Emotional support animals lead to benefits in mental health

Question

This claim is correct based on what the New York Times said about how "More people claim that their pets - weather dogs, ducks, peacocks, pigs, or alligators - are emotional support animals who help them deal with anxiety and depression and must stay with them in places where they would ordinarily be barred". This article explains the benefits of emotional support animals for people that they interviewed specifically and their experiences with animals helping them with their mental health. This claim is not misinformation and is backed up by the reliable source of the New York Times.

Answer 1

This statement is true. From the National Library of Medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5800290/)

I found the answer in an article published by the National Library of Medicine that was written by a group of psychology research specialists at BMC Psychiatry.  This article is published on a United States government website.  There is evidence to show a positive correlation between emotional support dogs and improvement in mental health among those with a mental illness.  The article does state that more research needs to be conducted however there is existing evidence to prove this claim as true.  

BMC PSYCHIATRY (NLM) - Quantitative evidence relating to the benefits of pet ownership was mixed with included studies demonstrating positive, negative and neutral impacts of pet ownership. Qualitative studies illuminated the intensiveness of connectivity people with companion animals reported, and the multi-faceted ways in which pets contributed to the work associated with managing a mental health condition, particularly in times of crisis.

This review suggests that pets provide benefits to those with mental health conditions. Further research is required to test the nature and extent of this relationship, incorporating outcomes that cover the range of roles and types of support pets confer in relation to mental health and the means by which these can be incorporated into the mainstay of support for people experiencing a mental health problem.

Answer 2

This claim is partially true. The role of service dogs is to aid people already experiencing mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and such. There is no serious evidence found of helping the mental health of people without diagnosed mental illness. A study done by the university of toledo finds that there are quantifiable results of service animals helping with the mental health of people with diagnosed mental illnesses.

https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/05_20_2021/study-finds-first-scientific-evidence-emotional-support-animals-benefit-those-with-chronic-mental-illness