Why Children Keep Pets: The Influence of Child and Family Characteristics

Abstract

Two separate but complementary questionnaire surveys were undertaken to assess the relationship between various demographic and family variables and individual variation in levels of childhood pet ownership. The first survey investigated pet ownership levels in a cross-section of families with schoolaged children. In the second, a large sample of university students were invited to report retrospectively on the pets they and their families had owned during their childhood. Results from both surveys showed that age, gender, sibling status and number, and parental attitudes toward pets were all significantly related to levels of childhood pet ownership. The number of children in the family, and parents' attitudes toward pets, were also found to be significantly related to levels of family pet ownership.     

The relationship between pet ownership,social support,and internalizing symptoms in students from the first to fourth year of college

Abstract

Internalizing symptoms are prevalent in students as they enter and complete college. Considering research suggesting mental health benefits of pet ownership, this study explores the relationship between pet ownership, social support (SS), and internalizing symptoms (IS) in a cohort of students across their 4-year college experience. With no differences at college entry, students growing up with pets had greater IS through the fourth year, and greater SS through the third year, than those without pets. Currently living with a pet, gender, SS and personality predicted IS in the fourth year. Females experiencing higher IS in their first year are more likely to live with pets in their fourth year, and fourth year females living with pets or greatly missing absent pets have higher IS than females without pets or missing pets less. Findings suggest a unique relationship between IS in female students and their pet relationships not seen in males.     

A Pet for the Children: Factors Related to Family Pet Ownership

ABSTRACT

The demographic variables related to pet ownership in New Zealand families of 8–12 -year-olds were investigated. Questionnaire surveys were used to establish data from 312 families of primary school children. Family composition, reasons for pet acquisition, and the advantages and disadvantages of pets were also examined. Almost 90% of families owned at least one pet, and over half of these families included a child who was the sole owner of a pet. Parental employment level, living locality, and sibling status (number and position) were related to pet ownership. Parents acquired pets for their children mainly to teach responsibility and care, or because their child had asked for the pet, and these reasons were related to sibling status. Perceived advantages of pet ownership included teaching responsibility and care, love, respect and affection, and companionship. Over half the sample claimed no disadvantages of pet ownership. The most common disadvantages were finding holiday care, the time and work involved in pet care, and the mess caused by animals. Implications for future research include the distinction between child-owned and family-owned pets, the reasons for acquiring pets and their effect on the relationship with the pet, and comparisons of parent and child beliefs about the role of the family pet.     

Pet Ownership and the Importance of Pets Among Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Pet ownership and the importance of one's pet were examined in a community-based, multi-ethnic sample of adolescents, age 12 to 17 years. Half of the adolescents lived in households with pets where ownership was more common among Whites, teens living in detached single family homes, and among teens in households with annual incomes above $40,000. Ratings of importance of one's pet varied as a function of racial/ethnic group and income. Additionally, the absence of siblings in the household, having sole responsibility for one's pet, and owning a cat or dog were associated with higher levels of pet importance. The considerable variability as a function of race/ethnicity in the likelihood of owning a pet, and the nature of the adolescent's relationship to his/her pet, indicates that future research would benefit by utilizing diverse samples and by attempting to determine why the role of pets in the family is a culturally bound phenomenon.     

The Richness of the Child-Pet Relationship: A Consideration of Both Benefits and Costs of Pets to Children

Abstract

The present study was aimed at identifying meaningful and sensitive measures of the potential social-emotional benefits and costs that children report as associated with their involvement with companion animals. The sample consisted of 213 children in grades 3 through 7 who had pets and another 44 who did not. The high percentage of pet ownership found is not unusual. Two questionnaires measuring pet benefits and pet costs were administered. The benefits identified were mutuality, enduring affection, self-enhancing affection, and exclusivity of relationship. The costs identified were distress stemming from pet death or pet rejection, unfair grief, dissatisfaction with pet's needs, worry about pet safety, “getting into trouble,” and distress at not being allowed to care for pet needs.     

