A longitudinal study revealed that children (4-11 years of age) who spent a lot of time with a pet dog or cat they were highly attached to had lower risk of anxiety or other mental health disorders as adolescents (11-19 years of age). The study was published in BMC Pediatrics.
Anxiety disorders are a category of mental health conditions characterized by persistent and excessive worry, fear, or apprehension that goes beyond normal stress and can significantly impact daily functioning. Individuals suffering from these disorders often experience heightened and prolonged states of physiological arousal, with increased heart rate, muscle tension, and restlessness. Common types of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.
Anxiety disorders often start developing during late childhood. Statistics indicate that 1 in 3 U.S. teens suffer from an anxiety disorder. Children and adolescents suffering from anxiety disorders often also suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, or other mental health disorders. Early treatment of childhood anxiety can be very effective, but only about a half of children suffering from mental health disorders receive treatment. That is why scientists are very interested in identifying risk factors for anxiety and other mental health disorders.
Recent studies have linked pet ownership, particularly of dogs, with lower anxiety scores in preschool and school children. Study author Anne Gadomski and her colleagues wanted to explore the links between attachment to pets in childhood and adolescent mental health. They sought to examine whether time spent interacting with dogs and cats in childhood is associated with mental health in adulthood.
These authors merged data from their previous study of children 4-11 years of age with electronic medical records of these individuals 8 years later. They were able to do this for 629 participants of the initial study. The medical records contained, among other things, data on common adolescent mental health diagnoses (anxiety, depression, ADHD) up to late October 2021.
The study authors also reached out to these individuals to gather information on their continued interactions with pets and to evaluate mental health symptoms. Participants completed various assessments, including the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders for anxiety, the Adverse Child Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q) for stress, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) for depression, the Companion Animal Bonding Scale to measure attachment to pets, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.
The results showed that 58% of the participants owned a pet dog during their childhood, at the onset of the earlier study. Since then, approximately 30% of these children were diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Among these, 52% were diagnosed with anxiety, 32% with ADHD, 11% with depression, and 5% had multiple diagnoses. Diagnoses of mental health disorders, excluding anxiety and those requiring psychotropic medications, were less common among participants who had pet dogs.
The total amount of time a child spent with a pet dog or cat between the first study and this follow-up (cumulative exposure) correlated with a reduced risk of developing an anxiety disorder or any mental health diagnosis. The only exception was for diagnoses requiring psychotropic medications, where this association did not apply. Exposure to the pet to which the child was most attached during the 8 years between the two studies was associated with a 43% reduced risk of anxiety and a 36% lower risk of other mental health diagnoses.
“Cumulative exposure to a highly attached pet dog or cat during childhood is associated with reduced risk of adolescent mental health disorders. Although the underlying mechanism for this association is unknown, this study adds to the growing evidence supporting the potential benefits of companion animal interaction for youth socioemotional development. This study also underscores the need to measure and account for the level of child or youth pet attachment and duration of exposure, rather than simply studying the pet ownership,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the links between human-animal interactions in childhood and mental health. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, the study design does not allow any cause-and-effect inferences to be made. Additionally, the follow-up data collection was conducted during the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic which may have limited the ability of some participants of the initial study to participate in this follow-up, potentially creating self-selection bias.
The paper, “Impact of pet dog or cat exposure during childhood on mental illness during adolescence: a cohort study”, was authored by Anne Gadomski, Melissa B. Scribani, Nancy Tallman, Nicole Krupa, Paul Jenkins, and Lawrence S. Wissow.