Feeling lonely? A dog can help. Our research today confirms what many dog owners already know: dogs are wonderful companions who can help you feel less lonely.
Hugs and sloppy kisses, meeting other dog owners at the park and a general mood boost will probably help.
But our study, published today inBMC Public Health, found that dogs did not suffer from psychological disorders, the type seen in depression and anxiety.
Read more:1 in 3 young adults are lonely – and this is impacting their mental health
Why are we studying this?
Nearly two in five Australian households own a dog. And while most dog owners certainly won't assure you that their dog is a source of pure happiness, scientific evidence is lacking.
Most previous studies have compared the mental well-being of dog owners at some point in time with that of non-owners. The problem with these studies is that they can't say whether dogs actually make us happier, less lonely, or less stressed. They also can't tell us whether dog owners are in a more positive state of mind at all.
That's why in this study we measured mental well-being at three points in time: before I got a dog, three months after I got a dog, and eight months after I got a dog.
Read more:Man's Stressed Friend: How Your Mental Health Can Affect Your Dog
What have we done?
Our studyThe PAWS trial involved 71 adults from Sydney, who were divided into three groups:
- people who bought a dog within a month of the start of the study
- people who were interested in getting a dog in the near future but did not agree to buy one during the survey, and
- people who were not interested in getting a dog.
People completed surveys measuring their mood, loneliness and symptoms of mental illness at the three different time points. We then compared the groups' mental well-being at the start of the study, midpoint and endpoint.
Read more:Curious children: is it true that dogs don't like to travel?
Here's what we found
New dog owners felt less lonely after purchasing a dog than the other two groups. The effect occurred quite quickly, within three months of purchasing a dog. There was no further decrease in loneliness between three and eight months.
We also found some evidence that dog owners had fewer negative emotions, such as nervousness or anxiety, within three months of getting a new dog, but this finding was not as clear.
We found that symptoms of depression and anxiety remained unchanged after purchasing a dog. Perhaps the dog owners in our study already had low levels of psychological distress before getting a dog, so dog ownership did not further reduce these levels.
What does it all mean?
There are many possible reasons why dogs can help reduce feelings of loneliness. We know how to have a quick fling with a dogimproves people's mood in the short term. Perhaps daily dog cuddles can also boost owners' mood in the long run, helping to reduce feelings of loneliness.
Dog owners can also meet new people through their dogspeople are more likely to talk to strangers when accompanied by a dog. In our survey, dog owners also indicated that their dogs had helped them meet new people in their neighborhood.
Read more:Is your dog happy? Ten common misconceptions about dog behavior
To date, there have only been two comparable studies into the mental well-being of new dog owners, one of which was conducted almost thirty years ago.
One of these studies showed that dog owners didfewer symptoms of psychiatric disordersafter they got a dog. The second study foundno difference in lonelinessafter people brought a new dog into their home.
Dogs can improve ours toophysical healthby lowering blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health and increasing the amount of physical activity their owners perform. But as with mental well-being, the scientific evidence is still limited.
So what happens then?
One of the things our research can't determine is how dogs affect men's mental well-being. Coincidentally, all of the new dog owners in our study were women. So we don't know whether dogs affect men's mental well-being differently than women's.
Read more:Whose best friend? How gender and stereotypes can shape our relationship with dogs
Our next step is to look at the mental well-being of a much larger group of new dog owners to confirm these findings. A larger study could also provide more insight into the link between dog ownership and mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.
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