The Association of Pet Ownership and Attachment with Perceived Stress among Chinese Adults

Pet ownership is associated with both positive and negative emotions. Given that not everyone responds to pet care in a stressful way, perceptions of companion animals may play a role in how owners respond to them. In this study, we explored the relationship between pet ownership and perceived stress among Chinese pet owners. We also examined the effect of care practices and perceptions of pets on perceived stress. A total of 288 Hong Kong Chinese, adult pet owners, aged 18 to 70 years, were recruited. Participants were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire covering demographics, pet ownership background, pet attachment, and perceived stress. Regression analyses were performed to examine pet attachment in different demographic groups and its relationship with perceived stress. Moderation and mediation analyses were performed to elucidate their underlying mechanisms. After adjusting for demographics and pet ownership background, greater attachment to a pet was associated with lower stress in owners. The perception of pets as family members minimized the stressful burden of pet care. More time spent caring for a pet increased attachment to that animal which in turn reduced stress in owners. The findings suggest attachment to companion animals and the perception of them as family members can help manage and reduce stress in owners.     

A Survey of Pet-and Non-Pet-Owning Swedish Adolescents: Demographic Differences and Health Issues

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of pet ownership in adolescents in Sweden and establish whether any gender, age or health-related differences exist between those who own pets and those who do not. In addition, the study aimed to explore the relationships between species of pet, age, gender, and other socio-demographic variables and the perceived importance of pets. Three age groups (13–14 years-old, 15–16 years-old, and 17–18 years-old) of adolescents, resident in a single county in Sweden, were surveyed using the questionnaire “Liv och Hälsa Ung” (“Youth Life and Health”). A total of 8,709 respondents were included in the analysis (pet owners = 5,793; non-pet owners = 2,916). Associations between importance of the pet and demographic variables and general self-rated health were investigated using logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of pet owners in the sample was 65%, and the most common types of pets were, in descending order of popularity, cats, dogs, rodents, fish/reptiles, and horses. Most of the pet owners said their pets were very or quite important to them, for the three age groups (73.1–88.6%). In general, pets were more important for the female respondents. Importance was dependent on type of pet, with male and female dog owners and female horse owners rating their pets as more important than the owners of other species of pet. Respondents who did not own a pet were more physically active than their pet- owning peers. Pet owners with the best self-rated health also attributed the greatest importance to their pet. However, adolescents with pets reported more psychological problems and somatic health aspects than those who did not own pets. This finding calls for further studies to be conducted, with designs allowing causal conclusions to be drawn.     

Choosing between the Emotional Dog and the Rational Pal: A Moral Dilemma with a Tail

ABSTRACT

Neuroscientific studies indicate moral cognition involves a cognitive struggle between two systems in the brain: the emotional “hot” system and the rational “cold” system. Past research has shown that when presented with personal dilemmas, individuals showed greater brain activity in the hot system areas. However, when further probed about their decisions, moral dumbfounding often occurs. Family selection may help explain moral judgments. Oftentimes, people consider their pets as part of their family. Based on the past research on moral decision-making, the current study presented a novel approach to exploring moral decision-making by forcing participants to choose to save the life between biological family and psychological-kin. Participants (n = 573) were given moral dilemmas and forced to decide whether to save humans or pets from imminent death. The level of relationship between the human shifted six times (foreign tourist, hometown stranger, distant cousin, best friend, grandparent, and sibling), while relationship to the pet had two levels (your pet, someone else's pet). Willingness to save a pet over a human consistently decreased as level of relationship between the participant and the human in the scenario increased. Participants were also more likely to save their own pet over a human life than someone else's pet over a human life. The results suggest that pets are often viewed as psychological-kin. Females were found to be more likely to save their pets over non-immediate family members than males (all ps < 0.05), suggesting that males and females may differ in the structure of their moral reasoning.     

