Examining Associations between Pet Ownership and Internalizing Behaviors Among Young Adolescents

Background and purpose: Most households in the US include at least one pet. Interacting with pets daily can significantly impact child development and wellbeing. The comfort and unconditional love provided by a pet may serve as a coping strategy for stress and, thus, improve mental health in children. However, studies investigating these relations have been mixed; some studies find lower rates of anxiety and depression among pet-owning youth while other studies find no significant associations. Notably, many studies in this area are limited by small sample sizes and have lacked diversity across identity groups. This study explores the associations between pet ownership, demographic factors, and attentional, externalizing, and internalizing functioning among a national sample of diverse U.S. early adolescents.

Methods: We used the third wave of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset, an ongoing nationally representative study of child brain development and health. Our analytic sample in the third wave of the dataset, collected between 2019-2021, includes 8,828 children-caregiver dyads (child mean age = 12.9 years, SD = 0.65; 46% girl; 57% White, 12% Black, 19% Hispanic, 2% Asian). Our outcome variables were measured through adolescent self-report on three subscales (i.e., attentional, externalizing, and internalizing functioning) and a total score of the Brief Problem Monitor (BPM) scale. Pet ownership and species owned (youth report) was recoded into three categories (no pet, dog or cat, other pet). The model controlled for demographic information including youth-reported gender (binary), sexual minority status (Yes/No), and transgender status (Yes/No), and parent-reported youth race and ethnicity, youth baseline age, parents’ education, and family income. We conducted multiple regressions with interactions between key demographic variables and pet ownership using Stata 18.

Results: Most youth reported having a dog or cat (70%), while 23% did not own a pet, and 7% had other types of pets. Pet ownership was significantly associated with total BPM scores, as well as attentional and internalizing functioning. However, these associations differed by race and ethnicity: for White adolescents, having a dog or cat was positively associated with internalizing problems and total problems, while for Hispanic adolescents, owning another type of pet was negatively associated with these outcomes. Pet ownership had a positive association with attentional problems among both White and Black adolescents, but no significant relationship was found among Hispanic and Asian adolescents. Although identifying as a sexual minority, transgender, or girl was positively associated with poorer mental health outcomes, the interactions between each of these demographic variables and pet ownership were not significant on any of the mental health outcomes.

Conclusions and Implications: This study highlights the complex relationship between pet ownership and youth mental health, with variations based on race and ethnicity, pet species, and mental health outcomes. Our results suggest that practitioners should avoid using a one-size-fits-all approach to understand the link between pet ownership and mental health The positive association between pet ownership and mental health aligns with research conducted in adult pet-owning populations, emphasizing the need for further longitudinal research to uncover the mechanisms underlying these associations.