Dog and Cat Ownership Predicts Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Itsuka Kamimura¹  Kazutaka Mogi¹  Takefumi Kikusui¹  Miho Nagasawa¹  Junko Ishihara²  Kiyoto Kasai³  Shuntaro Ando³  Kaori Endo⁴  Atsushi Nishida⁴  Syudo Yamasaki⁴  Miharu Nakanishi⁴  Satoshi Usami⁵  Mariko Hiraiwa-Hasegawa⁶ 

[1] Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan;Department of Food and Life Science, Azabu University, 1-17-71 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 252-5201, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, 2-1-6 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8506, Japan;Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan;School of Advanced Science, SOKENDAI (Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan;

关键词: pets;    dogs;    cats;    cohort studies;    adolescent;    well-being;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph17030884

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

A potential association between pet ownership and mental well-being is suggested, but there is a shortage of high-quality longitudinal studies that consider probable differences among different species. We aimed to examine whether ownership of the most popular pets (dogs and cats) would predict mental well-being. The Tokyo Teen Cohort (TTC), a prospective population-based birth cohort study, had dog and cat ownership data at age 10 and mental well-being score at ages 10 and 12 from 2584 adolescents. Linear regression analysis with adjusting for covariates showed that dog ownership had a positive effect on mental well-being compared to no dog ownership, however, cat ownership had a negative effect compared to no cat ownership. Two-factor mixed-design analysis of variance showed that dog ownership predicted maintained mental well-being, while cat ownership predicted progressing decline of mental well-being. Thus, dog and cat ownership may have different effects on adolescents’ mental well-being, implying that the underlying mechanisms that are activated by these types of ownership may differ.

【 授权许可】

Unknown