Childhood Experiences with Family Pets and Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adulthood

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether childhood experiences with family pets are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in early adulthood. Undergraduate students (n=318) responded to an online survey that included questions about bonding with childhood pets, exposure to family violence and human aggression directed toward family pets in childhood, and current symptoms of depression and anxiety. Two-way ANCOVAs were conducted with a measure of childhood emotional abuse included as a covariate, and significant interactions were observed between pet bonding and exposure to aggression toward pets (pet aggression). Among participants with medium-level bonds, those who were exposed to pet aggression had significantly higher depression and anxiety scores than those who were not exposed to pet aggression. Among participants who were not exposed to pet aggression, those with medium-level bonds had lower depression and anxiety scores than those with low-level bonds. Bearing in mind the limitations of the research design, the results are consistent with the assertion that bonding with pets may support mental health and that exposure to animal cruelty may lead to the development of internalizing symptoms. The results also support the contention that both bonding with pets and exposure to pet aggression should be considered when investigating the association between experiences with pets and mental health. Interventions for the protection of children may be indicated in cases of animal cruelty. Social workers who investigate child maltreatment may be advised to refer children who are exposed to animal cruelty for counseling. Clinicians should consider addressing issues that arise from exposure to pet aggression during the therapeutic process.     

Pet Ownership,Type of Pet and Socio-Emotional Development of School Children

ABSTRACT

The current study was designed to compare the socio-emotional characteristics of school children pet owners and children without pets and to examine whether the type of pet is a variable which can differentiate the socio-emotional development of their owners. The subjects, 425 girls and 401 boys, were students of fourth (n=265), sixth (n=295) and eighth (n=266) grade of elementary schools from the metropolitan area of Zagreb, Croatia. Socio-emotional variables assessed in the study were: child attachment to pet, child prosocial orientation, empathy, loneliness, perception of family climate and social anxiety. The data showed that 54.4% of children in the sample were pet owners (26.2% of children in the study had a dog, 9.2% had a cat, and 19.0% had some other pet). In order to answer the main research question, several analyses of variance (gender by grade by pet ownership) were computed for each criterion of socio-emotional development. Significant main effects were obtained for empathy, prosocial orientation and pet attachment, with dog owners being more empathic and prosocially oriented than non-owners, and dog owners and cat owners being more attached to their pets than owners of other kinds of pets. Additional analyses of variance were computed in order to examine the role of attachment in the socio-emotional functioning of the children. Subjects were divided in three sub-groups: non-owners, lower then average attached owners, and higher than average attached owners. Children who scored higher than average on the attachment to pets scale showed significantly higher scores on the empathy and prosocial orientation scales than non-owners and children who scored lower than average on the attachment to pets scale. It was also found that children with higher levels of attachment to pets rated their family climate significantly better than children who had lower attachment to pets.     

Sex differences in the antecedents of animal use attitudes

Abstract

Sex differences in attitudes toward the use of animals have been reported in previous research. This study examines sex differences in the levels of, and the interrelations among, three potential antecedents of attitudes toward animal use: caring value orientation, pet care experience and attachment to pets. Path analysis showed that pet care experience, through attachment to pets, accounted for a significant portion of variance in animal use attitudes in both males and females. Caring value orientation was directly linked to animal use attitudes in females, but in males, caring value orientation affected attachment to pets, which in turn impacted on animal use attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of Gilligan's theory of socialization.     

The Protective Association between Pet Ownership and Depression among Street-involved Youth: A Cross-sectional Study

Street-involved youth represent a particularly vulnerable subsection of the homeless population and are at increased risk of health problems, substance abuse, and depression. Qualitative research has demon- strated that animal companions help homeless youth cope with loneliness, are motivators for positive change, such as decreasing drug or alcohol use, provide unconditional love without judgement, and improve youths’ sense of health. To quantitatively investigate the association between depression and pet ownership among street-involved youth, a cross-sectional study was per- formed with a convenience sample of 189 street-involved youths who were surveyed in four cities in Ontario, Canada, 89 of whom were pet owners and 100 of whom were not. Logistic regression modelling found pet ownership to be negatively associated with depression in the study population (controlling for gender, regular use of drugs, and time since youth left home), with the odds of being depressed three times greater for youths who did not own pets. While pet ownership among street-involved youth has many liabilities, includ- ing impairing youths’ ability to access shelter, services, and housing and employment opportunities, companion animals may offer both physical and psychosocial benefits that youth have difficult attaining. This finding highlights the importance of increased awareness among youth service providers of the potential impacts of pet ownership for street-involved youth.     

