for their dog and how this contributed to their mental health, “... during the pandemic I felt really lost because I feel like it was this frozen time in place… Like there was a void, nothingness, and she was the one thing that gave it a structure” (19-year-old, bisexual, nonbinary).
Many participants that lived with dogs mentioned the role of their dog in providing motivation to go outside and engage in physical activity (e.g., walking, hiking). Participants discussed this as being beneficial for both their physical and mental health during the pandemic. When asked about the benefits of living with their dog, one 18-year-old bisexual woman stated, “... taking the pet for a walk, taking the pet outside, playing with the pet outside. You know, just like to help yourself get some fresh air, because that was my big thing. I just wasn’t leaving the house and I felt horrible.” Similarly, this participant talked about how their dog motivated them to go to the park and be out in nature, which had a positive impact on them, “I found a little park by my house and, for some reason, nobody goes there… it’s just really peaceful and beautiful, and it’s a good way for you and your pet to get out of the house and like… do something and breathe some fresh air without having to worry about getting you or your pet sick” (20-year-old, bisexual, genderfluid).
Theme 2: Companion animals added stress during the pandemic
Although participants spent the majority of the interview time discussing the benefits of having a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to note that approximately two-thirds of participants reported experiencing at least one stressor related to living with a companion animal. The types of stressors experienced by participants varied, but one of the more common stressors discussed by participants in interviews related to the responsibilities of taking care of a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included the ways in which pets were a distraction from being able to get work done. For example, one participant, a 21-year-old bisexual cisgender woman, stated, “I found it definitely harder to study with her [cat] meowing and her walking on my computer and papers.” Additionally, some participants discussed that they felt they were unable to meet their pet’s need due to COVID-19 restrictions. For example, one participant talked about feeling guilty that they could not exercise or socialize their pet as much as they could previous to the pandemic: “I just kind of felt bad that we couldn’t get her [dog] out of the house as often or she couldn’t see other people. I felt bad that she was just stuck in an apartment” (20-year-old, bisexual, cisgender woman). Another participant discussed the stress of having to take their cat to the vet and feeling upset that they couldn’t comfort their cat through the process, “You can’t go in with your pet to the vet. Like, they take the pet and you wait outside… It’ll be sad if I can’t be there with her because I think she would be scared, getting handed off to someone” (18-year-old, cisgender man, identified with multiple sexualities).
Additionally, many participants discussed how caring for their pets may have increased their risk of being exposed to COVID-19. For example, one 21-year-old cisgender woman who identified with multiple sexualities stated, “Sometimes I get anxious when I think about being around other people on the sidewalk… I might just catch it from walking down the street with my dogs.” Further, several participants discussed being concerned about their pet(s) being exposed to COVID-19 and becoming sick, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic when there was uncertainty about whether non-human animals could contract COVID-19. For example, one participant stated, “I wasn’t sure how airborne it was. How if our neighbor got it, if their dog could give it to my dog, or any things like that… that was pretty stressful” (21-year-old, bisexual, cisgender man).
Some participants discussed stress related to economic difficulties caused by the pandemic. For example, some participants talked about experiencing stress related to affording preventative medical care for their companion animal: “...everyone was struggling with money, going to the vet wasn’t a priority because it’s expensive” (20-year-old cisgender woman who identified with multiple sexualities, talking about a dog). Other participants described the challenges of getting necessary supplies to care for their pet, such as food and medication, when many communities experienced food shortages and delayed delivery times. One participant, a 19-year-old gay and cisgender woman, talked about how they gradually ran out of food for their dog because the pandemic lasted longer than anyone could have anticipated. They stated, “We did have food for about two and a half/three months still when it happened. So we were able to make it work for as long as we could. And then I think we had to go like a week with us making hamburgers for her and just kind of throwing something together, making sure she could eat.” Similarly, another participant who lived with a lizard talked about how they were impacted by a food shortage in their community: “We can’t really get crickets for it right now, they’re kind of sold out… for some reason, whenever they get the crickets, everyone just buys… way more than they need, so they keep getting sold out” (19-year-old bisexual transgender man).
