Pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose Several publications explored a relationship between pet ownership and lower levels of loneliness and social isolation. However, to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review has yet synthesized the evidence on these associations. Thus, this systematic review aims to evaluate the findings regarding the relations between pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation. Methods PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycInfo were searched in January 2022. Observational studies relying on appropriate instruments to assess the exposure and the outcome variables were included. Two reviewers independently executed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Results n = 24 studies were included. Among adult samples, the studies examining the relationship between pet ownership and social isolation found that owning a pet was associated with lower levels of social isolation. Concerning loneliness, studies that were conducted after the outbreak of COVID-19 mostly showed that pet ownership can contribute to lower levels of loneliness, but did not reveal an overall significant association until then. In turn, the studies that examined child and adolescent samples suggest that pet ownership was related to reduced loneliness before COVID-19. Furthermore, most of the studies did not reveal any differences between dogs, cats, and other kinds of pets regarding their relationship to loneliness and social isolation. Conclusion All in all, only a part of the studies detected a significant association between pet ownership, loneliness and social isolation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to strengthen this relationship, so that future research is required to assess the longevity of this potential effect.

Temporal patterns of owner-pet relationship, stress, and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effect of pet ownership on mental health: A longitudinal survey

“…Furthermore, conflicting results on the association between pet ownership and mental health have been reported [ 16 – 20 ]. A systemic review by Kretzler et al revealed that the most profound discrepancies were between qualitative studies and quantitative studies [ 19 ]. The findings of two mixed-methods studies also support the notion that beneficial effects of pets on mental health were observed in qualitative investigations more often than in quantitative ones [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Changes in posttraumatic growth, core belief disruption, and social support over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Owning pets can increase both perceived and actual social support, as well as facilitating social capital (e.g., connectivity between people), indicating that those with pets may have larger support networks than those who are not pet owners (Wood et al, 2014 ). Indeed, a systemic review of the relationship between pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation found that owning a pet was associated with lower levels of social isolation and that after the outbreak of COVID-19 pet ownership contributed to lower levels of loneliness (Kretzler et al, 2022 ). While pet ownership alone may provide benefits, the degree of attachment to pets may also contribute to a sense of social support.…”

Zoonotic parasites associated with predation by dogs and cats

“…For example, in a survey conducted in 2021–2022 in the USA, about 70% households (i.e. 90.5 million families) owned a pet, specifically 45.3 million cats and 69 million dogs, with a total pet industry expenditure of $123.6 billion [ 42 , 43 ]. Apart from the growing domestic dog and cat population (estimated around 900 million and 600 million, respectively), a large portion of this number is represented by wild and feral animals, which make up to more than half of the total number [ 21 , 44 ].…”