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Does having a pet make a difference? Highlights from the HBSC Portuguese study
Abstract
Pets are part of many adolescent’s lives. Objectives: To identify in a large national representative sample of Portuguese adolescents (HSBC study), the percentage of adolescents that have pets, what kind of feelings pets provide, differences by gender and age (through school grades) and to verify whether adolescent health, well-being, life satisfaction and psychological symptoms are associated with having a pet. Methods: The 2014 study provided national data of 6026 Portuguese adolescents (52.3% of which were girls), whose mean age was 13.8 years, randomly selected from those attending 6th, 8th and 10th grades. Measures included asking the participant if he/she had pets, which pet was, and the relationship they had with the pet, ISS, perception of well-being, life satisfaction and psychological symptoms. Results: The large majority of Portuguese adolescents had a pet. Adolescents who referred having a pet reported more frequently having dogs and cats. As for positive feelings related to pets, results showed that pets give them feelings of happiness, companionship, nurturing, tranquility, security and responsibility always/almost always, especially in girls and younger boys. The results also showed that having a dog was associated with a higher socio-economic status, better perception of well-being, more life satisfaction and less psychological symptoms. Conclusion: Since research shows that young people who have pets report higher rates of well-being/health perception, that information should be used to conduct more studies and change policies in ways that benefit adults and children.
... Once again, different scales and procedures were used in the reviewed studies. Quality of life was measured in 17 studies using subjective health items (57,96), the European Health Interview Surveys-Quality of Life questionnaire (43), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (59), the Kidscreen-10 index (67), items from the SF-36 scale (vitality, pain, and role physical) (30,76,77), and items from the shortened version SF-12 (physical health) (66, 73). The physical health scales were used in studies on physical illnesses (52,65,75,96). ...
... In another study with Portuguese adolescents, pets were associated with a better perception of well-being, more life satisfaction, and overall mental health. However, when analyzed by species, dogs showed more evident results (67). This may also contribute to explaining the high heterogeneity of the obtained results. ...
The benefits of the human-animal bond on owners’ health and quality of life have been the focus of research in recent decades. However, the results are still inconsistent. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether the presence of a pet, compared to a control group, influences daily physical activity levels and mental health using a meta-analytic method.
Methods
The PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched for all research articles that included pets as an object of study and related mental health and quality of life variables between pet owners and non-owners until April 2022. The PRISMA 2020 checklist was used, and the Downs and Back checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. Standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the difference between a group of pet owners and non-pet owners.
Results
An initial search located 11,389 studies, but only 49 studies fulfilled all requirements. Our results indicate that pets have a moderately significant positive effect on the physical activity of owners compared to non-pet owners. Among the moderating variables, the frequency of physical activity showed a highly significant effect, indicating that owners had a higher frequency of physical activity than non-owners. Moreover, our results indicate a significant impact but with a low effect size of pets on owners’ mental health when compared to non-pet owners.
Conclusion
Pet ownership does not seem to influence owners’ mental health, but it does influence their physical activity. Specifically, owners show a higher frequency of physical activity than non-owners.
... Several studies report more positive than negative emotions from interaction with dogs. 35,[48][49][50] Dogs can also facilitate social interactions among people, 27,35 act as social lubricants 51,52 and help in the development of trust, communication, compassion and empathy towards others. 50 Despite the caution involved in quantitative generalisation, the similarity and difference in the most mentioned themes of activities in each of the studies are notable: 'Dog presence/ownership', 'Providing for the dog', 'Exercise with dog', 'Tactile' and 'Social interactions' featured most in the Brazilian study, while 'Exercise with dog', 'Non-Specific Ownership', 'Tactile' and 'Social interactions' were most emphasised in the British sample. ...