Theme 3: Pet behavior and/or attitude changed
Approximately one-third of participants reported that they had observed changes in their pet’s behavior and/or attitude during the COVID-19 pandemic and attributed these changes to transitions in their schedule or routine. The change that was most commonly discussed by participants was perceiving an improvement in the pet’s mood due to increased presence of people in the household. For example, one participant said, “My dog has definitely been happy that I’m home and that my entire family is home more… [she] has definitely been more excited about it and has been more active, so I think that’s made her happier in our relationship with her” (19-year-old, nonbinary, questioning their sexuality).
Some participants reported that being home more with their companion animal has also led to a stronger attachment bond with their pet and concerns about how that attachment may cause challenges in the future. For example, one participant, a 20-year-old demisexual and cisgender woman, discussed how the attachment between them and their companion animal has caused challenges for both humans and pets: “[Cat] is very attached. Like, it’s hard to leave, and so since we’ve been home so much that makes him more attached. So I feel like it’s really hard now to think about going on vacation or anything and… then I get so close to them too, it makes me not wanna leave.”
Other participants talked about how being home more with their pet caused the pet to become more engaged in prosocial behaviors, such as initiating physical contact or choosing to spend more time with the participant. For example, one participant stated, “... she’s [dog] coming in and falling asleep on my bed. When I first met her, she didn’t even come in my room” (19-year-old, gay, cisgender man). Another participant said, “I noticed that my cat became a lot more vocal and a lot more willing to hang out around other people” (20-year-old bisexual and queer cisgender woman). These changes were perceived positively by participants and contributed to the benefits they received from their relationships with their companion animals.
Theme 4: Improved human-pet relationship
While participants did experience levels of stress related to caring for their pets during this time, that did not mean that the quality of their relationships lessened or worsened. In fact, approximately 75% of participants reported that they had experienced a positive change in their relationships with their companion animal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, most of the participants reported spending significantly more time with their pets during the pandemic due to COVID-19-related restrictions. Participants often discussed that they were intentional about using this increased time at home to interact with their companion animals more. Many participants talked about the ability to spend more time with their pets as an unanticipated benefit of the pandemic. For example, one 19-year-old participant stated, “it really just allowed me to have more time with my pet [cat]” (lesbian, cisgender woman). At the time of the study, many participants who had moved back to their family home talked about how the COVID-19 pandemic gave them an opportunity to spend more time with family pets that they were previously living away from. For example, one participant stated that, “I was away from her [dog] and I only got to see her a couple weekends out of the semester when my parents would bring her up and so it brought us together again, which is something I’m thankful for from all of this” (20-year-old, bisexual, cisgender woman).
Many participants believed that their relationship with their pets improved and strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants attributed this improvement in the relationship due to the fact that they were home more and able to spend more time with their pets (e.g., “I think [cat] and I have bonded because I’ve been living at home again” [21-year-old, gay, cisgender man]). Another participant said the following about their dog, “I think now, we understand each other a lot more. He understands that if I do leave, I will always come back, and it’s been better because we’ve just been forced to spend all this time together” (19-year-old, bisexual and queer cisgender woman).
RESEARCH QUESTION 2: RESOURCES NEEDED
Theme 5: Community and informational resources
Approximately half of the participants identified community-based resources that would be helpful for individuals living with pets. Many participants talked about increasing access to affordable veterinary care as an important resource needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, one 19-year-old participant who identified as bisexual and nonbinary discussed how the pandemic highlighted a lack of veterinary care as a significant issue faced by pet owners; “... pet clinics. I feel like they are inaccessible but with the pandemic, it kind of shows a lot more how inaccessible they are… I’m pretty sure it put a lot of pets in a lot of risk.” Another participant suggested the use of outdoor veterinary clinics to increase access and address concerns related to COVID-19 exposure: “Maybe more veterinary care… something you can do where it’s, like, we have an outdoor tent… and you bring your cat and it’s safer” (18-year-old, cisgender man who identified with multiple sexualities).
