People have been traveling with emotional support animals for years, claiming they serve a mental health purpose. But the scientific case for comfort animals is very weak, according to this Prevention article. “These animals provide the sole purpose of emotional support,” says Molly Crossman, a doctoral student in clinical study at Yale University who authored a study about how animals impact human psychological distress.
Source: Prevention, March 8, 2018.
Do emotional support animals even help people?! The short answer: Maybe, but we don’t know for sure. “Emotional support animals really haven’t been studied directly,” Crossman says, and the research that exists is conflicting. “It’s difficult to look at someone and in the context of many lifestyle factors and determine what role the pet serves,” she explains.