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The Preadolescent/Pet Bond and Psychosocial Development
Abstract
Human/animal bond research has revealed that a pet's roles in a human being's life are influenced by individual perception of the pet's attributes. By extrapolating from this conclusion, thc companion animal's role in the preadolescent's psychosocial development is delineated. A pet is classified as a developmental resource during preadolescence since it is perceived as a responsibility and a friend. Perception of a pet is influenced by the demands of development and thus should change over time. A static relationship indicates cause for concern.
... Pets can satisfy the need to feel important. They can function as an egoextension relative to an individual's self-esteem (Brickel, 1985;Davis & Juhasz, 1985). ...
... By being a loyal friend or by eliminating loneliness a pet can positively affect an individual's self-esteem or self-image (Beck, 1999;Davis & Juhasz, 1985). Through telephone interviews of 2,001 owners of dogs and cats, Ralston Purina (2000) reported that 93% of dog and cat owners hug their pet daily. ...
... Katcher (1981) reported that nearly all pet owners talk to their pets and almost half of these individuals confide in their pets. In some cases owners tell their pets secrets (Davis & Juhasz, 1985). Katcher and Beck (1986) found that more than 70% of adolescents reported they confide in their pet. ...
... Research data indicates that having a pet is positively correlated with feelings of importance, social competence and self-esteem. In addition, significant differences have been found between pet owners and non-owners; there are higher levels of self-concept, self-esteem and autonomy in preadolescent and early adolescent pet owners (Covert et al. 1985; Davis and Juhasz 1985;Davis 1987; Van Houtte and Jarvis 1995). ...
... Kellert and Westervelt (1983) found that older children expressed a greater liking for animals than younger children. But some authors (Davis and Juhasz 1985) suggest that pets may have the greatest influence on an owner during the preadolescent years and in early adolescence (Van Houtte and Jarvis 1995). Melson (1991) stressed that after the age of 13, attachment to pets tends to diminish. ...
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.
... Much research has been done on the effect that the pet bond has on different aspects of pet owners' lives, even through entire life stages such as adolescence [12]. Stronger pet bonds have been shown to have tangible effects on the behavior of pet owners, such as seeing them as family members [10]. ...
Pet wearables are increasingly prevalent, with many incorporating location-tracking functionalities, which may reveal privacy-sensitive data about their owners' daily patterns. Typically , these devices are designed for cat (felis catus) or dog (canis familiaris) usage. However, the difference between cat and dog owners in how they interact with their pets, and the relationship they have with them may lead to differences in the perceived sensitivity of, and requirements for, the way these pet wearables should handle pet location data. We present the results of an empirical between-groups study (N=180) investigating whether cat and dog owners' information privacy concerns for pet location data differ. We also explore the role played by the pet-human bond in this context. Our findings indicate that there is a significant (p<0.01) difference in bonding between cat and dog owners explained by co-sleeping and closeness factors, which leads to a significant correlation (r=0.26) found only among dog owners between the strength of their bonding and their perceived importance of how the collected pet location data is used (p<0.05). We demonstrate that the relationship to our pets, not their species per sé has an impact on the privacy concerns held towards data collected via wearables. These findings have implications for the design of privacy-respectful pet wearables, emphasizing the need to understand how sensor-driven technology's privacy impact is mediated by the way we interact with different species. We discuss what explanations may underlie these findings and to what extent, and how, manufacturers and policy should take such differences into account.
... Previous research has recognized the developmental and health benefits of pets in families (Friedmann and Thomas 1985;Rochberg-Halton 1985). Pets can have a sociability function in families, meaning that they can facilitate human-to-human social interaction, and improve the socialization of children and adolescents (Covert et al. 1985;Davis and Juhasz 1985;Robin and Bensel 1985;Serpell 1999). Studies show that pets can be a source of emotional and social support to their owners, and that a strong sense of community can form through animal companions (Headey 1999;Meehan et al. 2017;Bulsara et al. 2007). ...
This article explores voluntarily childless women’s experiences and understandings of human-animal interactions and their attitudes towards companion animals. It draws on interviews with 15 Swedish women who expressed a lack of “maternal” feelings and therefore had remained voluntarily childless, or childfree (used here as two interchangeable concepts). Instead, the women described how they perceived the attachment bonds to companion animals that they had developed as similar to, or even superior to, the attachments bonds between parents and their children. The article thus introduces the expressions “peternal”, and “peternal feelings”, to denote these women’s attachment bonds to companion animals (primarily cats and dogs). The results, however, also illustrate that few of the women actually took on the role as “pet parent”. Although they longed to develop attachment bonds with companion animals they were conflicted and experienced ambivalence, leading to decisions to develop avoidance strategies, resembling those involved in the childfree decision. Hence, many of them described themselves as both childfree and “petfree”.
