Objective: To determine whether adolescent health and well‐being are associated with having a pet in the household (any pet, or specifically dogs, cats or horses/ponies) or average daily time spent caring for/playing with pet(s).
Methods: Design, setting and participants– Cross‐sectional data from the third wave of the Health of Young Victorians Study (HOYVS), a school‐based population study in Victoria, Australia. Predictors– Adolescent‐reported pet ownership and average daily time spent caring for/playing with pet(s). Outcomes – Self‐reported quality of life (KIDSCREEN); average 4‐day daily physical activity level from a computerised diary; parent‐proxy and self‐reported physical and psychosocial health status (PedsQL); measured BMI status (not overweight, overweight, obese) and blood pressure. Statistical Analysis– Regression methods, adjusted for socio‐demographic factors, and non‐parametric methods.
Results: Household pet data were available for 928 adolescents (466 boys; mean age of 15.9 (SD 1.2) years). Most adolescents (88.7%) reported having a pet in their household. Of these, 75.1% reported no activity involving pets over the surveyed days. It appeared that neither owning a pet nor time spent caring for/playing with a pet was related, positively or negatively, to adolescent health or well‐being.
Conclusions: Despite high rates of pet ownership, adolescents had little interaction with pets. It appears that owning a pet and time spent caring for/playing with a pet was not clearly associated with adolescents' health or well‐being.
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