Many participants also expressed a need for safe spaces to take their pets and ideas for engaging their companion animals in enriching activities during the pandemic. For example, several participants discussed a need for more guidance and resources on activities that pet owners can engage in within their communities with their pets, beyond taking them for walks. One 19-year-old gay cisgender man stated, “I enjoyed walks, but, you know, walks are just walks. They sometimes can get redundant… I guess an activities list of just things you can do with your pet. It’s something that you can find entertainment out of… something that you can both enjoy. I guess bonding ideas as well.” Another participant added to that sentiment, by also emphasizing the importance of educating pet owners on activities they can use to engage their pets within their homes. They said, “Ways that you can get your pet to have exercise or fun things to do with your pet inside the house” (20-year-old bisexual cisgender man).
Participants also expressed the importance of utilizing community members as a resource. This was discussed in two different ways. Some participants discussed the importance of sharing resources, such as food or supplies, among other pet owners in their community. For example, one participant stated, “If someone in my community was like, ‘yo, I’m running low on dog food.’ I’d be like, ‘what kind of dog do you have? Let’s see if we have the same dog food.’ You know? Stuff like that” (19-years-old, queer, cisgender woman). Other participants discussed the importance of using community members as a source of social support by creating opportunities for pet owners to connect safely. Speaking to this point, one participant who lives with a cat stated, “A way to connect with other people who are LGBT and have pets… more of a community of people my age, having pets, and talking about the great things and the struggles, ‘cause I think there’s a lot of people at [university] that have pets or just in my age range that have pets, but I feel like I don’t personally know how many. So I think just kind of more of a group to be able to talk about shared group experiences” (21-year-old cisgender woman who identifies as multiple sexualities).
Additionally, several participants discussed the opportunity of using technology to increase access to resources and promote social connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, participants mentioned how technology could be utilized to provide remote veterinary care or allow participants to be virtually present during their pet’s examination. For example, this participant suggested a format similar to how doctors shifted medical practice online for humans: “... people would just go to their physical online with their doctor. I think maybe we would see more online veterinary care” (18-year-old cisgender man who identifies with multiple sexualities). Participants also described how technology could be used to facilitate communication between pet owners via social media or other virtual communication platforms. One participant offered Zoom as a platform that could facilitate this: “They could do like virtual Zooms… how you’ve been coping, like taking care of their pets, and also maybe a good doggy playdate over Zoom. I’ve seen some of those on Twitter, those look fun” (20-year-old demisexual cisgender woman). Other participants discussed how this could be developed using specific apps that could meet the needs of pet owners, “If there was an app that let you know… the best streets to walk your animal. That, I think, would be great” (nonbinary 21-year-old who identified as asexual and bisexual). Finally, participants discussed using technology to gain access to resources, such as providing a platform for pet owners to get supplies within their community or identify less populated walk routes. For example, one 18-year-old participant who identified as a cisgender man with multiple sexualities stated, “I know on Reddit, there are places where people can ask for help for pet care… you can donate money if you have a little extra… so the online nature of the pandemic helps create these spaces where people can help each other and pet owners can help each other.”
Theme 6: Government resources
Slightly more than half of our sample indicated a need for systemic changes that could be implemented by local, state, and federal government systems. The resources identified by participants in this theme centered around three main topics: greater access to information, more financial support for pet owners, and more material support (e.g., food banks, leashes, grooming supplies). In terms of access to information, participants specifically described the uncertainty and misinformation that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic regarding whether non-human animals could contract and/or spread COVID-19. Many participants indicated the importance of having accurate information publicly available, and easily accessible, to all pet owners. For example, one participant stated, “Public service announcements about if the pandemic… can affect pets” (20-year-old who identified with multiple sexualities and genders). Additionally, many participants discussed a need for more online resources related to making the decision to obtain a pet, how to properly care for a pet, and tips for training pets. One participant highlighted this need in their interview, “Maybe some sort of community program… about how to transition owners and their pets from being home constantly back into the workplace” (21-year-old bisexual cisgender woman).
Related to financial support, many participants discussed how challenges in maintaining or finding employment during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated more financial support for pet owners. For example, one 20-year-old bisexual, genderfluid participant stated, “You can get bonuses for kids, but you don’t get anything for pets.” Participants also expressed that the government should support programs to provide discounts on pet-related services, such as medical care or grooming care, to relieve the financial stress caused by the pandemic. For example, one participant suggested sliding scale fees for veterinary care or another participant recommended reducing costs on pet insurance.
