Relationship between pet ownership and risk of high depressive symptoms in adolescence and young adulthood

Pet Attachment and Anxiety and Depression in Middle-Aged and Older Women

Importance

Understanding how attachment to pets can alleviate depression and anxiety offers valuable insights for developing preventive and therapeutic strategies, particularly for those with insecure attachment styles from childhood trauma.

Objective

To determine if a close bond with a pet is associated with reduced depression and anxiety, especially among women who experienced childhood abuse.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study involved women who voluntarily enrolled in the Mind Body Study (MBS), a substudy of the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS2) focusing on psychosocial factors. Women reporting childhood abuse were oversampled to capture their psychosocial distress in adulthood. MBS participants were invited to complete comprehensive online questionnaires, which were administered twice (March 2013 and February 2014).

Exposure

Pet attachment measured by Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS).

Main Outcomes and Measures

Levels of depression and anxiety (10-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CESD-10]; Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K6]; 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale [GAD-7]; Crown Crisp Experiential Index phobic anxiety subscale [CCI]), considered individually and combined into an overall z-score measure of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Results

A total of 214 women (mean [SD] age, 60.8 [3.9] years) were included; 156 women (72.6%) reported a history of childhood abuse. Of 688 invited MBS participants in 2013, 293 (42.6%) expressed interest; there were 228 completed questionnaires (response rate, 77.8%) in 2013 and 208 questionnaires (response rate, 71.0%) in 2014. LAPS scores were provided by 140 participants (65.4%), 78 (55.7%) for dogs and 46 (32.9%) for cats. Overall higher pet attachment on the LAPS score was significantly associated with lower GAD-7 scores (β = -0.17; 95% CI, -0.29 to -0.06), but there was no association for phobic anxiety or depression. There were no statistically significant associations between cat attachment and depression or anxiety. Higher dog attachment was associated with significantly lower scores in depression (CESD-10: β, -0.47; 95% CI, -0.68 to -0.26; K6: β = -0.42; 95% CI, -0.54 to -0.31), generalized anxiety (GAD-7: β = -0.47; 95% CI, -0.65 to -0.3), and the overall measure of anxiety and depression (z score: β = -0.12; 95% CI, -0.17 to -0.08), but there was no association between dog attachment and phobic anxiety (CCI: β = -0.08; 95% CI, -0.24 to 0.09). All effect sizes for associations were higher when analyses were restricted to women with a history of childhood abuse.

Conclusions and relevance

In this explorative cross-sectional study, strong attachment to pets, especially dogs, was associated with lower anxiety and depression symptoms. The favorable association was particularly apparent in women with a history of childhood abuse.

Young adults' views on the mechanisms underpinning the impact of pets on symptoms of anxiety and depression

Introduction

Emerging adulthood is considered a peak age for the onset of mental health difficulties with approximately 75% of mental health disorders being diagnosed during this developmental period. Companion animals confer both risk and benefits to mental health yet the potential underpinning mechanisms which explain such impacts are not fully understood. This study aimed to gather an in-depth understanding of young adults' lived experience of how their companion dogs and cats may impact their mental health symptoms and the perceived mechanisms which explain their effects.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 16 young adults aged 18-26 years, from the United Kingdom, who either had a companion dog, cat, or both. All participants had difficulties with anxiety and or depression, and 12 had received a formal diagnosis of an affective disorder.

Results

Five overarching themes and one subtheme were identified through reflexive thematic analysis using an inductive approach: Theme 1: Pet impact on generalized anxiety and panic, Subtheme 1A: Pet impact on social anxiety and loneliness; Theme 2: Pet impact on low mood, depression, and stress; Theme 3: Pet impact on severe mental health and suicide prevention; Theme 4: Staying well; Theme 5: Positive outlook and successful futures. Several perceived mechanisms underpinning the impacts of pets for mental health were also identified.

Discussion

These findings have relevance for the development and evaluation of mental health interventions and treatment protocols aimed at young adults with mental health difficulties, where companion animals may prove to be effective for symptom management and improvements in positive wellbeing.

Timing and duration of dog walking and dog owner's chronotype in relation to incident depression risk among middle to older-aged female nurses

BACKGROUND

We examined associations between dog ownership, morning dog walking and its timing and duration, and depression risk in female nurses, exploring effect modification by chronotype. We hypothesized that dog ownership and morning walking with the dog are associated with lower odds of depression, and that the latter is particularly beneficial for evening chronotypes by helping them to synchronize their biological clock with the solar system.

METHODS

26,169 depression-free US women aged 53-72 from the Nurses' Health Study 2 (NHS2) were prospectively followed from 2017-2019. We used age- and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for depression according to dog ownership, and morning dog walking, duration, and timing.

RESULTS

Overall, there was no association between owning a dog (ORvs_no_pets = 1.12, 95%CI = 0.91-1.37), morning dog walking (ORvs_not = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.64-1.18), or the duration (OR>30min vs. ≤15mins = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.35-1.29) or timing of morning dog walks (ORafter9am vs. before7am = 1.06, 95%CI = 0.54-2.05) and depression. Chronotype of dog owners appeared to modify these associations. Compared to women of the same chronotype but without pets, dog owners with evening chronotypes had a significantly increased odds of depression (OR = 1.60, 95%CI = 1.12-2.29), whereas morning chronotypes did not (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.71-1.23). Further, our data suggested that evening chronotypes benefited more from walking their dog themselves in the morning (OR = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.46-1.23, Pintx = 0.064;) than morning chronotypes.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, dog ownership was not associated with depression risk though it was increased among evening chronotypes. Walking their dog in the morning might help evening chronotypes to lower their odds of depression, though more data are needed to confirm this finding.

Exploring the Role of Empathy as a Dual Mediator in the Relationship between Human-Pet Attachment and Quality of Life: A Survey Study among Adult Dog Owners

This study investigates the impact of empathy on the relationship between human-dog attachment and human quality of life. A survey involving 263 dog owners was conducted to gather data on attachment to dogs, empathy, and human quality of life in Korea. The findings indicate significant correlations between attachment to dogs, human empathy, and quality of life. Specifically, both general attachment and concerns for animal rights/welfare demonstrate meaningful parallel double-mediation effects. However, cognitive empathy does not show a significant double-mediation effect on human quality of life. These findings emphasize the importance of attachment and empathy towards dogs in enhancing the quality of life of both humans and dogs. The study suggests a shift in perceiving dogs as independent individuals rather than mere substitutes for humans. Future research should focus on emotional factors, particularly affective empathy, to further enhance the quality of life for both humans and dogs through improved relationships.