Peer-reviewed article
The benefits and risks of child-dog attachment and child-dog behaviours for child psychological well-being
Roxanne D. Hawkins, Charlotte Robinson, Nicola McGuigan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looked at how children's attachment to their pet dogs and the way they behave with the dogs relate to the children's psychological well-being. An online survey collected reports from 117 caregivers and 77 children. Positive child-dog interactions linked high attachment to better outcomes, including higher well-being, happiness, quality of life and social satisfaction, and lower loneliness. Negative interactions were linked to lower attachment and worse outcomes, including more loneliness and lower quality of life. The authors say the findings could help develop interventions that promote positive and safe child-dog interactions.
Key points
- Children form strong emotional bonds with pet dogs that meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship.
- Positive child-dog interactions significantly mediated the link between high attachment scores and better child outcomes.
- Better outcomes included higher well-being, positive outlook, happiness, quality of life and social satisfaction, and lower loneliness.
- Negative child-dog interactions predicted lower attachment scores and worse child outcomes, including negative outlook, increased loneliness and social dissatisfaction.
- Pet dogs may pose both benefits and risks to children's psychological well-being.
Limitations
The abstract describes an online survey of caregivers (N = 117) and children (N = 77), so it cannot show cause and effect or how representative the sample is. It does not state the country, children's ages or any evaluated intervention.
Abstract
Abstract The importance of secure human attachments in childhood for healthy psychological development is well-established, yet the well-being implications of child-dog symbiotic relationships are less understood. Children form strong emotional bonds with their pet dogs that meet the prerequisites for an attachment relationship. These bonds can be mutually reinforcing and beneficial and could indicate positive child well-being. However, not all child-dog relationships are positive and here we explore whether harmful and unsafe interactions are associated with poorer emotional and behavioural functioning. The aim of this study was to examine whether the type of child-dog behaviour (positive or negative) mediates the relationship between child-dog attachment and well-being indicators. Data from caregiver reports (N = 117) and child self-reports (N = 77) were collected through an online survey. The results revealed that positive child-dog interactions significantly mediated the relationship between high attachment scores and better child outcomes (higher scores for well-being, positive outlook, happiness, quality of life, higher social satisfaction, and lower loneliness), whereas the reverse was found for negative child-dog interactions, predicting lower attachment scores and worse child outcomes (negative outlook, increased loneliness and social dissatisfaction, lower quality of life). This study has identified important mechanisms through which pet dogs may pose both benefits and risks to children’s psychological well-being. These findings will aid the development and evaluation of interventions that promote positive and safe child-dog interactions and subsequent child and dog psychological health and welfare.