Finally, many participants expressed the importance of having material support present in their communities. This included banks that would provide community members with donated pet food during food shortages or other needed pet supplies. Some participants noted that this was currently occurring in their community, without a formalized structure: “I know there’s been donations going around for churches and synagogues that have been doing donation runs” (19-year-old queer cisgender woman). Participants noted that formalizing these services would make more community members aware of what is available and able to access them if needed.
Discussion
The findings of this qualitative study contribute important information regarding the experience of LGBTQ+ emerging adults who lived with pets during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research study was guided by two research questions. The first question aimed to explore and describe the experience of living with a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second research question centered around participants’ recommendations and suggestions for what resources are necessary to support LGBTQ+ emerging adults living with pets during the pandemic. Many of our findings align with existing research conducted to explore the general experiences of pet owners during the pandemic; however, some of our results relate to the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ emerging adult pet owners.
COMPANION ANIMALS AS A SOURCE OF SUPPORT
Similar to previous research done on the general experiences of pet owners during the COVID-19 pandemic, our participants primarily highlighted the support that their pet provided in helping them cope with the stress and isolation caused by the pandemic, particularly as it relates to the quarantine guidelines that were imposed during the beginning of the pandemic. Almost all of our participants discussed the socioemotional support they received from their pets through physical comfort and a unique form of companionship that, for those living with other people, was different from the support they received from other humans living in their household. For participants, this socioemotional support was key to elevating their mood among COVID-related stressors. This mirrors findings from other studies that find lower rates of loneliness and mental health symptoms among individuals living with a pet during the pandemic (Bowen et al., 2020; Ratschen et al., 2020). These findings also coincide with literature conducted prior to the pandemic, with studies finding that companion animals are an important source of social support and companionship for LGBTQ+ emerging adults (McDonald et al., 2022b). This is an important finding to consider in the context of the continuing mental health struggles experienced by emerging adult populations due to COVID-related stressors (Halliburton et al., 2021; World Health Organization, 2022); it is possible that companion animals may serve as an important source of support that aids LGBTQ+ emerging adult owners in coping with this stress.
Many of our participants discussed the socioemotional support provided specifically in the context of transitions. Several participants were forced to move from their college campuses to their family homes after the onset of COVID-19 social distancing guidelines and the closing of universities. For many participants, this meant being reunited with their family pets, which was discussed as a positive experience. However, this move also caused disruptions in their daily routines, social interactions with peers and community members, academics, and employment. Participants identified their companion animals as important sources of support in navigating these transitions, either by being a source of social support in non-affirming homes or using caretaking responsibilities to provide structure and routine to their days. McDonald et al. (2022b) also found that companion animals promoted routine among LGBTQ+ emerging adults pre-pandemic; these findings are especially important to consider as emerging adulthood is a developmental period centered around building independence and responsibility (Arnett et al., 2014; Wood et al., 2018). Because many emerging adults had to go from living independently to returning to their family homes, building a routine around caring for companion animals may have been one way that emerging adults could exercise their independence and promote responsibility within the limitations imposed by the COVID pandemic.
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND
Whether adapting to working from home or traveling back home to quarantine with family, most respondents spent more time with their pets throughout the pandemic compared to prior years. This shift contributed to about 75% of the participants indicating that their human-animal bond changed during this time. Participants discussed how the increased time for interaction contributed to an improvement in their relationships with their companion animal(s). This may have emerged as an important theme among our sample given that all of our participants were currently enrolled in a university. There is evidence to suggest that on-campus university students experience separation anxiety from not being able to maintain relationships with their pets during their university semesters (Adams et al., 2017; Carr and Pendry, 2022). Although the COVID-19 pandemic was a very stressful experience for our participants, many of them talked about how grateful they were that they had the opportunity to return home and spend more time with their companion animals.
