Owning a pet did not improve mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

New research examines how pets impact isolation, anxiety and depression during the pandemic, challenging common beliefs about the “Lassie effect” and the “cat lady” myth.

Study: No beneficial associations between living with a pet and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large UK longitudinal sample. Image credit: Chendongshan / Shutterstock.com

A recent Mental health and prevention explores the relationship between pet ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health conditions such as isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression.

How do pets contribute to human health?

For years, researchers have been investigating the potential health benefits of pets. For example, a previous study found that 6% of pet owners died one year after a heart attack, compared to 28% of non-pet owners, suggesting that pets have companionship benefits.

Similar beneficial effects have been observed in a study of stockbrokers with hypertension. Nevertheless, these results are inconclusive, as other studies have reported conflicting findings with both null and opposite associations.

In the UK, pet ownership was relatively stable between 2011–12 and 2017–18, at 45–47% of households. However, there was an increase in pet ownership in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting several cross-sectional studies to determine whether pet ownership had a protective effect on health, particularly mental health. Importantly, many of these cross-sectional studies had small sample sizes, preventing meaningful inferences.

About the study

The current study used a large longitudinal sample from the United Kingdom to examine the associations between pet ownership and mental health. Key demographic factors were controlled to account for confounding effects.

Four variables that have been theoretically or empirically linked to pet ownership, including symptoms of anxiety, depression, anhedonia, and loneliness, were examined for an overall “pet effect.” After the initial assessment, follow-up visits were conducted at three, six, and twelve months.

These visits allowed researchers to investigate the “Lassie effect” during COVID-19, where dog owners are expected to exercise more and have a better daily structure compared to non-owners, both of which are important factors closely linked to mental health. The “cat lady” idea was also tested, suggesting that cat owners are at greater risk for negative mental health outcomes. Symptoms of mental health disorders were assessed via a patient questionnaire.

Research results

Study participants ranged in age from 16 to over 71 years, 85% were female, 78% reported living with others, and 62% were in a relationship. Approximately 47% of the study cohort had children.

At baseline, approximately 54% of individuals reported owning a pet, the most common being cats and dogs. At the first assessment point, small but significant effects of pet ownership were associated with depressive symptoms, with pet owners reporting higher scores for depressive symptoms compared to non-owners.

Higher effect sizes were observed for younger and less educated individuals. These effects were similar in size for gender, residential status, house size, and marital status. No significant effect was observed for parental status.

A small effect was also observed for anxiety symptoms, with higher anxiety symptoms observed in pet owners compared to non-owners. Overall, these effects were similar for depression scores, except that no significant effect was observed for housing status and marital status.

Slightly higher anhedonia was reported for female and non-binary people, pet owners, people living in smaller homes, people living alone, people with lower education levels, single people, and people without parents. The largest effect was with regard to age.

Regarding loneliness, there were significant effects in the same direction and magnitude as depressive symptoms with respect to residential and marital status, age and gender. In contrast to the results for depressive, anxiety and anhedonia symptoms, no significant effect of pet ownership was observed for loneliness.

Higher loneliness was observed in non-parents compared to parents. Over time, a medium reduction was noted in depression and anxiety symptoms. Smaller reductions were noted in loneliness and anhedonia symptoms.

Lower loneliness was observed among those living with pets, being older, having completed higher education, and parents. After controlling for confounding factors, cat and dog owners who lived alone had lower loneliness scores than non-pet owners who lived alone.

A statistically significant association was observed between the frequency of exercise and dog ownership. However, no difference was observed in maintaining a daily structure between dog owners and non-dog owners.

Females were more likely to own cats, prompting research into the interaction effects between cat ownership and gender on mental health outcomes. No significant interaction effect was observed between cat ownership and gender on depression, anxiety, loneliness, and anhedonia symptoms, providing evidence against the “cat lady” effect.

Initial levels of depression, anxiety, anhedonia, or loneliness at the start of the study did not predict whether a pet would be adopted again after 12 months.