Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
William Tetu Tetu
Abstract
Anxiety is a clinical disorder affecting nearly 40 million adults in the United States. Treating anxiety symptoms has been most effective when clinicians combine medication and therapy intervention. Still, treatments for anxiety varies among clinicians to determine which one may be the most effective. Emotional support animals (ESAs) provide one kind of intervention that clinicians use to treat anxiety in adults. However, existing research literature has not fully explored the phenomenon of lived experiences of coping with anxiety among adults with an ESA. Social cognitive theory provided a basis for this study’s theoretical framework for understanding this phenomenon. This study used a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological paradigm to conduct interviews with eight adults using ESAs for coping with anxiety. Six categorical themes emerged from the coded data: (a) anxiety manifestations, (b) ESA positive engagements and intervening behaviors, (c) ESAs’ instinctual responses, (d) alternative to prescribed medications and substance use, (e) current psychological disposition of using ESAs for coping with anxiety, and (f) relationship between the participant and the ESA. This study’s implications for positive social change include further validating the use of ESAs as an intervention for anxiety, establishing and formalizing assessments of ESAs in both the home and clinical setting, and advocating to maintain legal protections for housing accommodations and to promote the reinstatement of excluded travel protections.
Recommended Citation
Gaughan, Kenneth Patrick, "Lived Experiences of Adults Using Emotional Support Animals to Cope with Anxiety" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 11285.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/11285
