The advantages of having a pet may have been exaggerated, according to researchers who monitored over 6,000 individuals for a year.
This contradicts the common belief that owning a pet leads to better mental health. The research team found that pet owners reported slightly poorer mental health outcomes compared to non-pet owners.
However, among a small subset of participants who lived alone, pet owners were discovered to feel less lonely than those without pets.
"Although the body of research done on the topic has been mixed, we were genuinely surprised to find that pet owners generally experienced slightly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and anhedonia (loss of pleasure) during the COVID-19 pandemic," lead author Christine Parsons from Aarhus University, Denmark, said.
"This runs counter to a prevailing public belief that pets are beneficial for mental health," Parsons said.
For the study, published in the journal Mental Health and Prevention, 6,018 people in the United Kingdom—54 per cent with pets and 46 per cent without—responded to online questionnaires from April 2020 and were contacted at regular intervals for 12 months.
"Pet ownership was not associated with beneficial effects on any of the mental health outcomes at the first assessment or longitudinally," the authors wrote.
"Instead, associations were in the unexpected direction, with owners generally having slightly worse mental health symptoms and loneliness," they wrote.
Among individuals living alone, researchers discovered that pet owners experienced less loneliness.
The authors also investigated the commonly held idea that dog owners, in particular, benefit from increased physical activity and a more organized daily routine, potentially leading to better mental health.
The study revealed that while dog owners were indeed more likely to participate in daily exercise - 40 per cent among dog owners compared to 35 per cent among non-dog owners - the increased activity did not correspond to improved mental health outcomes.
Additionally, the research found no significant difference in the maintenance of a daily routine between dog owners and non-owners.
The researchers also examined a stereotypical figure in popular culture - the "cat lady," often portrayed as a middle-aged, solitary, and anxious woman with multiple cats and presumed mental health issues.
While women in the study were clearly more likely to own cats -- 30 per cent compared to 22.7 per cent in men -- they were not more lonely, depressed, anxious or anhedonic than men who owned cats, the researchers said.
"Therefore, we find no evidence supporting the 'cat lady' stereotype, whereby women who own cats are viewed as being more lonely, depressed and anxious," they wrote.
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