... 35,[48][49][50] Dogs can also facilitate social interactions among people, 27,35 act as social lubricants 51,52 and help in the development of trust, communication, compassion and empathy towards others. 50 Despite the caution involved in quantitative generalisation, the similarity and difference in the most mentioned themes of activities in each of the studies are notable: 'Dog presence/ownership', 'Providing for the dog', 'Exercise with dog', 'Tactile' and 'Social interactions' featured most in the Brazilian study, while 'Exercise with dog', 'Non-Specific Ownership', 'Tactile' and 'Social interactions' were most emphasised in the British sample. 30 Similarly, Brkljacic et al. 53 described 'walking', 'petting', 'caring for the animal', 'animal's company', 'dog greeting' and 'playing' as important sources of happiness to owners. ...
Despite the abundance of studies investigating the benefits of having a dog, the specific aspects of dog ownership that impacts human well-being are not well understood. This study used a qualitative approach to create a framework of the main dog-related activities perceived by Brazilian owners to impact their well-being and compared the findings with those of a similar study in England. Thirty-two Brazilian dog owners from the five regions of the country were remotely interviewed. The thematic analysis of the transcripts generated a total of 58 dog-related activities, organised into 13 themes. Most activities were reported to have a positive effect on participants’ well-being, accounting for 76.8% of the total number of mentions in the interviews. ‘Playing with dog’ and ‘Dog presence’ were the themes most frequently associated with positive well-being outcomes, whereas ‘Unwanted behaviours’ and ‘Failing to meet dog's needs’ were the most commonly associated with negative outcomes. The dog-related activities reported by Brazilian dog owners and the well-being outcomes linked to those activities were consistent with the previous British sample in the framework that emerged. These findings suggest reliability between the two methods used to gather data (remote interview versus focus group) and, most importantly, provide consistent cross-cultural evidence for how certain activities impact dog owner’s well-being.
... Em Portugal, Reis et al. (2018) realizaram um estudo com adolescentes, concluindo que estes (em particular as raparigas e rapazes mais novos) consideram que os animais lhes proporcionam sensações de felicidade, companheirismo, proteção, segurança e responsabilidade, e que ter um cão está associado a maior perceção de bem-estar, maior satisfação com a vida e menos sintomas de psicopatologia. Os resultados contraditórios em relação aos efeitos de ter um animal de estimação na saúde parecem estar relacionados com diferentes aspetos metodológicos, designadamente a ausência de controlo de variáveis sociodemográficas (por exemplo, sexo, estado civil, idade, número de pessoas com quem se vive) e clínicas (por exemplo, presença de doença medicamente confirmada), bem como de outras variáveis como o sentido de responsabilidade pela saúde e bem-estar do seu animal de estimação e a utilização de diferentes estímulos stressores nos estudos experimentais (Barker & Wolen, 2008). ...
... Ainda que, nas mulheres, ter ou não ter um animal de estimação não esteja associado a diferenças nas variáveis relacionadas com a saúde, para os homens, ter um animal associase a melhor bem-estar psicológico, social e mental, e a maior satisfação com a vida. Este último resultado vai ao encontro de outros estudos (Reis et al., 2018). ...
This cross-sectional study aimed to analyse whether having a pet and how the owner relates to it may be associated with differences in health. 263 adults were studied, 82.82% of whom had pets and 17.18% who did not, responded to a protocol that aimed to assess sociodemographic variables, quality of the owner-pet relationship and health-related variables. The results reveal that, globally, there are no significant differences between those who have and those who do not have a pet in terms of health-related variables, even though men who have a pet show greater mental, social and psychological well-being, and greater satisfaction with life. A greater Emotional Proximity is associated with fewer symptoms of psychopathology, whereas a higher Perceived Costs of having a pet is associated with poor health and quality of life perception, as well as lower mental well-being. It is concluded that the quality of the relationship that it is established with the pet is more important than having the pet in itself. In view of the complexity of the factors involved, it will be important to develop longitudinal studies, with control of sociodemographic, clinical and pet-related variables.
