Summary: A new study involving about 2,500 pet owners and 3,300 pets, has explored the dynamics of owner–pet attachment and its impact on mental wellbeing.
The research, a first of its kind, considered both the personalities of pets and their owners, revealing how attachment styles (anxious and avoidant) relate to the mental wellbeing of both parties. Anxiously attached owners tend to have heightened needs for proximity, whereas avoidantly attached owners seek independence.
The study found that the mental wellbeing of pets and owners, reflected in behavior traits and neuroticism, respectively, significantly influences these attachment styles.
This research underscores the complexity of the pet-owner relationship and its profound impact on the overall wellbeing of both.
Key Facts:
- The study is the first to consider pet personality in examining owner-pet attachment.
- Lower mental wellbeing in owners is linked to more anxiously attached relationships with pets.
- Pet behavior and owner personality traits play a significant role in the type of attachment bond formed.
Source: University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki researchers have collected data about the personality traits of thousands of dogs, cats and their owners to explore owner–pet attachment. The data encompass about 2,500 pet owners and 3,300 pets.
Relationships between humans and pets, like those between humans, can be described by examining two dimensions of insecure attachment: anxious and avoidant. Individual differences can be observed between these two attachment styles in terms of respective needs for proximity and independence.
An anxiously attached pet owner has a heightened need for proximity and is concerned about losing their pet. In contrast, an avoidantly attached pet owner craves a high degree of independence and fears the loss of personal autonomy.
First study of its kind to delve into role of pet personality
In addition to investigating the role of owner personality in attachment style, this was the first time the researchers considered the personality traits of the objects of attachment, that is, pets. The significance of mental wellbeing was examined for owners and pets alike.
For the former, the researchers examined symptoms of anxiety and depression, stress, and satisfaction with life. The mental wellbeing of cats and dogs was studied by exploring unwanted behaviour traits, which reflect phenomena similar to human mental wellbeing challenges.
Mental wellbeing of both parties visible in type of attachment bond
The study found that cat and dog owners with lower mental wellbeing scores were more anxiously attached to their pets. In dog owners, such scores were also associated with an avoidant attachment style.
The poor ‘mental wellbeing’ of dogs, that is, unwanted behaviour, was associated with both attachment styles: aggression and ADHD-like behaviour with avoidantly attached owners, and fear-behaviour with anxiously attached owners.
“Avoidantly attached owners perhaps offer insufficient security for their dog in threatening situations, which may provoke fear and aggressive behaviour,” says Doctoral Researcher Aada Ståhl.
Such owners may also participate in fewer shared activities with their dog, which is in turn associated with impulsiveness in dogs.
Moreover, it is possible that the direction of causality is the opposite, in other words, that unwanted behaviour in a dog may contribute to insecure attachment, heightening the owner’s need for independence or proximity.
Dog and cat personality plays role in insecure attachment
The personality traits of cat and dog owners and their pets were associated with both insecure attachment styles. Owner neuroticism, in particular, was associated with an anxious attachment style.
“The personality trait of neuroticism is characterised by instability in expressing emotions, reflecting insecurity, anxiety and threat detection. This may explain the association, given that attachment anxiety reflects sensitivity to experiencing negative emotions in the context of the relationship,” Ståhl points out.
In addition, the owners of the most active cats and, on the other hand, the most conscientious cat owners were more anxiously attached. Among dog owners, the more neurotic, agreeable and extroverted owners were less avoidantly attached to their dogs. In general, the more human-sociable dogs and cats had fewer avoidantly attached owners.
“In other words, the tendency of the pet to seek proximity and interaction in a relationship was associated with a similar tendency in the owner,” notes Ståhl.
Deeper understanding of pet–owner connection helps promote wellbeing of both
The attachment bond between owner and pet considerably impacts the life they share. Previous research has shown, for example, that attachment style affects the type of care the owner provides to their pet.
“What made this project unique was that it involved dogs, cats and owners alike. We need deeper understanding of the connections between owners and pets and the associated factors so that we can, for example, help people make better decisions when obtaining a pet.
“It’s important to acknowledge that obtaining a pet while experiencing poor mental wellbeing may not necessarily meet the expectations of improving it. On the other hand, the results suggest that interventions targeting dog problem behaviour might benefit if the focus was on not only changing pet behaviour, but also taking into account factors of owner attachment style,” explains Professor Hannes Lohi.
The study was part of a larger project by Lohi’s research group, exploring the owner–pet relationship and its significance for wellbeing. An ongoing study associated with the project investigates owner experiences of puppyhood.
About this psychology research news
Author: Aada Ståhl
Source: University of Helsinki
Contact: Aada Ståhl – University of Helsinki
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Pet and owner personality and mental wellbeing associate with attachment to cats and dogs” by Aada Ståhl et al. iScience
Abstract
Pet and owner personality and mental wellbeing associate with attachment to cats and dogs
Human-pet attachment can impact the life of both parties, and the identification of underlying characteristics related to attachment style can improve human-pet relationships.
We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore associations between human, dog, and cat personalities, owner mental well-being, unwanted pet behavior, and attachment styles in a sample of 2,724 Finnish pet owners (92% women) and their 2,545 dogs and 788 cats.
Our findings reveal that owner neuroticism and poor mental well-being are linked to anxious pet attachment in both dog and cat owners. Pet characteristics, such as unwanted behavior and lower human sociability are associated with avoidant attachment style.
Overall, this study highlights the significance of individual traits in both pets and owners contributing to insecure attachment styles and underscores the potential to enhance the well-being of both pets and their owners through a deeper understanding of these traits.
