Does the Company of a Dog Influence Affective Response to Exercise? Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Study Dog-Accompanied Physical Activity. Issue 5 (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liao, Yue; Solomon, Olga; Dunton, Genevieve F.
• Is Part Of: American journal of health promotion. Volume 31:Issue 5(2017)
• Page Start: 388
• Page End: 390
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: physical activity -- dog ownership -- ecological momentary assessment -- affect; Health promotion -- Periodicals; Health Promotion; Health promotion; Periodicals; Periodicals; 613.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0890117116666947
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0890-1171

Abstract

Purpose: This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time self-report strategy, to examine (1) whether dog owners were more likely to be physically active when they were with their dogs and (2) whether being with a dog amplifies positive and dampens negative affective response during physical activity. Design: Electronic EMA surveys for 12 days. Setting: Free-living. Participants: Seventy-one adult dog owners. Measures: The EMA survey included 1 question about current activity, 3 questions about positive affect (Cronbach α = .837), 4 questions about negative affect (Cronbach α = .865), and 1 question about the presence of dog. Analysis: Multilevel modeling. Results: The company of a dog did not increase the likelihood of being active versus sedentary at any given EMA prompt. However, greater positive affect during physical activity was reported in the company of a dog. Negative affect did not differ between active and sedentary activity, regardless of being with a dog or not. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the utility of electronic EMA as a promising methodology to study dog-accompanied physical activity. Future studies may use EMA to collect further contextual information about dog-accompanied activity to inform the development of innovative physical activity interventions.