PETS

Do pets improve mental health? Not always, and a study proves it

Living with a pet and having a close bond is not associated with a reduction in symptoms of serious mental illness.

The survey was conducted by the University of York, and published in CABI's journal 'Human-Animal Interactions', and echoed an earlier survey conducted in 2021 on pet ownership and mental health during Covid-19.

The researchers found that the presence of a pet does not necessarily improve the mental health and mood of patients with severe mental illness, compared to patients without pets. This research, however, the scientists say, should be redone in the future by considering more people and also a greater variety of species.

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Pets and mental illness
Living with a pet and having a close bond is not associated with a reduction in symptoms of severe mental illness. Researchers have found that the presence of a pet does not necessarily improve the mental health and mood of patients with severe mental illness compared to patients without pets.
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The study
The survey was conducted by the University of York, and published in CABI's journal 'Human-Animal Interactions', and was based on an earlier survey conducted in 2021 on animal ownership and mental health during Covid-19.
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The survey
The survey was conducted among 170 participants from Great Britain with severe mental problems. Of these 170, 81 stated that they had at least one animal in their home, and more than 95% said that their animal gave them companionship, a source of stability in their lives and made them feel loved. Mainly, we are talking about dogs and cats. Almost all participants confirmed the bond with the animal as 'strong'.
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Survey results leave you speechless
The 2021 survey had shown, AGI reports, that 'owning an animal was, in fact, associated with a reported decline in mental health among people with severe mental disorders, which may have been caused by the restrictions of the pandemic and the challenges of caring for the animal in the context of the lockdown'. The previous survey was more specifically about Covid-19.
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Emily Shoesmith's words.
Emily Shoesmith, from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, argues that, in the case of the 2021 survey, the benefits of pets could, however, be outweighed by 'the added stress and anxiety caused by caring for an animal in the context of the lockdown'. He continues. "The new data were collected after the pandemic restrictions had been lifted and, although we found small improvements in the well-being results compared to the previous survey, we have no evidence that pet ownership was significantly associated with improved well-being, depression, anxiety or loneliness."
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One possible explanation
Dr Elena Ratschen, from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, also reported by AGI, states that: "One possible explanation for our current findings could be that the added responsibility of pet ownership may still exacerbate other potential stressors experienced by people living with severe mental illness. This includes the cost of food, veterinary expenses and uncertainty about housing. The bond between owners and animals was perceived as high in this study and is undoubtedly very important in people's lives. However, it is not reasonable to assume that it is a means to ameliorate the symptoms of severe mental illness or dispel feelings of loneliness in a very disadvantaged population of people with such illnesses'.
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The survey as a starting point
The researchers in unison, having taken note of these results, hastened however to specify that what emerges is that the relationship between humans and pets is much more complex than is generally believed. The end of the article goes on to talk about future research on the subject, which, according to the scholars, could benefit from using a larger sample of patients. In addition, it might also be useful to broaden the range of species examined as pets.
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