... The incidence of ownership of pets appears to peak for families with preadolescent children (Davis & Juhasz, 1995), underscoring the importance of examining the role of pets during this developmental period. In addition, Davis and Juhasz (1985) identify pets as developmental resources for children in preadolescence. Pets are described by children in ways that suggest they can provide many of the benefits of friendship such as companionship, affection, social interaction, emotional support, and esteem enhancement (e.g., McNicholas & Collis, 2000;Morrow, 1998;Triebenbacher, 1998). ...
Research on human–animal interaction in children has been studied in isolation rather than integrated with core theories of children’s relationships. This study is one of the first to examine how children’s relationships with pet dogs are related to their human relationships (parent–child attachments, friendships) and to child adjustment, and to include observational assessment of children’s interactions with their pet dog. Children (9 to 11 years old, n = 99) completed questionnaires regarding relationships with pet dogs, parents, and friends. Half the children were observed interacting with their pet dog. Children and teachers reported children’s adjustment. Children who felt closer to their dogs were more securely attached to mothers and fathers and reported more positive qualities and less conflict with friends. Children with more secure attachments to mothers, and greater companionship with dogs, interacted more with their dogs. Parental attachment and friendship quality, but not the pet dog relationship, were related to child adjustment.
... There is little data relating to the study of demographic aspects of children's attachment to pets. However, some have reported that as age increases, the attachment to pets seems to decrease (Davis and Juhasz 1985;Vanhoutte and Jarvis 1995;Vidovic et al. 1999). Girls appear more attached to pets than boys (Brown 2003;Holcomb et al. 1985;Kidd and Kidd 1980). ...
This study describes the development of the SAPS and investigates its reliability and validity within the context of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey (HBSC) which gathered data on representative samples of school pupils aged 11, 13 and 15 in Scotland and England. In the development of SAPS, following a comprehensive review of the literature, two small-scale empirical studies were carried out (one qualitative and one quantitative). Regarding the validation process, the reliability and validity of the SAPS was assessed in a sub-sample (n = 7159) of pupils who completed the HBSC survey and were identified as owning pets. Factor analysis resulted in a one-factor solution (explaining 67.78 % of the variance); Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.894. The item-total correlation ranged from 0.368 to 0.784. A linear model showed that attachment to pets was associated with age (being 11 or 13 years old), being a girl, white ethnicity, and considering a pet as one’s own. SAPS scores were also positively associated with quality of life. The total variance in SAPS explained by these variables was 15.7 %. Effect sizes of associations were medium (age, considering a pet as one’s own) and small (ethnicity, age, gender, quality of life). The study concludes that SAPS is a coherent and psychometrically sound measure. It is associated with a range of demographic variables and quality of life, which confirms its utility as a new succinct measure of children’s and young people’s attachment to pets for use in health and social science research.
... Clearly an understanding of the beneficial effects of HAI/HAR/HAB with companion animals is of importance to social work (Evans & Gray, 2012;Sable, 2013), child health and development (Esposito et al., 2011;McCardle, McCune, Griffin, & Maholmes, 2012), psychology (Davis & Juhasz, 1985;Horowitz, 2008;Peacock et al., 2012;Walsh, 2009a) and nursing (Barba, 1995;Cole & Gawlinski, 2000;Jorgensen, 1997). As a consequence there has been a great increase in the use of animals to improve the effects identified above in people who are most likely to benefit from them. ...
The study of human-animal interactions (HAI), and the resulting human-animal relationships (HARs) and bonds (HABs) which are set up as a consequence, is currently a topical issue in comparative psychology. Here we review the HAI/HAR/HAB literature to detect the main publication trends, and to identify the predominant research themes in this area. Research in HAI/HAR/HAB only really started in the 1980s, but since then there has been a growth in studies which is still continuing. Most of these studies have been in the contexts of companion animal or agricultural animal research, but there is now a growing literature on laboratory, zoo and wild animals too. In the companion animal HAI/HAB literature the greatest emphasis has been on Animal-assisted Interventions (AAI), and the benefits to people of pet ownership and interaction with pets. Agricultural HAI/HAR research, on the contrary, has been more concerned with the welfare consequences of HAI/HARs to the animals. This disjunction is reflected in the preference of companion animal researchers to use the term ‘bond’, but agricultural researchers to use ‘relationship’. Other themes prominent in the literature include methodological issues, the characteristics of caretakers, the role of veterinarians, sociological approaches, and theoreticalaspects. It is concluded that currently HAI/HAR/HAB research does not constitute a unified field, and there is a need to: i) agree and define a standard terminology; ii) undertake more research on the effects of HAI on companion animals; iii) undertake more research on the form and frequency of interactions; and iv) increase research on HAI/HAR/HABs in laboratory, zoo and wild-living animals. This research is important to understand whether HAI has positive, neutral or negative consequences, both for humans and for animals.
