Having A Pet Dog Might Help Prevent Anxiety Disorders In Children

A research conducted by members of the Basset Medical Center, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Dartmouth Medical School shows some proof to support that fact. While the effects of dogs on adult health and well-being has been studied, this new research project took a look at how dogs can help kids.

During the study, scientists from New York’s Bassett Medical Center evaluated 643 children older than 18 months to list the anxiety levels of the ones with and without pooches.

The authors of the study explained that the findings can be viewed in two ways: it could be that the less anxious children have pet dogs or that the pet dogs make children less anxious.

Researchers explored this question in a study named’Pet Dogs and Children’s Health: Opportunities for Chronic Disease Prevention’ released on Wednesday. Out of the total, 58% of the kids were having dogs in their home. The questionnaire asked parents about their child’s screen time, mental and physical health, body mass index (BMI) and whether they owned a pet. The researchers noted that the parents’ mental health could bias their answers, so the parents were also screened for depression.

“If exposure to pet dogs during childhood is inversely related to mental health problems, positive child-dog interactions could prevent the evolution of these problems into full-fledged disorders during adolescence or later life”, researchers concluded. If the latter is true, researchers said that a pet dog could aid children by helping to stimulate conversation with others. It would seem that children who grow up with a pet dog may be more able to cope with stress and that the dog’s presence and companionship could reduce the risks that the child has of developing anxiety. Having a pet dog has an ice-breaking effect which can alleviate social anxiety.

“Sometimes their first word is the name of their pet”, said Gadomski. People who love dogs can have something to bond over, they said.

“It doesn’t mean that cats can’t do the same thing”, she said.