Evaluation of a Pet Program in Prison—The Pal Project at Lorton

Abstract

We studied a program that permitted a selected number of prisoners to keep pets. We observed the physiological and behavioral effects of this contact and retrospectively examined the effect of pet possession on the frequency and severity of disciplinary offenses. The presence of a pet did not affect the rise in blood pressure associated with talking to the experimenters. However, blood pressure during interaction with the pet was always lower than blood pressure during conversation with the experimenters. Pet ownership had a small effect on the number but not the severity of disciplinary offenses. We concluded that this pet program provided valuable recreation for prisoners but had only small and inconsistent effects on antisocial behavior as defined by the prison staff.     

Pet Ownership in Childhood and Socio-Emotional Characteristics,Work Values and Professional Choices in Early Adulthood

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this study, partly retrospective in character, was to explore if and how pet ownership in childhood is related to several indicators of socio-emotional development, as well as work values and professional choices in early adulthood. The sample consisted of 356 students (200 females, 156 males) from different colleges of the University of Zagreb, representing helping (n=200) and non-helping (n=156) professions. The mean age of the students was 21 years. Seventy-four percent of the participants had had a pet during childhood, mostly dogs. Participants who had owned a pet during childhood reported quite a strong attachment to it. In addition, pets were rated lower than family members and friends, but higher than television, relatives and neighbors in terms of the social support derived from them during childhood. Discriminant analysis was performed in order to examine whether young adults – those who had owned a pet during childhood and those who hadn't – differed in emotional and motivational characteristics, and whether there was a correlation with their chosen subject of study. Pet ownership in childhood was a grouping variable, while measures of current socio-emotional functioning (empathy, prosocial behavior, social anxiety and loneliness), value orientations (self-actualisation, individualistic, social, utilitarian and adventurous) and chosen subject of study (helping or non-helping profession) were predictors. A significant discriminant function was obtained. Correlations between discriminating variables and discriminant function showed that young adults who had had a pet during childhood were more empathetic, more prone to choose helping professions, and more oriented towards social values than those who did not have a pet during childhood.     

Primates Face to Face: Conservation Implications of Human–Nonhuman Primate Interconnections Edited by Agustín Fuentes and Linda D. Wolfe

ABSTRACT

Sterilization of companion animals is in most cases an expression of the caretaker's will. However, little is known about caretakers' attitudes toward pet sterilization in general—these can influence their decision to sterilize their own animals. Three hundred and twelve Romanian caretakers of non-sterilized companion animals (194 women and 118 men) were surveyed before the implementation of a pet management program in Transylvania, the North-Western part of Romania. The caretakers were administered a questionnaire that gathered demographic data and measured their general attitude toward pet sterilization and their attitude toward the sterilization of their own pet (male or female). Questionnaires were filled in by caretakers of 202 dogs and 110 cats. Romanian pet owners showed an overall level of slight disagreement toward the sterilization of companion animals. Gender-biased attitudes of the Romanian caretakers toward the sterilization of their own pets emerged only when the sex of the animals was taken into consideration, regardless of the type of pet. Romanian men disagreed with neutering male pets while Romanian women were more likely to agree with neutering male pets. No gender difference was detected regarding the spaying of female pets, with both genders showing a slight level of disagreement. The results are discussed from sociological, anthropological, and evolutionary perspectives.     

