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PTSD service dogs foster resilience among veterans and military families

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Abstract

Military deployment and reintegration challenges permeate the lives and relationships of Veterans, their spouses, and their families. Among these challenges, 23% of post-9/11 Veterans have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychiatric service dogs have been found to help clinically alleviate PTSD symptoms when used as a complementary intervention. However, minimal research exists that explores the role of the service dog as a mechanism for cultivating resilience within the military family system. Researchers utilized a qualitative, constant comparative approach to analyze self-reported experiences of 101 individuals, including   Veterans (n   =   67) and their spouses (n   =   34). Analyzed through the framework of the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load (Afifi et al., 2016), findings suggest complex communication processes that facilitate relational and family adaptation. These processes encompassed (a) the role of the service dog in building emotional reserves, (b) relational load introduced when caring for the service dog, and (c) the service dog’s facilitation of relational maintenance behaviors among family members that contributed to communal orientation. Based on the results of this qualitative analysis, researchers suggest educational interventions where service dog trainers and mental health practitioners can incorporate relational maintenance strategies and family-focused approaches to integrating service dogs as military family members.

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This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R21HD091896; Merrick Pet Care; and the PetCo Foundation. This publication was made possible in part by Grant TL1TR002531 (T. Hurley, PI) from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of funders.

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Nieforth, L.O., Craig, E.A., Behmer, V.A. et al. PTSD service dogs foster resilience among veterans and military families. Curr Psychol 42, 13207–13219 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01990-3

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