Dogs have boosted owners’ mental health during pandemic

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Dogs have boosted their owners' mental health during the pandemic, according to new research.

Man's best friend has helped protect people against depression, say scientists.

Pet pooches have also increased amounts of social support by fueling friendships.

The findings are based on more than 1,500 people in the US - half of whom had dogs.

"Dog owners reported having significantly more social support available to them compared to potential dog owners,"said lead author Dr. Francois Martin, of Nestle Purina Research in St Louis, Missouri.

"Their depression scores were also lower. Taken together, our results suggest dog ownership may have provided people with a stronger sense of social support, which in turn may have helped buffer some of the negative psychological impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Potential owners were defined as individuals who were interested in owning a dog in the future. Both groups answered an online survey.

It found the dog owners also had a significantly more positive attitude towards and commitment to pets.

No differences were identified in anxiety and happiness scores.

"Dog walking during confinements may have alleviated stressors and motivated self-care," Dr. Martin said.

Other recent studies suggest pet ownership was associated with improved mood, less loneliness, greater social support and reduced stress by increasing exercise.

Owners said their dogs helped them cope with emotional stressors (91 percent) and maintain physical activity(96 percent) during lockdown.

"However, recent studies have also reported that pet ownership during the pandemic may have negatively affected people because of limited availability to resources such as veterinary care and supplies," Dr. Martin said.

"The present study aimed to understand if pet dogs offered their owners social support and contributed to better wellbeing during the pandemic.

"It was hypothesized dog ownership would act as a buffer against negative impacts caused by the pandemic."

Each group answer validated 'psychometric' questionnaires on depression, anxiety and happiness.

"Other types of pets are also likely to provide social support to humans," Dr. Martin said.

"However, it is unclear if this support is equivalent and if the psychological mechanisms involved are the same as human-dog relationships."

In the context of the pandemic, there is emerging evidence the relationship and attitude of people towards their pets may vary according to the species.

So only dog and potential dog owners were included. Participants were all over 18 and only one person per household was eligible.

People owning other types of pets or who failed to complete the entire survey were excluded.

Those who owned more than one dog were asked to answer for the individual they felt closest to.

The final sample comprised 1,535 volunteers - 768 and 767 dog and potential dog owners, respectively.

"The pandemic has negatively affected diverse populations and our results provide evidence pet owners and potential pet owners have also been impacted," Dr. Martin said.

"Our results show dog owners were significantly less depressed than non-owners.

"They are attached and committed to their dogs and they reported more social support available to them.

"Our work adds to the corpus of scientific literature demonstrating pet dogs may positively contribute to the wellbeing of owners during difficult times."

He called for more work to to better understand the relationship between pet ownership and wellbeing.

Future research should focus on people with low and moderate social support and include owners with diverse dog attachment level, he added.

The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.