... Women have shown more attachment for (Staats et al.) and grief about (Planchon & Templer) their companion animals than men. Extensive evidence exists that children often feel strong affection for pets and benefit from positive relationships with them (Davis & Juhasz, 1985;Kidd & Kidd, 1985). Gender differences in children's bonds with pets, found in some studies but not in others, vary with what is measured (Melson & Fogel, 1996;Melson, Peet, & Sparks, 1991;Rost & Hartmann, 1994). ...
Being hit or being given away are subabusive, common behaviors that harm companion animals. Violent childhood socialization increases the risk of adult abuse of animal companions, but relatively little is known about the origins of societally tolerated maltreatment of pets by adults. University students completed surveys about general attitudes toward animals, family socializaton, and current relationships with pets. These students generally had positive childhood socialization about pets and reported high levels of current attachment. Adults whose parents had given children's companion animals away had a heightened likelihood of giving their own pets away. Mothers' kindness to their children's pets was associated with adults' attachment to animal companions, but attachment was not related to the likelihood of hitting current pets. People who score high on a measure of pet abuse potential hit their pets. The pattern of findings related to gender implies that males are at somewhat greater risk for having negative socialization experiences involving pets, for greater pet abuse potential as adults, and for weaker attachments. However, females were equally likely to hit their pets or give them away. The childhood predictors of attitudes about animals, pet abuse potential, hitting pets, giving away pets, and attachment found in this nonclinical, noncriminal sample contribute to our understanding of developmental influences upon relationships with companion animals.
... Literature on children indicates that their attitudes toward pets have interwoven cognitive, emotional, and clearly behavioral elements that develop simultaneously (Kidd and Kidd, 1985). Other writers suggest that pets may reinforce selfesteem in preadolescent years (ages 9 through 12) as pets are regarded as trusted companions that foster responsibility and provide supportive interaction for the child (Davis and Juhasz, 1985). These findings, combined with life-span development theory, suggest it is reasonable to assume that attitudes toward and attachments to pets by elderly persons develop in a similar fashion. ...
This paper reports the results of a study that examined attitudes toward and attachments to pets of community-based elderly persons in Arizona. Over a three-month period, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a self-selected nonprobability sample of 218 persons 55 years of age and older. Of these 218 people, 80 were owners, and 138 were non-owners. With pet-ownership status used as the dependent variable, housing (specifically, living in a single-family home or a trailer), pet-attachment level in childhood, and health status explain 24% of the variance in whether or not an older person will be a pet owner.
... Adolescents also perceive pets in ways that are similar to children. Davis and Juhasz (1985) reported that although adolescents ranked a pet below their parents, companion animals were ranked higher than other social choices on a list of things that helped them to feel good about themselves in times of low self-esteem. Animals can also be thought of as a friend and confidant by adolescents. ...
The human–animal bond contributes to well-being in a variety of ways. Our understanding of our relationship with animals,
particularly from a psychological point of view, is enhanced when viewed through the lens of a lifetime developmental perspective.
Issues of attachment and the nature of the human–animal bond vary across childhood, adulthood, and later life. These in turn
influence how animals may play a role in maintaining physical and emotional wellness, influence recovery from illness, and
even impact reactions to loss or grief. Persons at varying life stages may be differentially impacted by the loss of companion
animals. In this chapter both the unique and common benefits of the attachment to pets and resulting well-being at various
developmental levels (e.g., childhood, adulthood, old age) are discussed. Specific populations and their unique relationship
to animals (e.g. children with emotional distress, persons in nursing homes) are described to underscore how animals impact
human lives across the lifespan.
... Researchers and practitioners alike have assumed that the experience of bonding with a pet is a positive and beneficial one for children and adolescents, yet one would anticipate that the impact on health would be negligible when so many developmental processes are unfolding. Pets are never too busy for their owners, they take a subordinate role to children, they can be trusted to be consistent and not cause hurt, and they are unaware of human shortcomings (Davis & Juhasz, 1985). The down-the-road impact on health, even for older, vulnerable populations, may not be strong enough to detect statistically, but this should not negate the importance of the human-companion animal bond. ...