... It is also unknown which species/types may be most beneficial for certain age groups, and whether effects vary by developmental outcome. One recent study found that dog-owning adolescents showed significantly less psychological symptoms (sadness, depression, fear, and nervousness) than adolescents who reported having a cat, a dog and a cat, or having other pets [32]. ...
Background
Research into the impact of social relationships on childhood and adolescent health and wellbeing has been largely limited to children’s relationships with other humans, while studies into the impact of pet ownership are sparse and have generally not adjusted for potential confounders. This study aimed to investigate the association between pet ownership and a range of developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence.
Methods
Data were self-reports and direct assessments of approx. 14,000 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Multivariable regression models adjusting for confounding factors examined associations between developmental outcome measures (emotional health, behavioural development, cognitive development, language development, educational attainment) and concurrent pet ownership, including species, and also longitudinal pet ownership history and pet-interaction where possible. Analyses model numbers using multiple imputation varied from n = 393–8963.
Results
In cross-sectional analyses, owning a dog (b = 0.24, [0.06–0.41], p = .004) and owning other/miscellaneous pets (b = 0.18, [0.03–0.33], p = .021) at age 3 were associated with higher prosocial behaviour score. Owning a pet was associated with a higher non-verbal communication score at age 2 (cross-sectional, b = 0.18, [0.04–0.32], p = .014), and a higher language development score at age 5 (cross-sectional, b = 1.01, [0.18–1.83], p = .017). However, pet ownership was associated with lower educational attainment across a number of academic subjects and timepoints, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. It was also cross-sectionally linked to hyperactivity at age 3 and conduct problems at age 3 and 11. Furthermore, at age 8, cross-sectional analysis showed that children who owned any pets (OR [95% CI]: 0.85 [0.73–0.98], p= ·026) or cats (0.83, [0.73–0.95], p= ·006) had lower odds of high self-esteem (scholastic competence).
Conclusions
Using a large, well-designed longitudinal study and adjusting for key confounders, we found little evidence of cross-sectional or longitudinal associations between pet ownership and emotional health or cognitive outcomes in children. There may, however, be some cross-sectional and longitudinal association with poorer educational attainment and a positive impact on social interactions as seen through associations with enhanced language development and prosocial behaviour. This study demonstrates the importance of adjustment for confounding variables and suggests that, contrary to popular belief, positive impacts of pet ownership on childhood development may be mainly limited to social behaviour and language development.
... Another study provided data including adolescents who measured if the participant had pets and their perception of well-being, and results showed that pets give them feelings of happiness and security (Reis et al. 2018). A different study also confirmed that more time spent caring for a pet reduced stress (Wu, Wong, and Chu 2018). ...
... Elderly, especially those who live alone, consider the animal their family (Pachana et al., 2011). The results of a Portuguese study (Reis et al., 2017) showed that having a dog was associated with a better perception of well-being, more satisfaction with life and less psychopathological symptoms. ...
The study compares personality factors, symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress between owners and non-pet owners. A total of 145 adults participated, between 18 and 78 years (M = 30.96, SD = 12.10). Participants were divided according to the type of pet they had: 1) dogs, 2) cats, 3) dogs and cats. The results suggest that people who do not have pets showed more anxiety symptoms than those who have pets. Dogs and cats owners showed higher scores of conscientiousness personality factor than participants who did not have any pets. The results reveal differences between animals owners and non-owners. There is a need for studies using mediating variables analyzes, as well as longitudinal research that can explore the feasible causal relationship between different characteristics of people who own pets and well-being.
... Having a pet is fun and painful at the same time, because it bothers you sometimes when you do not want them to be there [15]. Yet they also get lonely when you lock them in one place. ...
Pets are cute and fun, but sometimes it gets annoying when you are trying to get some sleep in [14]. Also the population of people who would like to be accompanied by pets is rising rapidly. However, people these days lack time to meet all requirements of pets, which causes plenty of tragedies [3]. In this paper, we designed an application/tool called Automate the Pet Door Controlling which is using artificial intelligence and Computer vision to create a better living condition for pets, and a easier life for people who love their pets, especially for those who cannot spend a lot of time or physically hard to open doors for pets. My design builds an integratable system which is available for most smart home systems, also this design supports extra datasets imported to enlarge the types of pets.
