INSTRUMENTAL AND EMOTIONAL EFFECTS OF CARE RECIPIENTS’ COMPANION ANIMALS ON CAREGIVING

This study examined the impact of older adults’ companion animals on informal caregivers’ instrumental and emotional experiences. Older adults report strong emotional bonds with their companion animals (CA) which often become increasingly important as health declines and dependence upon others increases. Individuals requiring assistance meeting their own needs are likely to need assistance in meeting the needs of their CA. The care recipient’s companion animal may be an important, though presently overlooked, factor in the caregiving experience. This study measured the amount of care tasks/activities informal caregivers of older adults devoted to their care recipients’ CAs. Role theory was used to model the impact of the CA (i.e., number of tasks/activities performed and caregivers’ perceived costs of the CA) on the caregiving experiences of burden, satisfaction, and mastery. Caregivers for an individual ages 50+ who did not consider the care recipient’s CA to be his/her own animal completed an online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and path analyses were conducted in Stata. Preliminary results (N = 42) indicated caregivers performed an average of 14.96 pet care tasks/activities ( n = 27, SD = 5.38, range: 5–22), increasing time in the caregiver role by 27.19% hours per week. The number of tasks/activities did not have direct effects on caregiver outcomes. The perceived costs of the CAs were positively associated with caregiver burden ( β = 0.31, p = .01) and negatively associated with caregiving mastery ( β = -0.39, p