The relationship between naturally occurring pet ownership and health, both physical and mental, is reviewed. Key methodological
issues are discussed at the outset and the emphasis of the review is on recent literature. Collectively, the body of work
is inconsistent, with some studies showing profound benefits of pet ownership, some showing no advantage, and others demonstrating
poorer health outcomes among pet owners relative to non-owners. What may be most useful to researchers and practitioners at
this juncture is not whether pet ownership facilitates good health, but under what circumstances might pet ownership facilitate it. Accordingly, this review describes some of the circumstances in which pet ownership appears
to act as a moderator variable in regard to health, and incorporates theoretical approaches that provide a context for understanding
the relationship. Recommendations for future research include focusing on quality of life, recruiting ethnically diverse samples,
and enlarging the policy applications of the work.
KeywordsHealth-Human–animal bond-Mental health-Pet ownership-Social support
This volume demonstrates how readers can become more effective parents, teachers, students, coaches, managers, or work supervisors, while also gaining practical skills to enhance their self-motivation, communication skills, and intervention acumen. The first eight chapters explain evidence-based principles from applied behavioral science (ABS) that can be used to improve the human dynamics of any situation involving behavior. Fundamentals from humanism are integrated strategically to show how an ABS intervention can be more acceptable, influential, and sustainable. The following twelve chapters detail the deployment of ABS interventions to optimize performance in a wide variety of fields, including occupational and transportation safety, quantity and quality of organizational work behavior, healthcare, athletic coaching, parenting, pre-school and college education, environmental sustainability, and the control of obesity and alcohol abuse. Applied Psychology provides a thorough review of the latest research in relation to these domains and explores issues for future investigation.
This volume demonstrates how readers can become more effective parents, teachers, students, coaches, managers, or work supervisors, while also gaining practical skills to enhance their self-motivation, communication skills, and intervention acumen. The first eight chapters explain evidence-based principles from applied behavioral science (ABS) that can be used to improve the human dynamics of any situation involving behavior. Fundamentals from humanism are integrated strategically to show how an ABS intervention can be more acceptable, influential, and sustainable. The following twelve chapters detail the deployment of ABS interventions to optimize performance in a wide variety of fields, including occupational and transportation safety, quantity and quality of organizational work behavior, healthcare, athletic coaching, parenting, pre-school and college education, environmental sustainability, and the control of obesity and alcohol abuse. Applied Psychology provides a thorough review of the latest research in relation to these domains and explores issues for future investigation.
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of pet ownership among adolescents in Great Britain and identify any sociodemographic differences between pet owners and non-pet owners. A total of 14,328 11-to 15-year-old adolescents from England, Scotland, and Wales were included in the analysis. Results revealed 15-year-old adolescents were significantly more likely than 11-year-old adolescents to own dogs (OR = 1.146, p < 0.001) but less likely to own fish, reptiles, or amphibians (OR = 0.629, p < 0.001), and small mammals (OR = 0.630, p < 0.001). Thirteen-year-olds were significantly more likely than 11-year-olds to own dogs (OR = 1.240, p = 0.021) and birds (OR = 1.299, p = 0.010), but significantly less likely to own fish, reptiles, or amphibians (OR = 0.795, p < 0.001). No gender differences were found. White adolescents were more likely than non-white adolescents to own all pet types. Those living in single-parent families were significantly more likely than those living with two parents to own dogs (OR = 1.186, p = 0.013) and cats (OR = 1.319, p < 0.001). Furthermore, those who reported living in stepfamilies were also more likely to own cats (OR = 1.428, p < 0.001). Adolescents with siblings were more likely to own cats (OR = 1.391, p = 0.001), fish, reptiles, or amphibians (OR = 1.220, p = 0.037) than adolescents without siblings. Adolescents with employed parents (both or one) were significantly more likely than those with unemployed parents to own dogs (OR = 1.414, p = 0.002) and birds (OR = 1.523, p = 0.018). Adolescents from high-affluence families were less likely than adolescents from low-affluence families to own dogs (OR = 0.888, p = 0.037), small mammals (OR = 0.832, p = 0.005), and birds (OR = 0.801, p = 0.046). Furthermore, family affluence differences were found in different pet types. Differences in all pet types and siblings were also found in a proxy measure of attachment to pets. This study provides evidence that pet ownership is related to several sociodemographic factors. These are relevant to take into account when performing HAI studies on adolescents.
