Pet Ownership, Pet Attachment, and Longitudinal Changes in Psychological Health—Evidence from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

Introduction: While pet ownership (PO) is generally associated with better psychological health, research does not consistently demonstrate this relationship among community living older adults. Pet attachment has been suggested as a mechanism for the health benefits associated with pet ownership. We examine the contributions of PO and pet attachment to maintaining psychological health among generally healthy, cognitively intact, community-dwelling older adults as they age. Methods: Older adults (N = 596; age: ≥50, M = 67.6, SD = 9.5 years, pet owners N = 178) completed PO history and assessments of anxiety, depression, happiness, and mental wellbeing every 1–4 years. Pet owners completed demographic and pet attachment assessments. Linear mixed models with random intercepts and covariates of initial age, sex, race, live alone, married, and comorbidities quantified longitudinal changes (M = 7.5, SD = 3.6 years) according to time-varying PO, pet attachment, and dog walking to these changes. Results: PO moderated changes in anxiety (p = 0.011) and happiness (p = 0.037), which improved in pet owners and deteriorated in non-owners, and in mental wellbeing (p = 0.007), which deteriorated faster in pet owners; PO was not related to changes in depression. Pet attachment was related to worsening mental wellbeing (p = 0.012). Dog walking was related to slower increases in anxiety (p = 0.005) and depression (p = 0.004). Conclusions: This study provides important longitudinal evidence that PO may reduce age-related decline in owners’ psychological health later in life. Pet attachment does not appear to be the mechanism for the advantages of PO. We suggest potential reasons. Additional research is needed to confirm mechanisms.