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Emotional support animals help students with disabilities to function.
The mental, social, and physical health benefits of having an ESA
far outweighed the challenges for our participants and helped them
not only to function but also to thrive at school.
Study Strengths, Limitations, and Directions for Future Research
The strengths of this study come primarily from having students describe, in their own
words, the benefits and challenges related to having an ESA in campus housing. Data
triangulation was obtained by collecting data from both ESA owners and roommates
and by using surveys and semi-structured interviews. Another strength was the use of
multiple coders/raters for theme identification, as well as member checking (Doyle,
2007) of the study findings.
Sampling strategy, representativeness, and small size were limitations in this
study. First, our sample size was small, which reduced the statistical power for the
quantitative analyses. Second, all participants self-selected to take part in the study.
It is possible that students who did not respond to the recruitment email would have
different responses, perhaps reporting fewer benefits or experiencing more negative
effects. Additionally, our participants were current ESA owners; future research should
include the perspectives of students who previously applied to have an ESA on campus
but no longer had one due to lack of perceived benefits, moving off campus, experiencing
barriers or challenges caring for the ESA, or the animal's death. It could also
be informative to collect information about ESAs from the perspective of resident assistants
and resident directors, who would be in a unique position to know of student
conflicts, logistics, or policy violations related to ESAs in campus housing. Third, this
study was conducted at one institution, which means that university-specific policies
and experiences (e.g., the ESA approval process) were administered through the same
university office, which could have resulted in less variability of experiences. Finally,
longitudinal research could follow incoming first-year students with ESAs in order to
examine the trajectories of their bond and the benefits of having an ESA throughout
their collegiate experience.
CONCLUSION
The present study's findings can help students who are debating whether to obtain
an ESA and whether to bring their ESA with them to college. Important considerations
should include the animal's needs for space, social interaction, exercise, and
grooming, as well as the potential benefits and challenges for the ESA owner. The
information in Table 3, which summarizes these considerations, could be distributed
to individuals who inquire about ESA policies for the residence halls. By being aware
of potential barriers or logistical considerations, students can better prepare for the realities
of having an ESA in their residence hall or can ultimately decide against having
it on campus. Prospective ESA owners may also benefit from talking with current ESA
owners about their experiences.
Volume 49, No. 2 * 2023 101

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