In recent decades, researchers in the health and social science fields have begun investigating the psychological and physical health benefits of the human-animal bond, which can be described as a 'dynamic relationship between people and animals in that each influences the psychological and physiological state of the other'. The strength of the human-animal bond and its positive effects on health and wellness have been demonstrated in a variety of populations, including children, adolescents, the elderly, and the physically and mentally ill. This chapter discusses animal-directed altruism and the origins of the human-animal bond. It provides a brief review of the literature on the effects of pet ownership and attachment, and how befriending animals can promote health and wellness for individuals across the developmental lifespan.
The potential health effect of the human-animal bond has been explored for over 15 years with limited success. Professionals from a variety of fields have examined the benefits a companion animal can provide for persons with special needs. We examined the research related to human-animal interactions and the community- based elderly. We reviewed recommendations from the 1984 Delta Society conference related to research endeavors in terms of the elderly population and proposed a theoretical approach for future research to evaluate the effect of the human-animal interaction in terms of life course development and perception of health and pet ownership.
As the literature suggests, people in the United States do love their pets and are willing to spend a lot of money on them. This market has grown into a huge industry within our country. The purpose of this paper is to use two scales that measure pet attachment and identify the demographic groups that would be most amenable to spend money on their pets given that attachment to them. Using the two scales, it was discovered that the gender, age, marital status, and employment status of the respondents were significantly different on both scales. Women were found to have more pet attachment than men as were people in the older age categories. Single people were found to have the least pet attachment. Retired people seemed to have the most pet attachment. BACKGROUND Today, Americans pamper their pets. They take them for walks, for rides, and sometimes take them wherever they go. Americans purchase holiday gifts for their pets and even surprise them with presents on special occasions. They are our pets, and we are attached to them more today than ever before. By now, there should certainly be no doubt in anyone's mind as to the impact which the attachment and pampering of pets has on today's economy. While some of the research on the topic has been anecdotal, the facts increasingly speak for themselves.
This study addressed the issue of whether children who potentially have reduced access to parental resources have a stronger attachment bond with a dog, compared with children who have greater access. The study compared children in single-parent families with those in two-parent families on level of attachment to their family dog. Parents judged children's level of attachment to dogs by completing the Companion Animal Bonding Scale. The children's ages ranged between three and twelve years. Overall, children in single-parent families did show significantly higher levels of attachment to dogs than children in two-parent families. A comparison of attachment to dogs across family type showed that children in the early childhood stage in single-parent families had significantly higher levels of bonding with dogs than children in the early childhood stage in two-parent families. For the middle childhood stage there was no significant difference between family type and attachment to dogs. Comparisons within family type showed mixed results, and there were no significant gender differences in attachment levels across family type. Findings are discussed in light of attachment theory, family systems theory and implications for child development.
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.
Service and education organizations such as the ASPCA claim a connection between family violence against children and companion animals, but to what extent does the general public share this perception? Sixty-three undergraduates rated their certainty about perceiving family violence using 60 pictures with differing potential targets of family violence. Participants showed stronger certainty when the target was a child than when the target was a companion animal, but ratings for companion animals averaged above the midpoint of the scale used. Interview questions were used to obtain information about childhood recollections of joint discipline situations in which children received punishment for what companion animals did, or vice versa. Thirty-four participants recalled such situations, some of which resulted in the death or discarding of a family's companion animal. The majority of participants affirmed a connection between violence against children and companion animals in the family, with some giving credit for that insight to their taking part in the study.
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.
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 purpose of this study was to examine the role of pets in preadolescent psychosocial development. A sample of 130 third through sixth graders from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds were selected based on whether they were pet owners and nonpet owners. Preadolescents in the two groups were then matched on parental marital status, socioeconomic status (SES), and number of siblings. Data was collected in an interview and questionnaire format. Questionnaires measuring autonomy, self-concept, self-esteem, and attachment to animals were completed. Support for the hypothesis that pet owners would report higher autonomy, self-concept, and self-esteem was found. Higher autonomy was reported in pet owners across all grades on the perceives parents as people subscale of the autonomy measure. Sixth-grade pet owners reported higher self-concept and pet-owning fifth and sixth graders reported higher self-esteem. Attachment to animals was not found to be higher in the pet-owning group and greater attachment to animals was not found to be related to higher scores on the dependent measures. The significant differences between the groups for both fifth and sixth graders suggest that pets may have their greatest impact on children's lives as they enter into adolescence. The significant influence of pets on autonomy indicates that pet ownership could be used to foster the development of autonomous characteristics in preadolescents. The positive influence of pets on self-concept and self-esteem suggests that pets may be used as a source of support as well as an intervention strategy for persons suffering from low self-concept and self-esteem.
Includes bibliographical references.