This finding suggests that it may be important for colleges and universities to consider pet-friendly housing options for students who own pets and find benefit in maintaining those relationships during the semester. However, it is also important to note that some participants found their pets to be a distraction from their ability to study or work at home. As universities and colleges consider pet-friendly housing options, they should also offer support for pet-owning students, such as information on positive reinforcement training or partnering with local organizations to offer assistance with caring for pets. More than 1500 universities across the USA offer childcare services for their students, including on-campus childcare centers, contracts with individual community providers, or vouchers and scholarships that can be used to offset childcare costs (Boressoff, 2012); similar models may be considered to provide students living with pets some assistance in managing those caretaking responsibilities.
COMPANION ANIMALS AS A SOURCE OF STRESS
It is important to also highlight that the majority of our participants experienced stress related to living with a pet during the pandemic. Some of the stressors discussed by participants were specific to the context of the pandemic. For example, several participants talked about the ways in which their pet distracted them from efficiently working from home, being unable to exercise or socialize their pet appropriately and concerns about exposure to COVID-19. The changes that individuals perceived in their companion animals’ behaviors also may have contributed to experiences of stress; for example, many participants noted that their pet had become increasingly more attached to them throughout the pandemic, which may have led to separation anxiety once quarantine guidelines were relaxed and participants returned to work or activities outside of the household. A mixed-methods study conducted with a convenience sample of over 2000 pet owners living in the USA found many of these same stressors reflected in their data, suggesting that these may be shared experiences among most pet owners (Applebaum et al., 2020b).
Some of these stressors may be attributed to pets having fewer opportunities to rest or isolate (Christley et al., 2021) which can lead to an increased onset of undesired behaviors (Sonntag and Overall, 2014). For example, separation anxiety may be triggered or worsened by a change in the household, such as a new resident (a relative coming into a home to quarantine) or job accommodation (switching to a work from home schedule; Sargisson, 2014). To aid pet owners with the transition back to in-person work, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) put together a Return to Work document, which contains different methods of getting pets accustomed to their owner’s new schedule, such as turning on background noises to keep pets company while alone (Fillippo, 2020). Another tactic to combat undesired habits is positive reinforcement training, which rewards good behavior following commands or relaxed behavior, ultimately resulting in behavior modification (Bergman and Gaskins, 2008). It is important to note that due existing economic stressors impacting marginalized communities, it is possible that LGBTQ+ individuals have lower access to these resources that could support them in managing behavioral issues or other pet-related stressors during the pandemic (Matijczak and McDonald, in press). It is urgent that low-cost programs are created within communities that are specifically targeted at providing support to under-resourced households with pets. Universities and other institutions that work with emerging adult populations should consider how they can leverage these resources so that they are more accessible to pet owners that are students or young adults with less resources.
Participants also described economic stressors related to affording medical care and obtaining pet food among shortages. Prior research suggests that individuals within the LGBTQ+ community are at a higher risk of experiencing poverty, housing instability, lack of access to transportation, and food insecurity (Lee Badget et al., 2019; Schneebaum and Badgett, 2019; Carpenter et al., 2020; Romero et al., 2020); our findings related to economic stressors may reflect the ways in which the COVID pandemic has exacerbated existing social problems and disparities. In a 2022 study of 499 veterinary practices, 41% of them reported an increase in the number of requests for reduced-cost services (Smith et al., 2022). However, the majority were unable to accommodate these requests if they did not originate from shelters and rescues, and furthermore, were unable to host mobile clinics (Smith et al., 2022). This inability to accommodate such requests is further strained by the safety and liability concerns of public transport with pets (excluding service dogs) in the USA. Information on public transportation policies for pets indicated that of the 50 largest cities in the USA, only three allow all pets to ride on buses and subways if they are leashed (Geller, 2022). As such, the inability to get to a veterinary hospital or mobile clinic is another major obstacle pet owners face. It is urgent that these disparities are addressed given that individuals, especially emerging adults, continue to face the consequences of COVID-19 and other situations may arise in the future that could exacerbate these problems even further.
