The Role of Service Dogs in Families of Veterans Diagnosed with PTSD

Abstract

Social support and family relationships are important predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. Besides, the partner and children of veterans are also negatively affected by the PTSD. Not all veterans with PTSD benefit substantially from conventional therapy, so alternative types of therapy are needed that target the whole familial system of veterans with PTSD. One potential treatment option that influences the whole family could be the use of service dogs. To date, literature on the effects of service dogs have almost only focused on the effects on the veteran, rather than on the family as a whole. Therefore, the purpose of this literature review was to investigate the current literature on the role of service dogs on the families of veterans with PTSD. The hypothesis was that service dogs would positively influence familial systems of veterans with PTSD. The results of this study confirm this hypothesis, as service dogs have a positive influence on four aspects of the family life of veterans with PTSD. Firstly, service dogs decrease PTSD symptoms and improve the veterans’ mood, which improves family relationships. Secondly, service dogs decrease the caregiver burden for the partner of the veteran. Thirdly, service dogs improve the communication between family members. Fourthly, through the service dog family members discover a new shared purpose and share more activities together, which in turn also improves family relationships. These findings were supported by literature on the effects of companion dogs on families. This review provides promising results, but the studies that were reviewed have almost only used qualitative methods and have not included follow-up measurements. Thus, future research is recommended to investigate the role of service dogs in familial systems of veterans with PTSD using quantitative methods and follow-up measurements. Besides, future research should also look into the wellbeing of service dogs.