Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30246604›Full record

ArticleAttachment & human development2019

Attachment security in companion dogs: adaptation of Ainsworth's strange situation and classification procedures to dogs and their human caregivers.

J Solomon, A Beetz, I Schöberl, N Gee, K Kotrschal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Attachment & human development, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Evidence of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Neurological Diseases in Adults: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. A Comparative Analysis of International Dog Owner Education Programmes.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. The Welfare of Dogs as an Aspect of the Human-Dog Bond: A Scoping Review.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

J Solomona Department of Public Health and Primary Care , University of Cambridge , Cambridge , UK.
A Beetzc Department of Behavioral Biology, Konrad Lorenz Research Station , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
I Schöberlc Department of Behavioral Biology, Konrad Lorenz Research Station , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
N Geee College of Professional and Continuing Education , WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition , Leicestershire , UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2890-9884
K Kotrschalc Department of Behavioral Biology, Konrad Lorenz Research Station , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This exploratory study describes the development of a classification system for dogs' attachment security to caregivers that adheres closely to Ainsworth's seminal methodology. Fifty-nine adult dogs and caregivers participated in a mildly threatening laboratory encounter with a stranger (TS) and the Strange Situation (SSP). Dog and attachment experts adapted Ainsworth's classification system  for the behavioral repertoire of the dog. Four potentially comparable patterns of attachment were identified. The proportions of secure and insecure classifications (61% and 39%) were similar to those found in human toddlers. Caregivers' sensitivity to their dogs during the TS procedure significantly differentiated dogs with secure vs. insecure classifications Lower scores on the Active/excited personality scale on the Monash Canine Personality Questionnaire-Revised (MCPQ-R) also were related to secure classification. This system now makes it possible to compare directly the effects of human and dog attachment patterns on the health and emotional well-being of humans and dogs.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalHuman-Animal BondObject AttachmentAdultAnimalsDogsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesAttachmentdogsensitivitystrange situationtemperament

Identifiers

PMID30246604
PMCPMC6532729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.