SUGGESTIONS FOR RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS
Participants offered suggestions for resources and support that could be provided through community programs and would serve as important steps forward. Many of these suggestions centered on resolving the stressors that they experienced during the pandemic. One key recommendation that participants discussed was increasing access to affordable veterinary care. Participants had various suggestions for methods to promote access to affordable veterinary care, including telemedicine and use of mobile and outdoor veterinary clinics. To accommodate client requests for increased access to care, many practices have incorporated telemedicine for pet owners, which has helped prevent the spread of COVID-19, combat decreased access to transportation, and remove financial barriers to accessing veterinary care (Dubin et al., 2021; Lundahl et al., 2022). The full scope of telehealth capabilities depends on each state’s legal definition of a veterinary-client-patient-relationship (VCPR). In some states, VCPR must be established in-person, which means that virtual health professionals may only be able to offer general (nutrition or training) or first aid advice if an existing in-person relationship does not already exist. However, for states such as Virginia (where many of our participants lived), VCPR may be obtained via telemedicine where there is a real-time, face-to-face interaction (AVMA, 2019). Additionally, there are also services that run entirely on this business model (e.g., Dutch, WhiskerDocs). Although convenient, telemedicine is not a reality for many pet owners due to the charge associated with these services (Nolen, 2020). Therefore, it may be important to consider other methods to increase access to veterinary care, including mobile clinics and means-tested programs that can offset the cost of veterinary care for low-income families (e.g., AlignCare, Angel or Buddy Funds; Wiltzius et al., 2018; Nolen, 2020).
Additionally, several participants noted a need for safe community spaces where they can take their pets, such as parks, and enrichment activities that they can engage in with their pets within their homes. A literature review on associations between access to green spaces and human health found that urban green spaces are consistently associated with lower mortality and higher mood and physical activity (Kondo et al., 2018). Based on this literature and our findings, increasing access to green spaces may be mutually beneficial for companion animals and their owners, even outside the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, many of our participants discussed the ways that mutual aid may be used so that LGBTQ+ pet owners may share resources with others in their community. For example, SniffSpot is an application that allows households to rent out their backyards to dog owners that do not have access to a yard in their own households (Schuman, 2022). Another idea may be to create online and community-based resource libraries for pet owners to share information about enrichment activities to engage different pet species or share material resources such as pet food, grooming tools, collars, leashes, etc. (McDonald et al., 2022a). Research finds that mutual aid groups were a vital support for LGBTQ+ populations during the COVID-19 pandemic (Haworth et al., 2022), so increasing support for mutual aid programs may be an important step forward in addressing the lack of resources noted by our participants.
Finally, many of our participants highlighted important, local-, state-, and federal-level resources that would have helped support LGBTQ+ pet owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Primarily, participants discussed the need for greater financial support. As mentioned previously, LGBTQ+ emerging adults are at a higher risk of experiencing poverty compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers (Wilson et al., 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic had an immense economic impact on society and caused financial instability across many families (Alessi et al., 2023; Reyes-Portillo et al., 2022). Although the US government attempted to ameliorate these economic challenges by providing incentive checks, many of our participants noted that they did not receive additional financial support to care for their companion animals. In the future, it is vital that the government consider the presence of companion animals within households and provide additional financial support to pet owners to offset these costs. Additionally, participants noted a greater need for supplies for their pets, such as food, collars/leashes, grooming tools, and more. Providing more financial and material support for individuals is a matter of public health, as there is research suggesting that the welfare of companion animals intersects with the health of their owners (Pinillos et al., 2016). For example, some food pantries have begun providing pet food to clients because they recognized that pet owners would give the food obtained at the pantry to their pets rather than letting their pets go hungry (Rauktis et al., 2017; Arluke, 2021). Another example of this is how pet owners experiencing intimate partner violence or homelessness are less likely to seek out shelter services because they do not want to be separated from their companion animal (Collins et al., 2018; McDonald et al., 2019). Our findings highlight the importance of institutions and services that can provide comprehensive support to meet the needs of multispecies families.
