ArticleBMC public health2025
Beyond companionship: psycho-social benefits of pet ownership.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Unmet Pet Caregiving Needs are Associated with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Among People Living with HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- One health considerations in veterinary palliative medicine.Veterinary and animal science · 2026Review
- Entangled Bonds: Dyadic Dependence and Co-Regulation in Western Urban Human-Dog Relationships.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPet ownership, which has increased over the last decade, can offer owners health benefits. However, relatively few studies have examined the psycho-social benefits of pet ownership, particularly across diverse contexts and types of pets. Existing research is largely Western-focused, and has paid limited attention to the potential interrelationships between pet ownership, pet types, and gender. This study planned to examine associations between various categories of pet ownership and multiple psycho-social benefits in a sample of adults from Japan.
methodA cross-sectional design was applied to investigate and analyze pet species and psycho-social health outcomes. Data were collected via an online survey conducted in 21 major Japanese cities during October to November 2020. Four pet ownership categories were analyzed: "non-pet", "dog", "other pet", and "dog and other pet". Gender-stratified multivariable linear regression models were applied to explore the associations between psycho-social health outcomes and pet ownership categories for both men and women.
resultsA total of 8,821 participants were included in analysis. The results showed owning both dogs and other pets was associated with higher neighborhood place attachment and social capital for both men and women. For men, owning other pets (excluding dogs) was positively associated with higher neighborhood place attachment and social capital. Dog ownership was also positively associated with social capital, but not neighborhood place attachment, regardless of gender.
conclusionsThe findings highlight the psycho-social benefits of both single-dog and multi-pet ownership, suggesting their potential for fostering health and social well-being. More research is needed to examine the contributions of specific multi-pet and single-dog ownership and the pathways by which pet ownership contribute to health and well-being.
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Registered trials
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