The COVID -19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization in March 2020 caused many uncertainties. Threatening the wellbeing of both people and their companion animals, the pandemic raised many questions about the role of the interactions and relationships between humans and companion animals in the context of social distancing and all the restrictions it imposes. It was in this setting that an online questionnaire about the behaviors and attitudes toward companion animals during the first lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic in Portugal was developed. The questionnaire received 2,198 validated responses. Four main behaviors and attitudes toward companion animals were identified, comparing the periods before and during the first lockdown: 1) a greater human-animal proximity; 2) a greater confinement of humans and companion animals; 3) the “other” as a threat and the depletion of the support network/system; and 4) increased hygiene practices/decreased healthcare.
Qualitative study, developed with 20 female drug users assisted at a Psychosocial Care Center for alcohol and drugs, located in a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with the objective of identifying the relapse prevention strategies used by female drug users. Data collection was carried out through audio-recorded individual interviews, following the ethical principles that establish the norms for conducting research involving human beings. For data processing, thematic content analysis was used. Factors such as family, religiosity, and spirituality, animals, plants and music are important strategies for women to prevent relapses to drug use. These strategies proved to be capable of promoting the redefinition of experiences and improved quality of life, in addition to indicating subsidies to health professionals for the planning of actions for women using drugs.
Connections and Companionship II is a sequel to a 2016 report which looked at the relationship between adolescents and their pets. It includes data from the 2018 BC Adolescent Health Survey and from a 2020 survey specifically about youth’s relationship with their pet.
The KIDSCREEN is a European cross-cultural and standardized instrument that assesses ten quality of life dimensions in children, adolescents and their parents. This instrument is used to validate evidences to support general inferences on quality-of-life measures obtained by the Portuguese version of KIDSCREEN10 for children and adolescents, in the context of a survey research carried on in Portugal. The present study focuses only on the KIDSCREEN children and adolescents' versions. A sample of 8072 Portuguese children and adolescents attending the 5th grade (19.3%), 6th grade (19.2%), 7th grade (20.3%), 8th (21.6%) and 10th grade (19.7%) in Portuguese schools were inquired, with a mean age of 13.2; SD 2.06, randomly distributed regarding gender. The Portuguese version of KIDSCREEN-10 instrument showed a good Internal Consistency of .78. Chosen fit indexes indicate good fit to the data. Specifically in the final solution the RMSEA was lower than .03 and the upper limit of 90% confidence interval was lower than .05, and CFI was higher than .95. Results indicated that the current 10-item structure is invariant across age groups, nationality and socio-economic level. The KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire is a reliable instrument to estimate the perception of quality of life in children and adolescents. Psychometric guidelines are presented for the Portuguese population aged 10 to 16 years old.
250 infants, 25 boys and 25 girls each in the 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, and 30-mo. age groups, were individually observed with a mechanical toy dog which barked and moved realistically, a contact-comfort mechanical cat which purred and meowed when hugged and petted, and the family dog(s) and/or cat(s), presented in random order. An investigator-generated checklist of proximity-seeking and contact-promoting behaviors was used to record subject responses demonstrating whether the infants attached to pets because of tactual qualities, sounds, movement, familiarity, and/or behavioral qualities. It was hypothesized that as babies age, their responses to the live pet and toy animals would become progressively dissimilar and that older infants would show significantly more attachment behaviors and would spend significantly more time observing and interacting with live pets than with toy animals. Data support the hypotheses and indicate significant differences in the quantity of attachment behaviors toward live pets and toy animals at one year. From one year on, dogs are significantly preferred to cats by both sexes. During the first year, boys show significantly more attachment behaviors than girls; the two sexes are equal at 18 mo., and girls show significantly mote attachment behaviors than boys at 24 and 30 mo.
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.