Emotional Bonds with Pet Dogs and with Mothers on Youth Socioemotional Outcomes

Introduction: Over half of households in the United States with children own a pet dog. Research has supported associations between emotional connections with pets and positive youth socioemotional development. However, the influence of other family dynamics, like the emotional bonds between children and their mothers, have not previously been considered as potential confounds. Conditions under which the child pet bond may be more salient, such as instances of higher maternal stress, are also understudied. This study aims to investigate how emotional bonds with pet dogs and mothers impact youth depressed mood, empathy, and prosocial behavior, as well as the possible moderating effect of maternal stress on the relationship between child pet bonds and youth socioemotional outcomes. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 122 dog-owning youth aged 10 to 18 (47.5% male, 50.8% Non-Hispanic Caucasian, Mage=13.9, SD=1.8), including 41 sibling pairs. Child-mother emotional bond was measured with the care subscale from the Parental Bonding Inventory (α=0.85). Child-dog emotional bond was measured with the CENSHARE Pet Attachment Scale (α=0.91). Maternal stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, α=0.87). Child outcomes included depressed mood (CES-D, α=0.85), empathy (Social Attitudes Scale, α=0.92), and prosocial behavior (Child Social Behavior Scale, α=0.90). Separate multivariable regression models were run for each outcome. The first set of models included both measures of emotional bonds simultaneously. The second set included child pet bonds and maternal stress. All models controlled for child age, gender, race/ethnicity, and family socioeconomic status. Mixed-effects models adjusted for correlated observations within families. Results: Child reports of emotional bonds with mothers and emotional bonds with dogs correlated r=0.23 (p=.01). Child dog bonds were not associated with depressed mood (β=0.04, se=0.09, t(37)=0.44, p=.66), but were associated with empathy (β=0.25, se=0.09, t(37)=2.95, p=.006) and prosocial behavior (β=0.19, se=0.09, t(37)=2.13, p=.04). Child mother bond was associated with depressed mood (β=-0.41, se=0.09, t(37)=-4.62, p<.001) and empathy (β=0.19, se=0.09, t(37)=2.21, p=.03), but was unrelated to prosocial behavior (β=0.01, se=0.09, t(37)=-0.15, p=.88). Child dog emotional bonds did not buffer the impact of maternal stress within the family system, nor were the interactions between child pet and child mother bonds, and between child pet bonds and level of maternal stress, significant. Conclusions: These results support a main effect of emotional bonds with pets linked to certain aspects of positive youth socioemotional development independent of both demographic characteristics and children's emotional bonds with mothers.