LIMITATIONS
Our findings should be considered in light of several limitations. First, it is important to note that the pandemic and associated public health guidelines emerged after the start of the overarching study. Therefore, due to concerns about participant burden, we were only able to incorporate five COVID-19-related questions within our existing study protocol and relied on a structured interview format. A more nuanced approach incorporating prompts and probing questions from the interviewers would have likely yielded more robust and rich data. In addition, data were collected over a 1.5-year span. The experience of living throughout the COVID-19 pandemic changed substantially between March of 2020 and October of 2021; therefore, it is possible that responses and recounted experiences were impacted by the time at which participants were interviewed in relation to public health guidelines and protocols. It is also important to note that the experiences of caring for common companion animals, such as cats and dogs, may be substantially different from the experience of caring for less common species with unique nutrition and care needs (e.g., reptiles, amphibians). Due to the high prevalence of emerging adults who lived with cats and dogs in the current study, we were unable to explore or identify how the type of pet species could have impacted the experience of living with pets and/or the resources and support needed. Additionally, all of our participants were university students. This is important to consider in the context of our findings, as our sample may reflect a more affluent group of individuals that is not reflective of the overall LGBTQ+ emerging adult population who live with pets.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
There are several areas that future research may explore to build on the findings of this study. Researchers should continue exploring the long-lasting effects of the pandemic and related social impacts on LGBTQ+ pet owning populations. Importantly, many studies that have been conducted on the human-animal bond have been focused on those living with dogs and/or cats (e.g., Bowen et al., 2020; Bussolari et al., 2021; Currin-McCulloch et al., 2021). Our findings highlight that companion animals of multiple species have played a significant role in the lives of our participants; thus, it is vital that future research be inclusive of, and may even exclusively sample from, populations of pet owners that live with other types of companion animals (e.g., rabbits, lizards, spiders, horses). Additionally, future research should focus on the experiences of other marginalized groups, such as racially or ethnically marginalized communities or disabled communities, as their experiences and needs may differ. Future research may also consider partnering with service providers to study the development and implementation of some of the programs discussed by participants in this study. For example, researchers may want to collaborate with food pantry programs and collect longitudinal data on the impact of including pet food or other pet supplies for clients and their companion animals. Researchers and practitioners with expertise in this area may also consider developing tool libraries and piloting mutual aid programs that can provide additional support for pet owners in under-resourced communities. This research may be used to inform the development of larger-scale programs and contribute to policy change that can better support pet owners living in the USA.
Our findings suggest that living with a companion animal during an unprecedented global pandemic was a complex experience for LGBTQ+ emerging adults. Although the health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have been reduced over the years, many individuals and communities are still feeling the consequences of the pandemic on their mental, physical, and economic well-being; emerging adults are continuing to experience particularly high rates of mental health symptoms (World Health Organization, 2022). Pets continue to play an important role in supporting and affirming the identity of LGBTQ+ young people, as well as adding potential stress and burden to their lives when appropriate resources and support are not accessible. It is vital that researchers, practitioners, and policy makers consider how to best support multispecies families by attending to the needs of both humans and animals.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors do not have any conflicts of interest to declare.
ETHICS STATEMENT
The authors confirm that the research meets any required ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the young adults who participated in this research by graciously sharing their stories. We also thank the staff at Side by Side, Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, Nationz Foundation, and Health Brigade for their contribution to this work and continued investment in our project. We thank Drs Alex Wagaman and Traci Wike for their contributions to the research design and supervision of research assistants during the planning process. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
A.M., N.C., and S.E.M conceptualized the study; S.E.M carried out the methodology; A.M., N.C., and I.V. carried out formal analysis; A.M., N.C., I.V., J. J., and S.E.M. carried out writing—original draft preparation; A.M., N.C., I.V., J. J., and S.E.M carried out writing—review and editing; S.E.M carried out funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript.
FUNDING STATEMENT
Data collection for the LGBTQ+ Youth Supports study was funded by the VCU Presidential Research Quest Fund (PI: McDonald). The research reported in this publication is supported by a National Institute of Health, Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program Award through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1L60HD 103238-01, PI: McDonald).
DATA AVAILABILITY
Data is available upon request.
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Issue publication date: 1 January 2023
Submitted: 31 May 2023
Accepted: 9 August 2023
Published online: 7 December 2023
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