ArticleScientific reports2021
Understanding the impact of dog ownership on autistic adults: implications for mental health and suicide prevention.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Animal-Assisted Interventions for Neurodivergent Individuals: Advancing Research, Practice, and Well-Being.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Exploring Cat-Human Interaction as a Psychosocial Resource in Autism and ADHD: Risks, Engagement, and Well-Being.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Pet-Specific Reasons for Living Scale: development, validation, and associations with suicide-related outcomes.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- Companion animals and mental health: a narrative synthesis of how pets deliver therapeutic mechanisms outside formal provision.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Can Pets Prevent Suicide? The Impact of Companion Animals on Suicidality: Scoping Review and Clinical Recommendations.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Understanding the Relevance of Psychopathological Features in Pets-Owner Relationship: State of the Art and Future Directions - A Narrative Review.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2025Review
- Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in People on the Autism Spectrum.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- Young adults' views on the mechanisms underpinning the impact of pets on symptoms of anxiety and depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Enhancing social communication behaviors in children with autism: the impact of dog training intervention on verbal and non-verbal behaviors.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Dog owner mental health is associated with dog behavioural problems, dog care and dog-facilitated social interaction: a prospective cohort study.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Links between pet ownership and exercise on the mental health of veterinary professionals.Veterinary record open · 2023Article
- Recognizing Zooeyia to Promote Companion Animal Welfare in Urban Bangladesh.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Dogs and the Good Life: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Association Between the Dog-Owner Relationship and Owner Mental Wellbeing.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Theoretical Foundations to the Impact of Dog-Related Activities on Human Hedonic Well-Being, Life Satisfaction and Eudaimonic Well-Being.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mental health problems and suicide are more frequent in autistic adults than general population. Dog ownership can improve human well-being. This study aimed to generate a framework of well-being outcomes for dog-related activities in autistic adults and compare it to the framework generated for a general adult population. Thirty-six autistic dog owners (18-74 years old, 18 males) from diverse UK regions were interviewed and transcripts thematically analysed. 16.7% reported that their dogs prevented them from taking their own lives, mainly due to the dog's affection and the need to care for the animal. Close dog-owner interactions (e.g., cuddling, walking, dog's presence) were the most frequent activities improving emotions/moods and life functioning, whereas routine-like activities (e.g., feeding the animal) particularly enhanced life functioning. Well-being worsening was mainly linked to dog behaviour problems, dog poor health/death and obligations to the dog. Despite some negatives associated with ownership, having a dog could improve the well-being of many autistic adults and assist suicide prevention strategies in this high-risk group. The framework was consistent with that generated previously, indicating its robustness and the potential opportunity to focus on dog-related activities rather than the vague concept of "ownership" when considering the impact of ownership on well-being.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.