Children with pets do not show higher empathy: A challenge to current views

Abstract

A group of children (n=137) were surveyed with respect to pet ownership and pet preferences to explore the link between the human–animal bond and empathy. The most notable findings—and contrary to our predictions—were: (1) there was no difference in empathy (Bryan Empathy Index) between pet owners and non-owners; (2) there was no correlation between empathy and attachment to pets (Companion Animal Bonding Scale); and (3) higher empathy scores were not related to pet-preference indicators. A more fine-grained examination of the pet-owning group only revealed differences with respect to type of animal owned. Higher empathy was evident with dog ownership as opposed to other pet types. However, this needs to be tempered by the equally interesting observation that lower empathy was related to cat ownership. Regardless of how ownership groups are configured, there is consistent evidence that differentiates cat owners (lower empathy) from dog owners (higher empathy). When pet ownership and pet preference are combined to form new groupings, again, the cat effects and dog effects are evident. Implications extend to the need: (1) for future research on the nature of the human–animal bond; (2) to explore the relationship between personality and animal bonding; and (3) to refine the questions surrounding the animal-based links to empathy, as well as other related constructs such as prosocial behaviour, compassion, self-esteem, self-control, autonomy, affection, stress, responsibility, and perhaps even emotional intelligence, career paths and community service.     

Pet Ownership and Human–Animal Interaction in an Aging Population: Rewards and Challenges

ABSTRACT

Older adults in most developed countries can now expect to live nearly 80 years without significant disability. To maximize the quality of the years after retirement, societies, governments, and organizations are seeking strategies to help older adults maintain their mental and physical health, and retain their independence. Increasingly, the impact of pet ownership and other forms of human–animal interaction in healthy aging are discussed and investigated. In the Western world, more than 50% of households own one or more pets. The popularity of pets means they are well positioned to provide opportunities for companionship and nurturance. Since social networks tend to decrease as people age, pets may fill some gaps. While it is common to read about the benefits of pets and human–animal interactions, pet ownership in older age is also related to challenges and animal welfare concerns. This paper aims to briefly review the benefits and then explore risks and challenges related to pet ownership in older adulthood. In addition, we present strategies for maintaining beneficial pet ownership and human–animal interaction for older adults.     

The Spillover Effect of a Flood on Pets and Their People: Implications for Rental Housing

When disasters strike, companion animals (pets) matter. Emergency planning for them is a key aspect of disaster preparedness, especially considering that people may delay evacuation out of concern for their pets. Temporary boarding options for pets are important; however, caregivers (owners) must ultimately return to permanent housing. Surprisingly little attention has been paid to housing recovery in the disaster literature on pet ownership, and no studies have examined the potential for increased vulnerability among tenants with pets. This study analyzed online rental listings in a city that was severely flooded in 2013. In the following year, demand for pet-friendly rental housing outweighed supply. Landlords frequently stipulated restrictions on the allowable sizes, species, or breeds of pets. Dogs were often banned outright. To keep their pets, prospective tenants needed to exercise flexibility in location and pay higher surcharges. The implications of housing insecurity for tenants with pets have broad relevance, not just in disaster circumstances. Giving up a companion animal to secure housing can negatively impact resilience, whereas living in unsafe environments to avoid pet relinquishment may increase vulnerability.     

Selective battering of the family pet

Abstract

We examined the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of both pet-abusing and non-pet-abusing perpetrators of family violence. Using data collected from victims residing at domestic violence shelters, results indicated that relative to their non-pet-abusing counterparts, pet-abusing batterers tend to less often show affection toward their pets, more often communicate with their pets only through commands and threats, more often view companion animals as property, are more likely to scapegoat their pets, and are more likely to have unrealistic expectations about their pets, more frequently punish their pets, and are more sensitive to stressful life events—particularly those perceived to be caused by the pet. We also queried respondents about batterers' past history with pets, the frequency and type of abuse inflicted on animals, the number of batterers who hunt, the frequency with which children witnessed abuse of the family pet, the impact of animal guardianship on decisions to remain with or return to the batterer, and where companion animals ended up when victims fled the batterer.